Day Trippin'

June 2020 - Niagara Region ON

Welland ON Week 1
Niagara Wine Region Week 2
St. Catharines Week 3
Niagara Wine Region Week 4
Niagara Wine Region Jordan Week 5
St. Catharines Week 6


You must watch this series!  Cork Screwed TV.

Cork Screwed TV introduces you to the Niagara wine region and the wines.



July 2020 - Niagara Wine Region ON

Just a reminder that these day trips are taking place during Covid 19 pandemic, so the rules are very different. Masks are requested, no unnecessary touching, social distancing, no tastings, patios are now open mainly on weekends but food is only takeout at the moment. The good side for us is no tourists from out of country/province/state AND no tour  buses.

This week we're concentrating our visit around St. Catharines again.

Not so much wine this week, it was more of a mural tour centred on the downtown area. The Welland Canal is not yet open to tourists nor are the museums.
We'll be making at least another trip when these open up.


Mural depicts various children’s dolls and toys. Artist: Theodore Ziegler. Year: 1985

Fredrick Wilson was the son of George Wilson, a prominent manufacturer of lumber and building materials and also a building contractor who had been a major player in local construction work since he arrived in St. Catharines from Armagh, Ireland, in 1863. At least one notable building constructed by the elder Wilson still stands today - the distinctive old Broadway Market (today Pony Mini Mart), corner of St. Paul and Academy streets.

Banners feature the names and faces of 20 of St. Catharines' famous personalities.

Sports: Buffy Williams; Steve Bauer; Marilyn Bodogh; William Fitzgerald; Stan Mikita; Jack Gatecliff.
War Heroes: Len Birchall, Lance Corporal Fred Fisher.

Arts: Alice Crawley; Howard Engel; Linda Evangelista; Walter Ostanek; Neil Peart; Dennis Tourbin.
Community: Pauline Jewett; Mary Malcolmson; Laura Sabia; Harriet Tubman.
Business: William H. Merritt; Donald Ziraldo.

Colourful depiction of various characters and creatures by artist: RUNT (Alex Currie)

The FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre is a 95,000-square-foot cultural complex located in downtown St. Catharines, It opened in 2015 as the result of a partnership between the City of St. Catharines and Brock University, which share the venue for production, performance and learning purposes. Designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects to host a variety of international and local performing artists, it comprises four separate venues: a 775-seat concert hall, 300-seat recital hall, 210-seat dance/theatre venue, and 187-seat film house.

Being a university town, Brock is located here. there are plenty of bars downtown.

Patrick Sheehan's Irish Pub.

The home of Verity women's clothing boutique has “cultural heritage value” under the Ontario Heritage Act.

The biography of William Hamilton Merritt, written by his son, J.P., says it was Richard Fitzgerald's store in 1826, while the earliest photograph, from 1875, shows that the building was home to The Times newspaper office and printing house.
In the 1870s it was an auction house for Hyam and Co. and, later, Joseph Wolf. From the late 1800s to the mid-1900s it is listed in city directories as being vacant or as being home to stores selling clothing, furniture, second-hand goods, or upholstery services.
By the 1960s it was Beltone Hearing Service, in the '70s it was a surplus electronics store followed by a black belt studio and Richards Speed and Wheel Centre. In the 1980s it was Classic Brass and Pine and then home to Country Living. Since 1999 it has been high-end clothing store, Verity.

On the side of the Mansion House.
A depiction of several sailing vessels on Lake Erie during one of the largest naval battles of the War of 1812. The mural includes two oval style portraits of military commanders involved in the battle: Oliver Hazard Perry (American navy) and Robert Heriot Barclay (British navy).

It was originally constructed in the early 1800s as a home and store for William Hamilton Merritt, the main promoter of the original Welland Canal.

In the 1820s the building was turned into a hotel with the addition of a large dining room and office. Life carried on with travelers and sailors boarding in the rooms.

In 1859 a fire raged through through downtown and caused significant damage to the city core. The name changed a number of times. until 1868 when it was named to Mansion House.

With the bar's longevity it is officially the oldest tavern in St. Catharines, and the longest running licensed establishment in all of Canada.

I am curious about the name as this area had many Irish workers on the canal. The Mansion House in Dublin has been the official residence of the Dublin Lord Mayor since 1715.

We will have to have a drink here on our next visit when we can sit inside, since it is the oldest in Canada!

St. Catharines has a Graffiti Alley on James St.

Beechwood Donuts
Colourful depiction of various characters many of whom are anthropomorphic doughnuts or other sweet treats.

IS THIS MODERN SOCIETY?

Artist: Jupiterfab Year: 2016 Temporarily on display as part of the Niagara International Mural Festival.
Still there...

St. Catharines Station is a designated historic train station.

The single level pavilion-style station was built and opened in 1917 by the Grand Trunk Railway and acquired by CN Rail in 1923 who used it for passenger service. Via Rail gained ownership in 1986 It is the third station to be built on the site, first in 1853 by Great Western Railway and then 1898 by Grand Trunk. It was renovated in 1988 and 1994, but neither changed the appearance of the structure.

Depicts activity that occurred over the course of the train station’s history: soldiers home from war, shipments of Niagara fruit crops, the arrival of circus elephants, and a visit from the Royal Family.

We went back to Malivoire, we had stopped by on our first trip, but it was closed.
The staff were fun and helpful.

On an impulse we stopped at Cornerstone, a small family run winery. The host was delightful, gave us samplings of their wines.
They are reasonably priced and they even have a VQA port.

VQA is the Vintners Quality Alliance, the independent body that monitors Ontario's appellation of origin system. All wine-producing countries have standards for their best grape-growing regions.