Lost Buildings of Canada from artist, Raymond Biesinger.I would love to have these posters up somewhere. I don't have enough walls to put them on or enough in the budget to spend on them.

495 Victor is at the End of Life

An update to the house I posted about previously, 495 Victor Street.

It is listed for sale online,  $59,900 and the pretty little house has no roof now! So it won't be saved. Wish I knew some history of the place, what happened to it and who used to love it. Sad now. 

Here are screenshots, first from the real estate ad, the most recent image. Following that is the image from Google Street view, taking in June, 2019. It still had the roof then. I guess it was posted for sale when the roof caved in and they decided they couldn't get a big price for the place, just land value now.  Poor little house. It must have been one of the cheeriest houses on the street in years gone by.

Railway Station Buildings in Saskatchewan

I found these railway buildings, along the tracks in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. I'd like to be there and get photographs of them myself. But, these are screen captures from Google Street View. I guess these buildings are used for storage still. Likely there is access into them somewhere. Three separate buildings, mostly sealed up from anyone curious. But, I'd be happy to explore the outside and see what's left from their history. Always sad to see buildings which were once busy and purposeful now neglected and mostly forgotten.

Once Upon a Hotel Ghost Sign

Also in New Brunswick, Saint John. Two of the ghost sign images are from the real estate listing.Being there makes it easier to get a better photo. I did what I could with Google Street View, especially for anything about shamrocks. My family are Irish, among other things.

The front of the building has a stained glass frame window. On the side is an old entrance for the hotel.The real esate post calls it: the historic Astoria Hotel.

Duke Street in New Brunswick

This is the real estate photo for 240 Duke Street. Likely taken this year, or last year. The building is not looking looked after. The stonework is black instead of grey (as it was in the photos from 2015 in Google). It's listed for $359,900.

From the real estate post -

7 unit building located uptown offers solid numbers for the investment savy buyer. This building has been updated over the past several years. Features such as baseboard heating, some off-street parking makes this a great investment.

No photos of inside the building, which is not a good sign at all. But, its still beautiful in tatters.

N.B. Telephone Co. Ltd.

I had a look at this (online) a few years ago. Not much has changed but the Street View has been updated and I could see the old sign at the top of the building much better. I thought that was worth an update.

This is not an empty building. It is being used and maintained by Lester Trophies. So you can access inside the building and, if you ask, they might let you see more of whatever is still old/ heritage inside.

470 Stella Avenue in Winnipeg

This building is for sale and does not seem to be in danger of being demolished. Sadly it was renovated years ago. Its missing the original front door and windows have been sealed over. But the basic structure is there on the outside.

Inside, well a church renovated it and it does look like it was renovated by someone thinking of function, not history, romance, or beauty. The building is for sale.

I noticed it a first time, months ago. I don't even live in Winnipeg, just wandering around online, looking at buildings on real estate sites. Today I found it a second time, still for sale. Probably a bad sign as far as the building's qualities. The real estate post says the structure is good. But, that leaves a lot for the guessing.

Few photos included with the real estate post. I found some which were on a Remax page but no longer show up on the live site. Not sure they are all for the same building, just because they say they are.

For some illogical reason I really like this building. I don't have the money to buy it, to fix it (I'm sure it needs some kind of fixing) or to care and maintain it. Also, its kind of messed up with the churchly renovations. There isn't much heritage charm left on the inside. But... I like the space, the high ceilings the real estate post says it has. I'd like to live there. But, its not at all practical.

The Manitoba Historical Society has one photo and a little bit of information of the building's history. Not much. The interesting thing I found is that this building has a clone, also in Winnipeg but still currently in use and better renovated.  The building on 119 Sutherland Avenue is very much alike, no coincidence. I thought they were the same building being given a different address by mistake. But they are different. Especially now with one being maintained and the other... sort of a mystery. I think the church/ a church still owns it.

 The Winnipeg Free Press has a post about the church closing in December 2010. Has it been empty since then? That would be another bad sign. Chances are something has been living in there - human or animal. The newspaper also repeats over and over that Stella is in a bad neighbourhood. So there is nothing logical about wanting to live here, in any practical sense. But, I'm not likely to forget about the idea entirely.

 This photo (following) is quite likely part of the old building's collection of photos but I'd be hoping it wasn't if I were buying it. The rest of the photos to follow I don't think are the same place. They don't match the look but they were posted as being from the same address. Likely a mistake.

 

 If you want some reading - I did find an entire file about 119 Sutherland, the twin to 470 Stella. It has one photo of Stella, but nothing older to show it in its better years.