Kingston Walk

As the Summer winds down and I start to see my sister and brother get packed up for university, I’m nostalgic for that “back-to-school” feeling. I want to buy pencils and books. I need a new first day of school outfit. But mostly I miss that feeling of being excited to learn new things. Its been four years since I left university, but I still miss my school and the city it was in that I called home for four  great years.

Although it was mostly a cold/snowy/windy/rainy place during the school year, Kingston is one of my favorite cities to visit, especially in the Fall when I would head back. While going through some photos of the past year, I found these ones from my road trip last Spring with a few former classmates.

While we were in town visiting, we decided to take a walk around and admire all the wonderful homes in the area.

Being a student and having to walk everywhere wasn’t so bad when you were going past places like these buildings.

I always dreamt of having a lovely set of rocking chairs on this porch, looking out on sidewalk. Or maybe a table with a checkers game ready to go. My bedroom would have been up in that turret too.

Kingston is full of these grand old homes from its days as a popular port city along the St. Lawrence River. The Gothic architecture of this place has been beautifully maintained and looks even better in the evening with the sun setting behind it.

The yard is sheltered from the eyes of people passing by with this intricate wrought iron fence and a hedge that I can imagine has been here for years and years.

I even love the symmetry of the entrance way and the carpeted stairs leading up to the grand wooden front door.

Many of the buildings are covered in ivy and have beautiful gardens that are well maintained year round.

Some of the larger houses have even been converted into multiple dwellings, such as this Tudor mansion turned apartment building.

The doors in Kingston are a popular photography subject and you can find many coffee table books and posters downtown displaying them. Many of them are true art forms with detailed inlay and stain glasses windows.

Grey limestone is a common building material here and you’ll find many buildings throughout the downtown area and on the Queen’s University campus made with it. It looks lovely right now, but come winter, all you’ll see is grey and snow!

My friends and I decided to go off the beaten path for a bit and take a trail behind the houses, leading to the lake.

Looking back at these photos reminds me of the fun that we had that weekend and how much I’ve missed them both this Summer. Eve has been teaching at a Summer camp and Ashley is off in Madrid having fun with some lovely Spainards.

But back in the Spring of 2010, we were all together, peeking into people’s backyards and admiring the beautiful landscapes.

Down by the lake there are even more beautiful homes with a beautiful view of Lake Ontario (with the US on the other side)

Can you seen the windmills off in the distance? That is Wolfe Island, a beautiful place to visit. You can take a ferry there, drive across the island and then take another ferry to the US. Although the second ferry only runs in the warmer months – learned that the hard way!)

This is Waldron Tower, the university residence that I lived in during my first year. Due to its odd shape and location on the water, almost every room in the building has a view of Lake Ontario. I was on the fourth floor and would often look out onto the water to watch sailboats.

Across the street from the residence is a lovely little park that is popular with students and locals alike. The girls are here to demonstrate how to play chess with invisible pieces 😉

Nearby is Murney Tower, a Martello tower that was built to defend against the Americans. In the winter it is a popular spot for students (such as myself back then) to toboggan down after one of the many snowstorms of the season.

In the same park, there is also a big bandstand that I can imagine was quite popular back in the day for dances, but now it is mostly used by picnickers.

Continuing on our way, we came to many of the old houses along the shore that look out onto the water.

I love so many homeowners have maintained the integrity of these old houses and put a great amount of care into them.

There grandeur and style has stood the test of time and I hope they are here for years to come.

I wish that every town could have the great historic homes that Kingston does, or at the very least put the effort into maintaining them.

Maybe I’m just a nostalgic person by seeing places like this makes me dream of someday fixing one up myself. However, don’t be fooled by the pictures that I have shown you….there are plenty of places in Kingston that have not been kept so nice.

Farther from the downtown area you get into what is affectionately referred to as the “Student Ghetto”, which is really just a bunch of big beautiful homes that have been run down by students. Some have been kept nice by locals or savy landlords, but I saw some pretty horrible dumps while I was there too.

Last but not least on this little tour of Kingston homes is my house for the last three years I was in Kingston. I lived on the second floor in that window on the left side.

Despite all its quirks, I really did love this house. It was built some time in the late 1890s and it had the bones to show it. There was a great staircase, beautiful baseboards and moldings and a creepy old basement to boot.

Thus concludes my long post about Kingston. I hope you enjoyed seeing all the houses as much as I did back when I lived there. I’m sure I’ll be back again to see them again soon!