It is interesting how things change while staying the same. There has been some recent developments in downtown Charlottetown in the past few years with such buildings like the Jean Canfield Federal Building, CERIDIAN Office building, the AIM Trimark building, The Northumberland Condos and various other condo developments. It may seem to be quite a boom which I think is a great thing but it got me thinking back to how much the downtown has changed in the past 15-20 years and the landmark businesses are no longer in the same location but we still refer to the location as that - some examples are the Sam the Record Man corner, the old CFCY station, Myrons or Old Spain, The Bike Shop, Toombs Music Store, Henderson and Cudmore, Sally Shops, Eatons and I am sure that there are many more. It is interesting to note how buildings or locations do take on the name of their location and it stays for a long time.

Above is a picture from the Natural Resources Canada webpage www.nrcan.gc.ca showing Charlottetown in 1935

It would be interesting to ask the average person on the street to describe what buildings were on the site where the new Jean Canfield federal building is - or what was where the Atlantic Technology Centre presently is. (Jean Canfield- vacant lot, 6 unit apartment building, Harley Club, Taylors Esso, a duplex and I think a single family house- ATC- vacant lot (former Irving) parking lot, and Cudmore's Dry Cleaning.

These are just some examples of recent developments with more to come.
So sometimes when people say that a downtown is disappearing can be seen as incorrect as it is just going through a stage of redevelopment.  It will be interesting to see what the next 15-20 years will bring.

If I am incorrect on some of the locations above- I apologize but I too am human and once something is gone that was present for so long- it can sometimes be forgotten. It is important to remember and document the changes and Charlottetown has some great residents who keep great records and remind us of what the city was while also looking forward to what the city can be. I expect that we will continue to see an increase in people wishing to live downtown and take advantage of our great city and all it has to offer.