It didn’t go as planned for the sunrise. I arrived early in downtown Guelph, Ontario, well before sunrise, but the sky wasn’t co-operating. There were no clouds and no chance of any brilliant colours when that bright orb did rise above the horizon. However, it was an interesting visit, nonetheless, and I did come away with some photos.
Although, at no time did I feel in danger, the activities in this downtown core at 5:30am certainly show a different world than you’ll find in the daylight hours. Not exactly a seedy underbelly, by any means, there was definitely a night culture that was coming around the end of its day. As the night culture left the scene, the clean-up crews began their job of beautifying the city for the day ahead.
The clean-up crews were both official and unofficial. City crews picked up garbage while those on the lower end of the totem pole searched the ground for the smallest of treasures. I saw one gentlemen pick up enough cigarette butts to fill an old style tobacco can with their unburnt leftovers. I can only assume, others were looking a little more intensely for leftovers of another smokeable. One that is now legal in Canada.
I ended the day along the Speed River (the final two images in the gallery below) but the light just wasn’t happening. This is a beautiful city with a lot of classic architecture and a river running through it. Less than an hour from my front door, I do plan to return soon for some true night time photography.
Guelph, Ontario Image Gallery
I based myself on the stairs that rise to the iconic Basilica Of Our Lady Immaculate. I started out of the grounds of the Roman Catholic church (as seen in image 7) but the ‘you will be prosecuted for trespassing’ signs kind of spooked me. It seemed a bit funny to me that a house of Jesus would be pushing people away so diligently that they would be willing to put those people in jail. Religion – WTF, right?
So, most of the images are of McDonnell Street, a main thoroughfare that ends at the steps to the church. The church is shown in image 6, looking from where the car was parked. The final two shots are of the Gordon Street bridge over the Speed River. The bridges on this river have such great potential for photography.
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Guelph, Ontario
Guelph, Ontario was founded in 1827 by John Galt. However, it was a town to the southwest of Guelph, Galt, Ontario, that was named for this man. That city is now part of the greater Cambridge. The city of Guelph was incorporated in 1879 and now has a growing population that has exceeded 140,000.
The city is just a short drive to the west from the Greater Toronto Area and, in the next decade or so, will touch borders with Cambridge and the Waterloo Regional Municipality.
The above mentioned and photographed Basilica Of Our Lady Immaculate is the jewel of the downtown core. The twin steeple Gothic revival church was dedicated in 1883. In 1990, it was named a National Historic Site of Canada.
However, the building on the northeast corner from where most of these photos were taken is older. Since 1856, the Albion Hotel has stood at this spot. It is likely that many over the years spent their Saturday nights on that corner before spending their Sunday mornings across the road.
The University of Guelph dates back to 1874, when it was the Ontario Agricultural College. In 1964, that school and two others were amalgamated to form the present day university.
The city of Guelph also has a strong history of major junior hockey. The Guelph Indians were the first franchise of note to play in what is now known as the Ontario Hockey League. The Guelph Storm currently occupy the Sleeman Centre (just out of view in a number of photos in the gallery but can be seen in the video below). The Storm have called Guelph home since 1991-92 when they were relocated from nearby Hamilton, Ontario.
Downtown Guelph, Ontario Driving Tour Video
The following video was taken a year before the images above. This is a pretty comprehensive tour of the downtown core of Guelph, Ontario. If you like what you see, please give it a ‘Thumb’s Up’ in YouTube. We would be beside ourselves if you’d consider subscribing to our YouTube Channel!
