SmithBooks No More

SmithBooks No More, a photo by dwight_ew on Flickr.

It was "W.H. Smith Books" when I moved to Ottawa in 1985. Back then, they had three times the floor space for the store itself and a spiral staircase to the basement for staff to bring stock up to the shelves. As bookstore chains went, they were as high-end as Ottawa got.

Having been swallowed up into the Chapters-Indigo maw, and with a Chapters "box" on the other side of Confederation Square from the Sparks Street Mall, however, that may have been the end of it for this long-serving storefront.

Toronto Broadcast Centre on a Saturday II

Toronto Broadcast Centre on a Saturday II
Originally uploaded by dwight_ew

This was back in August of 2009. I was in Toronto to play tourist without any cares for any convention of any sort. Just wanted to see some sights and do some shopping for the heck of it.

So I dropped in on the CBC Toronto Broadcast Centre as part of the self-guided tour.

I got lucky. Everyone but the camera crew and the souvenir shop was gone for the moment.