Combining feminism, queer theory, perspectives on biology and menstrual art, history of the speculum and reproductive justice, artist Vanessa Dion Fletcher shares her inspirations and artistic process while encouraging participants to dive deeply into writing, personal narrative, drawing an
Photo credit: Sean McEvoy
I soon learned that the new exhibit was a step back into history to explore who lived and worked on Ontario Street. Brewers, bakers and boilermakers were among the neighbours of the PumpHouse. Covering the period of 1830 to 1970, the exhibit brings together a wide variety of artifacts and historical photos that capture the activity and life on Ontario Street.
Photo credit: Library and Archives, Canada
The way it
was set up appealed to me. I could start at one end of the street – I chose the
Pumphouse end – and then move along the display to see what was on Ontario
Street as if I was heading northeast toward what is now the LaSalle Causeway.
This was a street busy with commercial activity in the 19th century,
many of the businesses benefiting from Kingston’s unique position as a
transhipment point. Ships that plied the great lakes could not handle the St.
Lawrence River. As the railway gained in
importance, the Canadian Locomotive Works on Ontario Street began churning out
steam locomotives for the Grand Trunk Railway, producing the first one in 1854.
By 1878, the company was known as the Canadian Locomotive and Engine
Company Ltd.
Photo credit: Sean McEvoy
My eyes were drawn to a photo from roughly 1880 that showed an interesting building on the corner of Ontario Street and Johnson Street. I knew it as a restaurant, but I learned it was originally Hanley Station, a passenger depot for the Grand Trunk Railway. If you’d had asked me before my visit to Ontario Street: Brewers, Bakers and Boilermakers, 1830-1970 about a train station on Ontario Street, I would have thought of the one across from City Hall. That one was owned by the Kingston and Pembroke Railway, a company that competed with the Grand Trunk Railway for passenger traffic.
Photo credit: Queen’s University Archives
Heading northeast along the display, I got to see stunning black and white historical photos of Ontario Street. At the far end was the Penny Bridge, so named because that was the toll to cross to Barriefield. There is also an interesting aerial photo of the firehall in 1890 taken from the dome of City Hall showing the industrial and commercial buildings that surrounded it then. Check it out at the PumpHouse until Saturday, November 23, 2019.
Photo credit: Sean McEvoy
Written by Helen Cutts
Explore our Museums, Art Galleries & Historic Sites
Kingston is Canada’s museum capital with something for everyone at over 26 museums and historic sites and 4 art galleries. It’s all here, from small specialized museums to national historic treasures including the endpoint of Canada’s newest UNESCO World Heritage Site - The Rideau Canal and the Kingston Fortifications - designated in 2007.
