9.30.2006

Molson Park

Molson Park (now Park Place) – home of large scale concerts such as Lollapalooza and Edgefest. Tens of thousands of fans crammed in 80 hectares.

Molson Park was witness to many great concert tours - Edgefest, Lollapalooza, Live 8, etc.







Edgfest '03 took place, on 6 September as was billed as "The Last Bash in Barrie" but still is used for big concerts (Warped Tour, 2005).






The venue still gets used for outdoor sports shows such as Hay Days North, Snowmobile & ATV Show hosted by the CSRA this weekend.



The 'Rock'n'Roll' Motel, located behind the main stage was where hospitality suites were provided for the Rock Stars.


Wandering through this compound, I imagined stoned rockers pouring booze freely for young groupies.



This rock'n'roll motel was immaculately maintained. The storage room was chocked full'o'cr@p such as croquet mallets, umbrellas, and boxes of condoms.







The shared washrooms / showers were also very clean denying me of my customary 'money $hot'. All I could think of here was the boys of Spinal Tap pi$$ing in the sink.




The former beer store, located a spit away from the cottager-thronged Highway 400 was Central Ontario's first, last and only drive-trhough beer store.



The drive-through Staff consisted of beautiful girls who would remove empties from your trunk and deliver a king can to your window.

The store enjoyed uncommonly rare Sunday openinings (back 'in the day') as it was
located on the same property as the brewery.

The building is currently being used as home to the 'Talk is Free Theatre'. This venue, which was provided free by the developer to the company boasts 120 seats.




Some site history:
In 1967, 597 acres were annexed from Innisfil by the City of Barrie to accommodate the establishment of the Formosa Spring Brewery, which became Molson's.



In the mid 1970's, Molson's Brewery purchased the Formosa Spring Brewery of Barrie. Soon, Moslon constucted a park adjacent to the south of the brewery and placed Central Ontario's first and only drive-through beer store on the corner of the park bordering Molson Park Drive and Hwy. 400.

In October 1999, Molson announced its intention to close the Barrie, Ontario brewery. After its close, the park was severed from the property and was purchased by the developer North American who renamed the site Park Place.



Redevelopment:
North American is hoping to redevelop the property to a 'business retail village' and 'lifestyle centre' of sorts featuring many up-scale retail shops, restaurants, hotels, entertainment outlets, and industrial/manufacturing buildings.



Currently the war is still being waged between the City of Barrie, Park Place (North American), and the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB).

9.12.2006

Forgive Us Our Trespasses

On the hierarchy of gaining an UrbEx location entry, it is far more advantageous to obtain an owner's permission or use social engineering to get those really sweet snapshots, but as is usual in the case of abandonments, it is a herculean task even to determine who the hell the property owner is.



Individuals who trespass on private property without the express permission of the owner in Ontario, are guilty of an offence under the Trespass to Property Act (TPA). Sanctions are somwhat more onerous in Ontario than other Canadian Provinces.


Typically, as your first offence (no previous run-ins with the Johnny Law) is $75. Legally, however the courts may set the first offence fine of up to $2000. In addition to this, an aggrieved person (the property owner now with crushed chrysantiums you bumbling a$$hat) may seek restituion for an amount up to $1000. The Justice of the Peace (or sometimes Judge) working at Ontario Court of Justice where you drag your a$$ will use a devious menu, call Schedules to set common fines.

Schedule 85 which is used for the Trespass to Property Act sets a fine of $50 for all eligible fines under this act such as;

1. Enter premises when entry prohibited,
2. Engage in prohibited activity on premises, or

3. Fail to leave premises when directed set fine.

In addition to this the court has a regular additional surcharge (think stupid tax) in addition to the fine above for $25.

To get your fine trailer protected under this fancy law, you simply are required to give 'notice' (y'awl better not c'mon in here) by placing a clearly visible sign indicating a prohibition against entry at the ordinary point of access to the premises. Alternatively, you can place a 10-cm diameter red mark on a post to accomplish the same (paint gun otta do it).

If you find your bad-a$$ self out rural exploring, beware that the snaggle-tooth moonshiners do not necessarily require l property owners will post "NO TRESPASSING" signs to warn people not to enter, a sign is not always needed as discussed just previously. No notice is required for bacially any agricultural or livestock field. This also applies to lawns, orchards, vineyards under cultivation (not that cultivation mr. blunt).

