[flar]

Woodstock's architecture came up in the conversation in the Chatham thread so I thought I'd post some pictures. Both cities are about the same size.
Woodstock, the seat of Oxford County, is located at the junction of Highways 401 and 403, about equidistant from London, Kitchener, and Hamilton. Woodstock has been fairly stagnant economically until recently, the latest news there is a new Toyota assembly plant currently under construction.

 

[Observer Walt]

Flar: More good pictures, thank you. I like Woodstock. I'm not a fan of the yellow brick that shows up in a few of the old buildings, but it's a distictively "Western Ontario" feature, where it was more readily available than red brick. It's seen more widely in some other small towns in that part of the province.

Woodstock has been stagnant as you say, but a good thing all along has been that the downtown has remained generally viable, while the cheap mall on the east edge of town (the only mall in the town) became derelict. Can't think of too many other places where that has happened.

It will be interesting to see changes brought about by the new Toyota plant and feeder plants.

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

again, another great photo tour!


love that main street ontario feel!

 

[ShonTron]

Woodstock has been stagnant as you say, but a good thing all along has been that the downtown has remained generally viable, while the cheap mall on the east edge of town (the only mall in the town) became derelict. Can't think of too many other places where that has happened.

Blandford Square Mall. Wal-Mart got out in favour of a fullsize store developed by Wal-Mart's bitch (First Pro/Smart!Centres), and took a bunch of retailers with it. A&P left as well. I heard that the mall was "saved" when Oxford County (really, a Region) was assembling land for Toyota, but I haven't been out there for about a year or so now.

London is also full of yellow brick. I'm not that much of a fan either of its looks, but I like it more for the reason of 19th century practicality, and you're right, it really is more of a Western Ontario thing. Toronto's red brick largely came from the clay soils in the area around Brampton and Caledon, and shipped by rail.

 

[ganjavih]

Love these photo series you do. What a cute little town. Looks a bit deserted though...

 

[flar]

Excellent point about the mall dying while the downtown is not dead, Observer Walt, it's like Woodstock is in bizarro world in that respect.

SeanTrans: I'm not certain because I haven't driven through woodstock the "slow way" for a while, but I seem to recall that all or part of the Blandford Square Mall was being demolished. I think it had a huge Liquidation World for a while after Wal-Mart left.

 

[ShonTron]

Here's the pic I took about 2 years ago.

 

[Long Island Mike]

Woodstock,Ontario

FLAR: Again a good photo tour! ST: A closed Sprawl-Mart-was that store-among other Canadian Wal-Marts closed over the unionization thing I recall reading about? Are big box stores in trouble on Ontario also? LI MIKE

 

[Observer Walt]

Mike: No it had nothing to do with unionization, and in general, big box stores are alive and well in Ontario. This particular site was an unusual exception. The mall was poorly located, poorly maintained, etc... The entire mall was basically a write-off, not just the Wal-Mart.

 

[ShonTron]

Wal-Mart bought Woolco in 1993. A few stores Wal-Mart didn't bother taking, but used the Woolco stores to establish a beach head, and immediately had stores in central Toronto (Dufferin Mall) and other areas where there might otherwise be resistance.

About half the old Woolco stores are still Wal-Marts. Others, like Woodstock, were relaocated to larger stores that reflect Wal-Mart's larger format, though some Woolcos, like Square One and Dufferin Mall were large and two-floors.

 

[adma]

Mike: No it had nothing to do with unionization, and in general, big box stores are alive and well in Ontario. This particular site was an unusual exception. The mall was poorly located, poorly maintained, etc... The entire mall was basically a write-off, not just the Wal-Mart.

No kidding about "poorly located". It was built just so irrationally far out of town, in a no-man's land on Hwy 2 en route to the 401--I don't know why; either some Woodstockian protest I know nothing of banned it to the boonies, or there was some overambitious (at that pre-Toyota time) fantasy of Townsend-like suburban megadevelopment marching eastward...

 

[ShonTron]

It was at the other side of the municipal boundary, in Blandford Township (hence the name Blandford Square). Towers/Food City had a few of these arrangements as well, and they were out of town a bit. Maybe the mall was there because it was on the main road, very close to the 401, and maybe there were thoughts of growth headed that way. Woodstock Transit provided service there right to the end.

 

[mysteryman]

Looks like the building was of the 'Woolco' vintage

 

[JasonParis]

Just for fun...