About Time Walker

I was maybe ten years old when I was first allowed to venture out on my own in downtown Peterborough.  I remember taking a book of historic pictures on a walk one Saturday; The 1967 Centennial Committee Peterborough Land of Shining Waters.  I tried to find as many places as I could that were still standing, and I saw how they had changed in the past hundred odd years.  I was totally jazzed that I found as many as I did.  I never stopped this hobby, and I continued with it on through the neighbourhoods of Toronto.

                I’ve always been fascinated with the history of people and their architecture.  I was raised in a succession of late Victorian and Edwardian houses, and my primary and high schools were Victorian and Edwardian respectively.  I feel extraordinarily blessed to live in a town where so much history has survived.  Unfortunately, Peterborough’s architecture is still gradually disappearing.  Many buildings from my childhood have vanished through new construction, fires, neglect, and the ravages of time.  Others have been re-muddled and lost many charming features.  We do, however, have an enormous wealth of photographic images to show us what once was.

                I wanted to contribute in some way, no matter how small, to preserve and perhaps point out the beauty of what’s still here.  I’m a writer and I love to research.   When I first moved back to town I was a bit discouraged that I could not seem to find a niche.  Peterborough has an abundance of collections, archives, museums, historians, writers, and volunteers who all cover the topic so well.  What was left to do, and what could I offer?

                Recently I was blessed with the gift of an iPad.  I also suddenly found myself both out of work and facing some health issues.  Walking became the order of the day, and of course, my eye continues to spy all kinds of old things.  Why not record them and share them?  How cool would that be?!  Why not do a blog?!

                A friend once told me that I am, "Such a willing time traveller".  Unfortunately, I don’t hold the secret to time travel, but I think what I am is a Time Walker.  I walk around today and I see yesterday too.  I hope you enjoy it even a smidgen as much as I do, because I have a blast.

More to come...


Follow your bliss. 



Unless otherwise noted, all text and photographs presented on this blog are ©2017 by T. K. Rouse, all rights reserved.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Carriage Estate

Image
William Metheral owned a substantial portion of land at the southeast corner of Aylmer and Murray Streets. Over several decades, the Metheral family expanded along with their business, and the four buildings they erected have all survived into the 21st century. In my research, I have often come across this type of progressive Victorian family land holding. I know of several other examples in Peterborough; it’s a common North American model. The patriarch purchased or received a grant of a generous parcel of land. On it they established their homestead and business. The family grew, and the sons helped build the business, which prospered along with the growing community. They built a slightly larger home. The adult sons, in turn, built prestige property; larger, more luxurious, status type dwellings on the land of the family compound. In this case, two of William Metheral’s sons each lived in one of the units, and the two other homes were rented out, generating additional income....
Read more

A Cautionary Tale

Image
The former Montreal House at the northeast corner of King and Aylmer The building is at least 150 years old. It appears in historic photos and is depicted on historic maps. The structure itself, however, has now been declared simply, “Old” and will be removed from Peterborough’s Heritage Register. The plan is to demolish it and build affordable housing. Personally, this building has never been one of my favorites. It seemed a seedy, scary place in my childhood. And yet, it’s fate is particularly worrisome now that the Toronto real estate boom has thoroughly engulfed Peterborough. When I first heard about the plans, I felt pain at the usual short-sighted cries of progress. I’m the first to agree that Peterborough, like many cities, is in dire need of affordable housing. But that doesn’t mean you have to demolish historic buildings to create the space. Peterborough has several weedy vacant downtown lots, and plenty of space farther afield. The plans here are to integra...
Read more

Brick Works

Image
Yet another house on a hill turned away from the street to face the view is the Robert Kingan House, built c. 1863.  Directly across Brock Street from Hutchison House, this beauty is currently getting a face lift.  Several months ago, a massive addition on the back was torn down in a matter of one day.  In the past few weeks, the original look of the brickwork has been being restored by a company called  The Brick Painters. I've watched them perform their magic on a few other properties in town, and they do a phenomenal job.  This is not the usual sandblasting but instead a method of faux finish that restores the appearance of the brick without risking potential damage from common cleaning methods.  You can't tell these bricks are painted!  The whole house used to be that awful yellow you can still see on the back where the addition was removed.  Just look at it now!  I also love the look of the new entrance porch; contemporary Arts &...
Read more