ADVERTISEMENT
10 Canadian landmarks that have been lost or changed forever
From Teacup Rock to Nahatlatch Lookout, here are ten landmarks across Canada that have been rebuilt, repurposed or lost forever.
Updated:
Published:
Image 0 of 31
Where: Winnipeg
Winnipeg’s first city hall was built in 1876 and was demolished just seven years later due to structural issues.
(Source: Winnipeg.ca)
This is the second of three Winnipeg City Hall buildings in the city's history, described by some as a ‘Victorian fantasy.’
(Source: Winnipeg.ca)
It was completed in 1886 and demolished in 1962, as the city’s population grew and officials decided to make way for a new building.
That third building is still in use as the Winnipeg City Hall today.
(Source: Winnipeg.ca)
Where: Darnley, P.E.I.
Teacup Rock was a teetering tower of sandstone hidden away in Thunder Cove Beach on Prince Edward Island.
Once connected to the other sandstone cliffs around it, it had since been eroded away by the water into a teacup shape, tapering to a thin base.
But now, one of the most photographed locations in the province is gone, washed away during storm Fiona in 2022.
A long exposure of the waves crashing against the red rocks of Prince Edward Island lends a feeling of timelessness to this shot of the island's famous 'Teacup Rock,' which was washed away by Hurricane Fiona a few weeks after the photo was taken.
(Jeremy Klager - CNW Group/Royal Canadian Geographical Society)
Where: Nova Scotia
The ‘Shubie Tree’ was the most photographed tree in Nova Scotia until it was destroyed by storm Fiona in 2022.
Shubenacadie Tree before storm Fiona. (Len Wagg)
Located on private lands beside Highway 102 between Truro and Halifax, the 300-year-old red oak tree was a landmark for many Nova Scotians on road trips.
(Source: Twitter/Christopher Ewing)
The beloved tree lives on as one Nova Scotia woman has been caring for red oak seedlings grown from ‘Shubie’s acorns.
Cheryl Maloney with some of the 'Shubie tree' seedlings in Shubenacadie, N.S. (Heidi Petracek/CTV Atlantic)
Where: Toronto
The Shell Oil Tower was a 12-storey observation tower built in 1955 and located at Toronto’s Exhibition Place.
(City of Toronto Archives)
The top of the tower served as an observation deck and boasted great views of the Canadian National Exhibition and Toronto’s downtown and waterfront.
(City of Toronto Archives)
In 1983 the landmark’s elevator and stairs were deemed unsafe, and the tower was demolished by 1986.
(City of Toronto Archives)
Where: Montreal:
Built in 1870, the Van Horne Mansion in Montreal was the home of Canadian Pacific Railway executive William Cornelius Van Horne.
(Heritage Montreal)
The Van Horne mansion was put up for sale in 1969.
A developer purchased the property with plans to demolish it to make way for a new office tower, which caused controversy.
(Heritage Montreal)
Despite opposition from heritage groups, the mansion was torn down in 1973, and an office tower was built in its place.
(Heritage Montreal)
Where: Nahatlatch Valley, B.C.
The Nahatlatch Lookout burned down in the Kookipi Creek fire south of Lytton, B.C. in 2023.
BC Forest Fire Lookouts / Facebook)
The original tower was built between 1956 and 1958 at an elevation of 1,190 metres.
The tower collapsed under heavy snowfall in 2011, and was rebuilt in 2012.
(Sites and Trails BC)
Nahatlatch was decommissioned as a fire lookout spot in 1993, but was still visited by hundreds of people every year.
(Lyttonnet.com)
Where: Paradise, N.L.
Octagon Castle belonged to dance teacher Charles Danielle from Baltimore, who settled in Newfoundland in the 1880s.
(Source: Town of Paradise)
The four-storey, eight-sided tower with wings on three sides was officially opened in 1896.
(Source: Town of Paradise)
The castle was damaged by fire in 1906, and was completely destroyed in 1915.
A blue octagon-shaped monument was installed to remember the castle’s impact on the town’s history.
(Source: The Rooms Provincial Archives)
Where: Ottawa
The Ottawa Post Office was one of the city’s first iconic buildings, and it received mail for the first time on April 30, 1876.
The Ottawa Post Office on April 30, 1876. Library and Archives Canada
A major fire in January 1904 started in the attic and gutted the upper floors of the building.
The building in the aftermath was described as an ‘ice palace’ due to the winter weather.
Library and Archives Canada
The building was later renovated but was then demolished in 1938 to make way for the construction of the War Memorial.
(Source: Lost Ottawa)
Where: Calgary
The ten-storey Gothic-style Southam Building, also known as the Herald Building, was built by 1913 and was demolished in 1972.
The newspaper Calgary Daily Herald operated out of that building from 1913 to 1932, and was operated by Greyhound Canada until 1971.
(Source: Herald archives)
Many of the 240 gargoyles on the Southam Building were salvaged during the demolition and redistributed throughout the city.
(Herald Building at 7th Avenue and 1st Street S.W. Alison Jackson via Calgary Public Library)
Where: Regina
The four-storey Plains Hotel was built in 1957 and was a well-known spot in Regina for live music and some criminal activity.
It’s trademark weather vane was built in 1962 and sat on the roof of the hotel.
It was a unique detail, and predicted weather with flashing colours.
The hotel closed down in 2009 and was demolished in 2011, after plans to build a 27-storey hotel and condominium complex failed to materialize.
The site has remained empty ever since.
(Source: Manitoba Historical Society)