Here is how you get tagged. A police officer or occupier of the premises may arrest a person without warrant for trespassing while on the property. The police can also arrest a suspected person (hold the warrant) who has made "fresh departure" from the premises. Note that the owner (or security guard representing the interests of the owner has no rights to attempt an arrest for a TPA offence that had occurred some time. Also one more thing - You better not get picked up with anything that could be used as a 'weapon' (mag-lite) or to 'facilitate entry' (Sawzall reciprocating power tool).

Under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, you do have the right to remain silent (so as not to bear witness against oneself), the right to seek legal counsel, etc. You also have the right not to cooperate with an investigation and not to volunteer information that can be used against you. Playing this like a dick will result in a longer holding period and nobody likes longer periods. During this uncomfortable time, the fuzz would need to detain you until their investigation uncovered enough identifying evidence. Since the onus of proof (beyond a reasonable doubt) of identify lies with the Crown (and the police acting as their agent), you not legally required to produce any particular form of identification.

If chose not to cooperate, then any form of identification that Her
Majesty's Minion's provide would need to be independently verified by the police anyway since part of their preliminary investigation would have to look at the possibility of a prior criminal record.


At your court date.

A reverse onus provision is provided in the Ontario TPA. In our provincial dystopia, you are presumed to be trespassing if you are found on the premises. It is noteworthy that trespass is not presumed on privately owned natural areas if it has not been posted.

Caution - Visual and Hearing Impaired Guards fast asleep.
ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US ! !

Anywho, there unfortunately are only two holes out of this stinky sack in 'acquittal land'.

1. There was a fair or reasonable supposition that you had right to be on land, and
2. There was omplied permission to approach a door of a building (unless this too was 'posted').


Something else to note if you are exploring between the times of 9 PM to 6 AM - just do not do it near an occupied house. If caught prowling (traverse stealthily in the sense of furtively, secretly, clandestinely, or moving my imperceptible degrees), you will be officially labeled a pervert. This is called 'prowl by night. The Crown Prosecution will need not prove you were seeking an opportunity to carry out an aunlawful prupose.


For the riveting full text point yer browser and set sail toward - www.e-laws.gov.on.ca
.
If you need more information on the Trespass to Property Act, contact your local police authority or the Ministry of the Attorney General for Ontario. Anything posted here is pure postulation and is not be construed to be legal advice.

9.06.2006

Motel Confidential

On the way up to Depot Harbour, JuicyFruitKisses and CopySix check into the Motel. The kitchen, restaurant and offices are fairly devoid of articles but most of the motel rooms still provided some curiosities.

The Portal

Outside light peaks through the hoarding into a rear chamber of the restaurant area attached to the motel.







Failure

The furniture styles clashed, the colour choice was abysmal, and the decor lacking any decent judgement. No small wonder why this business failed.



Oblique

In an effort to conserve space for free-range dust bunnies, many of the restaurant's dining tables were turned up on end.






Safe Cubism

This small vault of simple geometric design frustrated all attempts to reveal its contents. The small chamber atop the safe is equipped with a lever to allow the one-way traffic of the day's industrious profits.



Sir John Crapper

This fine fixture for defecation and urination was installed within a closet simply signed "Gals". The dreadful colours were almost as worst as the olfactory sensations provided herein.



You
're In

I plan to submit this image to 'urinal.net' to collect a prize. It appears the urinal to the right may have left in digust at the improprieties of the can and its neighbour.





Holy Bible ! !

Up until now, very little has been known about these reclusive Gideon Bibles. Keeping much confined to the safe environment of their nightstand drawer, they rarely venture out except to feast upon the occassion unwary Christian. Our crew
captured this shy creature out in the open searching for a new nightstand. The unfortunate loss of nightstands due to clearcutting has upset the delicate ecosystem which this publication calls home.



Framed

CopySix and fellow Barrie UrbEx Member JuicyFruitKIsses were framed and summararily shot by digital camera.









Objet d'Art

Painted in the style of the great Dutch Masters, this e
xquisite 'still life' shows the Artist's aptitude in the difficult execution of textures and surfaces of this arrangement in great detail and with realistic light effects. I give it a round '10' (dollars of course).

Stuffed Article

Grossly maligned and misundersood, CopySix in a fit of defiance removes the 'law label' from the crusty-yellowed mattress. Athorities shortly after attended the site to take CopySix into custody but were thwarted by the sudden combustion of the 100% rayon mattress.





