Walking Guelph

/ Alex Good

Last week was busy, and it ended with a long walk. The highlight was a stroll downtown on a beautiful sunny day. Here are some highlights. Some of these pics can be enlarged if you click on them.

There used to be a big Best Western hotel just a block down the street from where I live. It was torn down and the plan was to build student housing in its place, as the location is just across the road from the University. But that was ten years ago. They did tear the hotel down but there’s just been a hole in the ground ever since. At least it fills with rainwater and gives a nice fenced enclosure for geese to rest.

Proceeding down Gordon Street we find the Guelph Lawn Bowling Club. You may not have known Guelph had a Lawn Bowling Club. Now you do. In the background you can see our famous covered bridge. To the right (not in the picture) is the Boathouse, which is an eatery where you can get an ice cream cone and then sit and watch the geese and ducks on the river (which we’ll return to).

This is the splash pad in front of City Hall. Kids can cool off in it in the summer. I never have business with City Hall (if I can help it) but I pass by it often.

I had a bunch of errands to do downtown, and these were made more difficult by the fact that the main square, which is called St. George’s Square, is currently under construction. A lot of construction. To get to Scotiabank, where I was heading, I had to wander through a maze of walkways surrounded by barricades. What a mess!

I was tired out by this time so I went to sit for a while in the main branch of the library. This gentleman seems to have had the same idea, but was even more tired than I. Note the poor condition of the carpet. Given that this branch is going to be closed down when the new main library opens I guess they’re not worried about keeping up appearances.

I posted a picture a while back of the construction on the new library, which is just a block away from the old one and only a stone’s throw from St. George’s Square. This is what it looked like then.

And this is what it looks like now. They’re coming along. Lots of construction in this town.

I had to head to a lawyer’s office next and passed by the display window of a toy store where a Guelph Monopoly game was being sold. I had to go in and check it out. Nice conversation piece, but Monopoly is one of the worst board games in the world. I don’t know how it ever became so popular.

A few weeks ago the fabulous Fraggle posted an AI mock-up of Guelph that surprised me. Some of the landmarks were there but they were in the wrong place, or incorrectly rendered. One such location was the Albion Hotel. Well, here is the real place. First opening in the 1860s (under another name) there are a lot of urban legends associated with its history, including a visit from Al Capone during Prohibition (there was a Guelph connection, supposedly). Recently renovated, just last month it was listed for sale for $1. You can’t tear it down because it’s a heritage site so I’m not sure what’s going to happen to it.

The kids were back in school this week, and they were greeted by this cheerful, and maybe overly optimistic sign, at Central P.S.

Directly across from my lawyer’s office is the Guelph Civic Museum. I’ve only ever been in the gift shop. Some day I’ll go through it. I’m not a fan of the glass and stone effect.

My lawyer has been with the family for decades. He’s semi-retired now. The flowers in his front window looked like they could use some attention, but the office has a real old-school charm.

On my way back home I had to take a picture from the bridge overlooking the Eramosa River. In the summer you often see people in kayaks and canoes paddling about on it. But on this day it just looked peaceful.

And that’s a wrap. Hope you enjoyed this quick tour of some of the sites about my hometown. According to my phone I put in 30,000 steps so I was bushed when I got back. I’m not the man I used to be, as the song says.

17 thoughts on “Walking Guelph”

  1. That’s a good long walk! and it was filled with stuff to look at too 🙂

    I think all schools have a big book of aphorisms that they put out on their signs. Nobody believes them but a few of the students and even those learn soon enough.

    I liked monopoly when I was younger and as a teen. But once I hit my 20’s, it wasn’t fun any more. Mrs B did find a card game version called Monopoly Deal that was actually fun. It didn’t last for hours and hours either, which is a big plus in my books 😀

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  2. 30,000! 😳 well Guelph looks lovely where it’s not been dug up, the river especially, and the Albion hotel looks better in reality. You couldn’t see the church from anywhere though?

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    • I was really tired by the time I got home!

      I didn’t want to post more pictures of the church, but in the picture of the Albion I was basically standing right at the foot of the steps leading up to it. If I’d turned around it would be all you’d see.

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  3. Yeah, we’ve got a Grapevine version of Monopoly too. So many different versions these days. I might buy one if whoever designed the tokens was remotely on the same wavelength as I am, but they never are. No, not even Guelph. And that smile is horrific.

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  4. A lot of steps, and a lot of great shots. The main square does look like it is undergoing a lot of construction…especially being the main square. Has there been issues for businesses and residents there? I think the new library is gonna be very nice on the outside when it is done, and I will also admit to liking the glass and stone look of the museum. I hope the Albion finds a loving owner.

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    • Thanks Bruce. And sorry this comment got lost in the spam folder for some reason.

      Yes, downtown businesses have been having a really rough time of it. Lots of sales to try and attract brave foot traffic. I have to figure they’re getting some compensation some way.

      I’ll post some pics of the new library, inside and out, when it’s done!

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