Kids and empty lots, it’s a natural pairing. These unused parcels become an place to hang out and have fun, unsupervised, that’s all theirs and with no adults around to spoil things or get in the way of the good times. Grown ups can be such a buzz-kill. The possibilities are endless once “land” is acquired – wage a pretend war, go camping (but be home for dinner) and if there’s trees get to scavenging and set up a swing or build a fort. It’s what we all did as youngsters and it looks like today things are no different. Witness the kid-things found while out exploring this night.
Here we’re in the remains of a Calgary neighbourhood that with road construction was obliterated. Most of it is under pavement now, but a section a couple city blocks square remains. The houses were torn down, but lanes and fences and any trees were left behind. And now it’s a playground for children, who come in from the neighbourhood over that it borders on. The city of Calgary owns the land here, but we’re not sure what plans they may have for it.
The tree fort shot – we threw up a lantern (on a rope) to light it so. It worked okay I guess. Some guy passing on a bike, who wiped out in front of us (unrelated with what we were doing, but on account of ice), looked as us most curiously. Like what are you doing? Then it was off the liquor store for him, as he told us. And moments later, he wiped out again. Think he might have already had enough.
Short Subjects: reports that for any number of reasons are brief in nature. They might be updates to older articles, previews of posts planned or not yet published, brief snippets of things that don’t fit in anywhere else or subjects that are so obscure that information on them can’t be found. Or sometimes we just ramble on about Lord knows what.
If you need any more information on what we talked about here, by all means contact us!
Date of adventure: November, 2018. Location: Calgary, AB.
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Beer Parlour Fridays: The Cadillac Hotel in Cadillac Saskatchewan, visited in June 2024 by Chris and Rob. Sadly, they unexpectedly closed soon after their visit, but it is for sale and hopefully will reopen under a new owner. Those amazing SK skies! Watch for the Cadillac Hotel and others appearing at https://www.BeerParlourProject.com. Celebrating old school watering holes!
Scroll down to the comments for more!👇 _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Johanna (Connie).
Beer Parlour Fridays: before Pilsner in Saskatchewan, there was Bohemian or simply Boh. For decades, it was the most popular beer in the province. Incidentally, both Pil and Boh were for decades products of Sick's Brewery. This Boh cap was found in the basement of an old hotel in SW Saskatchewan during a visit by the Beer Parlour Project. It celebrates the beer winning a prestigious best in world award in the late 1960s.
Beer Parlour Fridays: here's a standard issue cast-metal leg round-top Beer Parlour table. These were supplied through the liquor control board (who heavily regulated the business) and therefore could be found at most drinking establishments. They date back to the 1940s-1960s period and surprisingly, we still see them out there in the wild all the time. Often they were covered in terrycloth to help sop up spilled beer. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Johanna (Connie).
Beer Parlour Fridays: The Tompkins SK Hotel/Lucky Loon Saloon, previously Woody's. It was just a drive by visit and not a stop on the recent Beer Parlour Project tour of SW Saskatchewan. Had it been open we would have checked it out, however. Celebrating old school watering holes at https://www.BeerParlourProject.com. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Johanna (Connie).
Beer Parlour Fridays: The Wildwood Hotel in Wildwood Alberta, built in the late 1950s to replace one that earlier burned down. Visited in October 2024 by Chris and Rob. Watch for this hotel and others appearing at https://www.BeerParlourProject.com. Celebrating old school watering holes!
Scroll down to the comments for more!👇 _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Johanna (Connie).
So that’s what you’ve been up to at night?
And now you know!
You guys have an amazing eye for detail and make everything you document looks exciting.
That’s how we hope people would see it. Thanks!
Love this.❤️
We’re so happy we could share it with you.