It’s getting a bit more difficult to walk the streets where I have not yet been in the Kingston core since it is farther just to get to them. But I continue with my quest to cover all the core Kingston Streets in the next several weeks. So far this where I have been since early May.

Part of my challenge was not just to walk but also to stop to notice and discover and chat and I have also realized that there are a lot of interesting places right in my own neighbourhood that I have not really explored.

For example, this week I ventured into the Pump House Steam Museum that is at the base of West Street. In addition to the permanent exhibits about the building and it’s contribution to providing water to Kingston there is a new display outlining the changes along Ontario Street (where I live) over the past couple of centuries. ( I notice that there is a free curated historical walk to explore along Ontario Street on Saturday June 29 at 11 from the museum. I plan to take my granddaughter. Ice cream at White Mountain after the walk might be the teaser.)

The Pumphouse building was built in 1849 at which time it started to provide piped water to the community, privately at first but later as a public utility. Prior to this clean water was at a premium in the city and typhoid and cholera epidemics were not uncommon.

The Kingston waterfront was not always the pleasant, clean, accessible place that it is today. The apartment building where I live is called “The Locomotive” because it is on the site of a factory that once built steam engines, including the Spirit of John A that is now on display across from City Hall. Shipbuilding and trade by ship along the Great Lakes and St Lawrence River was once the main activity by the waterfront here. The railway took over in the late 1800’s.

In the photo above, I have blended two pictures taken at what is now Confederation Basin. I took the one on the right this morning. The left half is from 1953 when there were still tracks running through what is now the park where the fountain is in front of City Hall. The train is leaving a bit of a carbon footprint, I think.

Also a block from where I live is a restaurant that is now PJ Murphy’s Irish Gastro Pub. It used to be Frankie Pesto’s. Within a week of the new owners taking over this building it had a sign outside saying that it had been voted Kingston’s #1 Irish Gastro Pub. I wondered who had even been in it yet, let alone who was doing the voting. Then I realized that it is Kingston’s ONLY Irish Gastro Pub.

The building is where the Grand Trunk Railway passenger station was from 1886 to 1929. Apparently the ticket agent, J.P. Hanley, sold steamship line tickets, railway tickets and also operated an insurance office. The station became known as Hanley Station. The Grand Trunk railway was in competition with the Kingston & Pembroke line that became known as the Kick and Push. The station that is now the Tourist Office across from City hall was for the K&P.

My neighbourhood must have been a busy one in those days. I suspect I would have loved it then as much as I do now.

So if you have stuck with me this far, here is the bonus that ties all this together. At the Pumphouse Steam Museum is a room full of model trains. I had great fun pushing the buttons to make them run. And there in the corner was the train set that was used in the opening of the Friendly Giant. Find the boot. Now look up. Look way up.