The Big Dig
A PLAN FOR DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT
The Big Dig on Main Street, 1983
North Bay Museum Collection
By 1980, downtown North Bay was in trouble: everything was run down, and a new department store looked to be headed to Northgate Mall.
But in 1982, a new factor entered the picture. The DIA (Downtown Improvement Area) paid to have a plan for downtown redevelopment drawn up that added something new—the business owners wanted to make downtown “pretty”.
The new plan was approved by Council and given a 3 and a half million dollar budget, half to be spent above ground—on “pretty” sidewalks, trees, and benches.
So why did this project work? Many reasons: Council agreed with the DIA that the project should be finished in one year, with access to businesses maintained (which happened).
The city appointed Operations Engineer Brian Baker to head the project, a person with experience and a passion for the work. The City maintained a store front office on Main Street, which could answer concerns of citizens and businesses alike.
The “new” downtown opened in 1983 on time, with a DIA-sponsored free barbecue for all.
What was the legacy of this ground-breaking project? First, the city established a design standard for improvements to access roads, like Algonquin, Cassells, Fisher and Memorial Drive.
Also, other Northern Ontario communities, like Sault Ste. Marie and Timmins, followed our lead as the first community in the area to devote as much money and time to upgrading what was above ground as underground.
Jeff Celentano
City planning staff & DIA secretary, 1979–1988
Rocks Being Removed from Main Street, 1984
North Bay Museum Collection
Pipe Access to Stores, Sidewalk Removed During 1984 Big Dig
North Bay Museum Collection
View of first dig on Main Street (1907) looking East from Klock (Algonquin) Avenue
On Loan from Allison the Bookman
Did You Know…
The south side (lake side) of Main Street is lower than the north side. Need proof? Cross Main Street from the drugstore to the Abbey gift shop. You step down one step to the road, and then up four steps to the other sidewalk. Reason? A shelf of rock runs lengthwise under much of Main Street (see 1907 photo).
For many years, storm sewers (rainwater) and sanitary sewers shared the same underground pipes. This presented a major crisis when sudden storms dropped a lot of water into the system overwhelming the sewage plant on Memorial Drive. It would result in semi-treated sewage being pumped directly into the Lake.
The DIA (Downtown Improvement Association) hired a public relations firm during the reconstruction of Main Street in 1983. One fun activity they devised was a small “dig” where children were invited to dig for treasures in the piles of sand intended for road fill.
Sewage Pipe
This “pipe” was taken out of the Main Street during the reconstruction in 1984.
Donated by Norm Poulin, Engineering Department. North Bay Museum Collection
Remember When…
“1983 was the year that Main Street underwent a major reconstruction. The entire infrastructure was upgraded.
While the reconstruction was in progress, Main Street was reduced to a long dirt trough littered with dug-up boulders and protruding sanitary and storm sewer caps. Deep ditches, that were dug for the replacement of water and sewer pipes feeding into the buildings (like the Capitol), were spanned by plywood bridges. The remainder of the sidewalk area was just sand and dirt.
Backhoes, bulldozers and a variety of other construction machinery continually moved up and down Main Street as the crews of workmen removed the old services and installed the new.
Upon completion in 1984, Main Street on which the Capital Centre was situated had a new look, and the f ight to save the Capitol continued.”
Barry Burniston
In the book, The Capitol