I came across these beautiful photos taken by an Ottawa Valley photographer while he was taking a cruise on Lake Nipissing on the Chief Commanda cruise ship in 2002. I liked them so much I thought i'd share them. His website is www.photokaechler.com

In the time since these were taken, a new six storey residential building has been constructed directly to the right of the big orange brick building in the centre of the first pic.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/crw_1138l_std.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/crw_1128l_std.jpg

Going out further now:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/crw_1139l_std.jpg

Now he's way out there -- the boat is going around and island:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/crw_1152l_std.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/crw_1149l_std.jpg

Thanks for looking, I hope you enjoyed these.

Reminds me a bit of skyline shots I have seen of the OTHER bay, Thunder Bay. Although North Bay does look more vibrant. It's a combination of Thunder Bay and Peterborough. He took nice photos and thanks for sharing them with us, softee. I don't know if they are capable of being in the RATE OUR SKYLINES threads, though.

North Bay looks quite nice by the lake. Great area for the air show.

Jaybird: I'm glad that the London Nights won over Rimouski. Istudied there. Bad politics and cruel winters. Cheers

Not meaning to piss on your hometown Softee, but North Bay's downtown seriously needs a good punch in the arm. From a auto-transportation standpoint, something really needs to be done about the completely unnecessary one-way street system and poor traffic light timing too. :P

They have poor traffic light timing in North Bay, too? We're not alone!

If you love traffic problems, Thunder Bay is the place to be! (we're isolated. we don't do traffic lights well.)

Those mountains will make a nice urban park 30 years from now, when Toronto's suburbs creep in :P

Not meaning to piss on your hometown Softee, but North Bay's downtown seriously needs a good punch in the arm. From a auto-transportation standpoint, something really needs to be done about the completely unnecessary one-way street system and poor traffic light timing too. :P

Were you in town recently? Did you take some pics?

Yes, you're right -- downtown could use a good shot in the arm -- over the last several months about 5 long-time businesses have either closed or moved off of the Main St. I took a walk along Main St. today and counted 16 empty storefronts along the busiest 4 block stretch of Main St. (it doesn't sound as bad if you think of it as 4 per block). That is considerably higher than normal, a year ago there were only about 10 empty storefronts along that stretch -- which is at the high end of normal -- as there have typically been about 5-10 empty storefronts along the Main St. in most of the last 10 years or so that i've been keeping track. Meanwhile there is still ongoing renovation of existing storefonts going on and the last few years have seen about 7 downtown storefonts get a complete facade makeover and new signage which has greatly improved the look of those old downtown buildings, and several more storefonts are to undergo facade renovations this summer.

I'm optimistic that at least a few of those empty stores will be filled by the end of the summer, as some of those newly empty storefronts are in locations that are too nice to be empty for long. Once the pedestrian underpass connecting the downtown to the waterfont is in place that will give a good punch in the arm to the downtown -- but for now there is still one rail line in place that is currently cutting off direct access from the heart of Main St. to the popular waterfront tourist area. Currently, on a nice sunny Saturday or Sunday, the Main St. is pretty quiet while just a few hundred meters away the waterfront is absolutely bustling with hundreds of people who are cut off from strolling on to the Main Street by that remaining rail line -- but soon they will be able to walk under the tracks and come out right in the centre of the downtown.

As for the one-way streets, there are plans to return two-way traffic to Oak St.; which is the street that runs alongside the former rail lands closest to the waterfront. The former rail lands are to be redeveloped into parkland (which will connect with the existing waterfont park) with residential and commercial uses along its edges bordering the downtown -- the first of these developments is a six-storey retirement complex on Oak St. which is scheduled to begin construction this summer.

Here's the plan for the new park -- the outline of the new retirement complex is directly to the left of the park.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/Softee/waterfront_park.jpg

North Bay looks quite nice by the lake. Great area for the air show.

