Day 1 in London Ontario

Sunday June 2022 - London ON

We decided to take a driving trip to London On. only two hours away.

London is a city in southwestern Ontario. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximately 200 km (120 mi) from both Toronto and Detroit; and about 230 km (140 mi) from Buffalo, New York.
London and the Thames were named in 1793 by John Graves Simcoe, who proposed the site for the capital city of Upper Canada.The village was founded in 1826 and incorporated in 1855. Since then, London has grown to be the largest southwestern Ontario municipality and Canada's 11th largest metropolitan area, having annexed many of the smaller communities that surround it.
London is a regional centre of healthcare and education, being home to the University of Western Ontario (which brands itself "Western University"), Fanshawe College, and three major hospitals: Victoria Hospital, University Hospital and St. Joseph’s Hospital. Its economic activity is centred on education, medical research, insurance, and information technology. London's university and hospitals are among its top ten employers.

Like many North American small towns the downtown area is in decline. Covid made this situation even worse as businesses went into lockdown, never to recover.

Historically, North American downtowns were the premier shopping destinations of their cities, but this all changed following the Great Depression. Following World War 2, some of the glory returned to downtowns, but as the people were encouraged to move outside the city centre, so too have retail businesses been encouraged to follow their customers. The mass adoption of the automobile has also limited the return of retail to downtown.
Several high-rise projects are in the works, and with them the prospect of greater population density.

NYT had a review of a book about the decline of malls.

However we found there was a vast homeless population, it seemed even more than Toronto. It was evident that many had mental issues and addiction problems.

We started with Covent Garden Market looking for lunch.

Dating back to 1845, Covent Garden Market is a London treasure, not unlike the famous market in the UK city of the same name. The market is a landmark, filled with stalls that sell fresh meat, fruit and vegetables. It is not a huge market, compared to St. Lawrence in Toronto, but it is vibrant and fun.

In addition to just selling raw food, Covent Garden Market is also home to restaurants, bakeries, bars and delis. You can also buy flowers, local handicrafts and chocolates, ending the day off with a massage.

From May to December the market takes it outside with their outdoor farmers’ market.

We had a great lunch on a patio at Waldo's.

Back into the market to get cheeses and chocolates as we had decided to have dinner at the hotel.

Then we checked in and went for a walk. We started along Dundas St. that was originally intended as a military route to connect the shipping port of York (now Toronto) to the envisioned future capital of London, Ontario. It never became the capital.

The bridge overhead connects the hotel to a mall.

These are metal trees created by Bill Hodgson, a local metal artist. In hues of yellow, red, orange, blue, green and purple, the metal trees are scattered throughout the downtown core, centering around Dundas, King, Talbot and Wellington St.

 

Attic Books is one of Canada's largest independent used bookstore. It specializes in antiquarian books, maps, prints, and ephemera.
The building at 240 Dundas Street is late Victorian red brick commercial in style. Originally, the building was a single floor and only about 20' long. It was not expanded until the 1880s, when the second and third floor were added.
During a major renovation in 1919, arts and crafts elements were added to the façade.
The large pane glass windows overlooking the street were installed by McPhillips & Co. in the 1930s. The outer two window panes on each of the upper picture windows pivoted to open like doors. These windows facilitated the movement of pianos from the street to the upper floors for display. They have since been replaced with more energy efficient windows.
The gargoyle overlooking Dundas Street was added by the current owner. It was designed by Florin Musta.

This building, which was erected in 1928, reflects a commercial architectural style popular in North America in the 1920s. It was built by the restaurant chain Bowles Lunch to catch the theatre crowd from the Allen's (later Capitol) next door and Loew's.

Budweiser Gardens, home of the London Knights, which represents a successful public-private partnership with the City of London. 

These pillars are called Gateway Markers contain heritage photos of Dundas St.

Middlesex County Courthouse, built to resemble the Castle of Malahide, located near Dublin, Ireland. Constructed in 1827 to 1829 as the first court house in London, the space was also used as a public gathering spot, a market, and a hanging spot for those punished to death. Click here for more history and a list of the hangings.

Museum London is an art and history museum. It is located near the forks of the Thames River. It started its operations in 1940 with London Public Library and amalgamated with London Regional Art Gallery and London Regional Historical Museum in 1989. The current building is designed by Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama, architect of Science North in Greater Sudbury, the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, and the National Museum of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh.

Click on links above to see our photos of Science North and the Bata Shoe Museum.

“White Rhino” created by Tom Benner in 1986/87. Benner is a local London artist who has gained notoriety throughout Canada with his art in 15 permanent public collections (including the Art Gallery of Ontario, The Ontario Arts Council, and of course, Museum London) and many private collections.

 

There are many, many, murals downtown covering the windows of empty buildings.

In 1910 Arthur and Oliver Keene, together with their cousin Norman, formed the Ontario Furniture Company Limited and opened a store at 228-230, Dundas Street, where it would remain until 1969. Literally a palace of home furnishings, the building was designed by the prestigious architectural firm of Moore, Henry and Munro. The structure is, to this day, a unique example of Chicago Commercial architectural style in London (ON) and the six large bay windows were meant to give maximum exposure to the furniture on sale. This architectural style never became particularly popular in the downtown of this city. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the northern side of Dundas between Clarence and Wellington Streets was attracting a number of similar retailers selling furnishings, including stoves and the pianos that were common in late Victorian and Edwardian drawing rooms.

Back in 1907, the armouries in London, Ontario looked and operated like every other armoury in the province. They were located in towns like Woodstock, Stratford, Windsor and St. Thomas and served as training bases for soldiers during two World Wars and for many years afterwards.

With their red brick exteriors, heavy stone bases and turrets, the armouries all had the same distinctive look of a military training base and became known for their architecture. All of the armouries were designed by David Ewart, who studied the architecture of Hampton Court and Windsor Castle. They’re said to be excellent examples of early 20th-century armouries in the popular Richardson Romanesque style.

While most armouries remain intact and are still in use today, London’s was abandoned in 1978 in favour of other facilities that could be used at a lower cost. It stood vacant for many years. Then a fellow named Donald Wharton, a visionary hotelier, came up with the idea to maintain the shell of the original building, gut the inside, and construct a tower to house a hotel.

Today it is a Delta by Marriott and would be my choice to stay.

That was it for our day, time to put up our feet.