Canada

Lowther House

So my driving companion (pictured below, waiting patiently in the truck) and I were on our way back from a fairly substantial drive when I spotted this place on the side of the highway. It's rather unique, as abandoned houses go, in terms of its shape and layout.

Infant Jesus Church

The presence of a Roman Catholic mission church in this location begins in 1884 with construction of the original 28' x 38' structure. This church burned down on April 1, 1948.

Lookout Inn

This was my first exploration with one of my coworkers.

Skylark Drive In

The Skylark Drive In, in its original incarnation, opened in the 1950's, and closed in 1982 and lay unused.

This 275-car venue was re-opened in 2000 by Willie and Julie Greco. In 2012, it was announced that the drive in would close once again. The Grecos were leasing the land, but were never able to secure sufficient funding to purchase it. The owner is believed to have other plans for the land and chose not to renew the lease. To date, none of these plans appear to have materialized.

Caderette House

At one point in its history, this house was occupied by two brothers, Richard and Lionel Sabourin. They were successful milk producers with over 40 head of cattle. They were known to be fairly well off, and had privately mortgaged several other people.

Stubbert's Point Battery

Constructed in 1939, Stubbert's Point Battery was part of the rather formidable defense network for the protection of Sydney, Nova Scotia. The battery was originally equipped with two 6-pounder Hotchkiss guns, but was later equipped with a 6-pounder duplex quick-firing gun. In addition, three search lights were constructed here to help guard the anti-submarine net that stretched across the harbour.

Cranberry Point Battery

The Cranberry Point Battery was constructed in 1917 and consisted of two 4.7" quick-fire guns. An additional 4.7" gun was moved here from the Chapel Point Battery in May, 1917. The guns were removed after the war.

Chapel Point Battery

The use of this location for defending the port harbour of Sydney, Nova Scotia, began in 1862. The site featured a battery of six 32-pounder guns in an earthwork emplacement as well as two stone magazines and a blockhouse. It was short-lived, however, as it was all but abandoned by 1865, and the stone from its construction was taken away to form the foundation of a church being constructed in Sydney Mines. Erosion destroyed much of the earthworks, and little else would be done here until the beginning of the first World War.

Argentia NAS

Construction of Naval Air Station (NAS) Argentia began on January 25, 1941 and was completed that July. In order to build this base in anticipation of the US's involvement in World War II, over 400 families were displaced from the land by the Government of Newfoundland. While they had been paid for their property, they were uprooted from land on which generations before them had lived, and moved into other communities that were already struggling with the population they had.

Redcliff AFS

The location on which the radar station was constructed was originally a World War II coastal battery. Construction of the site began in 1952, and was completed the following year when it officially began operations. It was built, financed and operated by the United States Air Force during its complete life-span of 9 years.

Canada