Jaybird: I'm glad that the London Nights won over Rimouski. Istudied there. Bad politics and cruel winters. Cheers

You studied in Rimouski or London? Either way, I'm glad to hear that from you and it proves it takes more than just a single good player like Sidney Crosby to win it, and for the Knights, it literally erased 40 years of horrid frustration!

Those look like prestigous plans for North Bay's waterfront!

Were you in town recently? Did you take some pics?


I was in town Monday & Tuesday last week. I dunno, to me there's something missing with downtown North Bay. I think it might be nice, appealing architecture. I took many photos and I'll be adding North Bay to Trillium sometime in the somewhat near future.

Cool, i'm looking foward to seeing your pics!

It's true that the more Northern cities and towns are more plain looking in terms of their old downtown building stock -- many of the cities and towns in Southern Ontario built up their core areas a good 50 or more years earlier than North Bay did and feature more ornate facades with strong Victorian or Edwardian influences -- although it's also true that most of the other Northern cities and towns are even plainer looking than North Bay. North Bay is one of the few communities (along with The Soo) in Northern Ontario with solid, well treed neighbourhoods made up of 75-100 year old brick houses much like those that you would see in the cities of Southern Ontario.

What makes North Bay's downtown interesting to me is it's community spirit and mix of businesses, as well as people's willingness to keep on opening new businesses even when it seems that things are less than rosy -- for example there have been a couple of major fires over the last several years that have destroyed some historic buildings and businesses and left large gaps in the fabric of the Main St. Hopefully the gaps will be filled or put to some other use in the near future (one of them is currently being used as the "downtown community garden" where people are free to plant and grow all sorts of legal or edible things).

More recently, the downtown has been gradually moving more towards an arts, culture and tourism theme; and as old-time businesses close due to retirements or changing retail trends; they are being replaced (but not always as quickly as i'd like) by new businesses run by young people such as book stores, music stores, head shops, art stores/galleries, spas and new restaurants that are specifically targetting the student crowd or a more sophisticated clientele. Of course all of the more typical or expected downtown businesses can be found as well -- such as pharmacies, shoe stores, men's, ladies and children's wear, jewellry stores, fast food places, diners, hairdressers, bars, coffee shops etc. I'm confident that the downtown is currently in the midst of a transitional stage and in 5 years time it will have a whole new look and vibe.

Here's a pic i just took of the newest business to open on Main Street:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/ArtonMain.jpg

stylish ;)

Here's a selection of pics showing what i think are some of the more attractive old buildings in downtown North Bay: The first two pics show Gulliver's Storefront before and after facade and signage improvements.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/Softee/Nicole_at_Gullivers.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/Softee/Gulliversnewstorefront.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/July14-0512cropped.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/NormalSchoolJuly3-05.jpg
The green fronted building in pic below (Creative Learning Toy Store) is currenly undergoing facade renovation, when it's finished i'll post an "after" pic.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/Softee/thurs_14.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/July14-053.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/July14-0514cropped.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/July14-0510cropped.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/Softee/Tues_2.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/July14-058cropped.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/July14-052cropped.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/Sunday23cropped.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/July14-054cropped.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/Softee/Wed_25.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/Softee/Wed_10.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/FirstAve4masoniccropped.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/Softee/083.jpg
Greco's and Demarco's -- two North Bay institutions side by side.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/Softee/Indiansummer13.jpg

In the time since i took this pic (last summer) the old CP station has been completely renovated and is now the new home of the North Bay and area museum.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/Softee/CPStation.jpg

Here are a couple of shots that show some downtown buildings that aren't too pretty, but i seem to like the looks of them anyway. The Delmar Restaurant in the first pic hasn't changed much in the last 50 years -- it still has an authentic 1950s style lunch counter.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/July3rd-05.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/May25-05McintyreW.jpg

Finally, some nice old houses:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/Softee/windy_17.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/May25-05houseonMcintyreWest.jpg

Here's a pic of Creative Learning's new facade, although the new signage has yet to be installed.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/July14-055.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/crw_1138l_std.jpg


This picture looks pretty much like downtown Barrie :)