Drapes

The pleasing pattern of this window treatment complimented the rich colour presented on the fake wood panelling.





Meeting

The nightstand (short a Gideon), and the drawing table (short his drawers) were intently listening to sage fashion advice from the chair.




Slumber

This room showed evidence of recent occupation of one of Port Severn's homeless. From the empty food containers present, I would suggest a person of discerning taste. JuicyFruitKisses refused to take me up on my dare of $10 to make 'dust angles' in the filthy bed.






9.05.2006

Depot Harbour

Built on Parry Island on Georgian Bay by lumber king John Rudolphus Booth of Ottawa, the port of Depot Harbour served as the western terminus of the Ottawa, Arnprior & Parry Sound Railway. Mr. Booth's private rail line transported timber (read "old growth") and grain in the west to ports on the Atlantic.

First a quick note about this lumber king. J.R. Booth, a young entrepreneur of 32,
in 1859, won the contract to supply the wood for the construction of the Parliament buildings. By 1870, he employed 2,000 men to work his mills, and 4,000 lumbermen to cut the trees to feed these mills. Initially, Mr. Booth purchased land from the Ojibway on Parry Island but later expropriated additional territory from the reserve using a little-known provision of the Railway Act. In 1895, the Ojibwa of Parry Island were forced to sell approximately 300 acres for a meagre $ 9.00 an acre.

Given this treatment, it is with some wonderment that Parry Island had produced Canada's most highly decorated aboriginal soldier, Cpl. Francis Pegahmagabow (1891-1952). Mr. Pegahmagabow was awarded the Military Medal three times; was an expert marksman and scout, and is credited with killing up to 378 Germans and capturing 300 more in the Great War.

Anyway, I digress - back to the Ghost Town. The elevators / silos had boasted quite a large capacity of 1,500,000 bushels, and in fact, in 1905, the port witnessed more traffic than other other Canadian Great Lake port. (32,777 tons Flour / 3,710,087 bushels Corn / 108,000 bushels Wheat / 1,893,800 bushels Oats / 46,000 bushels Barley (mmm. . . barley). There were, at its peak in 1926, approximately 147 students attending the two-storey Depot Harbour School with a population of 1,600 permanent residents.

A quick note on the Cosmic Karma Bomerang and Mr. J.R. Booth. In 1933, a large deluge of water weakened the foundations of the connecting trestle between Cache Lake and Lake of Two Rivers. The estimated cost to repair the steel trestle was a cool half-million dollars, which at the time of the Great Depression, was at the very least, quite a bit of dough. The CNR, with
competing interests, did not consider the repair of this bridge very important and promptly applied to the Feds for funds. The Prime Minister of the time, Mr. Bennett, being a tight-a$$ conservative, then promptly turned down the railway's request. This, we should forgive in light of it being the depression which resulted in the ubiquitous 'Bennett Buggy' (for the younger readers, just Google image search this). Anywho, due to the condemned trestle, this line was no longer the shortest route from the Upper Great Lakes to the hungry markets on the eastern seaboard.

During the latter days of World War Two (the evening of 14th August, 1945 exactly), some of the grain elevators at Depot Harbour were being decommissioned and a labourer's favourite break-time habit is smoking tobacco. Unfortunately, adajacent wharehouses at this time were being used to store our favourite smokeless propellant, cordite (which was manufactured in nearby Nobel) and wool (the fluffy stuff that grows on sheep). The resulting explosion and fire, which followed, allowed ample light for newpaper readers in nearby Parry Sound.


After World War Two, the Century Coal Company took over the dock space previously occupied by the grain elevators. The company continued operations until 1951 at which point coal was less important as fuel )the R.L. Hearn Plant and the Sir Adam Beck 2 Hydro-electric developments were taking place during this time). Subsequently, when the Century Coal Company closed down its operation at Depot Harbour the town had lost its last source of revenue.

The Depot Harbour storey ends on a decidedly sour note, as with most 'boom and bust' towns. The Depot Harbour school, with a staff of two finally closed in 1954. Nature began to erase all evidence of human settlement and industry. The Ojibway reclaimed the expropriated lands in 1987. The Wasauksing First Nation had filed 3 claims since to Indian and Northern Affairs Canada since 1996.