I was born and raised in North Bay , and remember it well . I was last there in 1998 . I do have some mixed feelings about the city , but remember a lot of fun times playing on its many lakes and rivers . North Bay is really located in a beautiful location ~! I do see though that not a lot has changed , from your pics - which is rather sad . One thing , I have noticed ( I live in Southern Ontario ) , is that North Bay , was really underserviced in terms of things like shopping , and also that the region as a generalization is much , much poorer than most places in the south . Is North Bay still declining in population like other Northern Ontario cities ? Thanks for the pics

Well, i can tell you that since 1998 there has been quite a lot of growth in the city's retail sector, Northgate Shopping Centre has undergone a major expansion and is now over 500,000 square ft. in size and is anchored by Sears and Wal-Mart. Many other major retailers have also finally broken through NB's long-time resistance to major chains such as Home Depot, Winners, Sportcheck, Staples, Galaxy Theatres, Value Village -- as well as several chain restaurants that opened locations in town. Whether or not this is a good thing is up the individual.

There has been significant expansion in North Bay's bar and pub scene since 1998 due to the ever growing student population (now at over 7000 full-time students) at the local university and college and many of the stores and restaurants that lined the Main St. back then have since changed hands.

Incomes in NB are lower than the provincial average, and while NB's average income may be lower than in many comparable cities in Southern Ontario, it's not by that much -- and a lot of that has to do with the fact that NB lacks a large industrial sector with its high wages that many of the small cities in S. Ontario rely on as their major employer. North Bay is not much of a factory town, it's a government/public sector town (although with lower wages), with services and tourism also providing many local jobs -- not exactly high paying employers. I don't think that most of the people who live here expect to make a lot of money, they live here because they enjoy the community. Ironically North Bay has rather expensive housing and rents despite its lower incomes and small size, housing here is the most expensive in Northern Ontario and more expensive then in many of the small cities in Southern Ontario (excluding those within commuting distance of Toronto), but this is mostly due to the city's location in what is becoming an increasingly popular vacation area just an hour beyond Muskoka.

North Bay has been undergoing a building boom over the last several years, and last year set an all-time record in construction values in the city. The city experienced a small decline (1.7% -- but that's before being adjusted for the undercount) in population between 1996 and 2001 according to Statcan -- the smallest decline among the North's major communities -- but since then there definitely seems to have been a rebound as new subdivisions and condo developments are under construction or in the planning stages all over town. The Ministry of Finance has projected that over the next 25 years North Bay will be the only one of the North's major cities to grow in population.
http://www.gov.on.ca/FIN/english/demographics/demog05e.htm

For a little update, I thought i'd post a pic I just took today (July 29th) of Creative Learning's now completed new storefront. I think it looks fantastic. In addition, i'm happy to say that three new businesses have opened on the Main St. in the last couple of weeks -- a specialty shoe store called "Active Running and Therapy Centre", an Antique Shop, and a tattoo/piercing parlour called "Empyre 77".
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/CreativeLearningsun3.jpg

New development keeps moving along in NB this year, here's a rendering of a new $11 million luxury condo that was just announced to be constructed on the shores of Lake Nipissing, it's called "The Watersun" and construction is set to begin in a couple of months.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/thewatersun6.jpg

Hey that's a nice condo! Should look nice.

I'm happy to say that several more of those vacant storefronts downtown have been rented and are now home to new businesses such as a pizza place (Pizza Gallery), an upscale flower shop, a "Rave" supplies shop (called Kinetic Evolution) and a clothing store (420 fashions).

I took a few new pics downtown today:

The Capitol Centre for the Peforming Arts has spruced up it's facade with some banners and awnings.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/CapitolcentreSept9-05.jpg

Construction is well underway on the Marina Point residential complex (194 suites for active retirees)
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/MarinaPoint09-09-05.jpg

The Empire Terrace Suites building is now fully complete.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/Softee2/EmpireMcintyreStW09-09-05.jpg

That new condo is nice. The Chicago-School revival style really fits in with the street, instead of our city's downtown condo projects, which are post-modernist disasters :lol: