Boathouses on the Inner Harbour

When modelling the Inner Harbour served by the Hanley Spur, here's an interesting scene I'll include. It was highlighted by a March, 2015 Kingston Whig-Standard article on the closing of Canada Dredge & Dock by Shirley Gibson-Langille, with memories of outings in the Inner Harbour by Terry Cloutier. Some excerpts of Terry's memories:

"The area was populated by derelicts and winos back in the early 1960's. It was Kingston's inner Harbour, adjacent to the factory known as the Woolen Mill. The shoreline was rife with boathouses and dotted with fishermen who could be seen preying on unsuspecting catfish. Different personalities, the derelicts and the fishermen, but the two co-existed quite amicably. 

Many of the boathouses were put to use, but there were always vacant ones and these were inhabited by [various names]. A refuge to stay out of sight as they guzzled their cheap wine. Out of the wind, out of sight and out of mind as they drank themselves silly, harming nobody but themselves. A safe haven to sleep it off when the bottles were empty, invisible and ignored by the outside population. 

Outside of these boathouses were railroad tracks, and these were employed on a regular basis. Freight trains travelled the rails on a daily schedule. This was the area now known as Douglas Fluhrer Park. An area and era when youngsters could roam freely and [various] experiences that life had to offer. 

Not once do I regret my childhood on the Inner Harbour. It was called the poor side of town, but my memories are nothing but rich when recalling my time cavorting in Kingston's Inner Harbour."

A 1924 aerial photo (top) shows the circled boathouses that Terry mentions. Kingstonians enjoy their water access even today, so it's no wonder that residents employed covered storage for their watercraft. I'm using calendar photos to portray the verdure of the harbour, and though the oil tanks in this photo near the Woolen Mill are being re-purposed, the backdrop will continue to evolve. Boathouses and a couple of 'winos'? No problem!

If there's one thing I like to pick it up, it's 50-cent shacks. (Hey, would you take a dollar for three of them?) I lined some up and applied some weathering. These will make dandy boathouses for the backdrop on the Great Cataraqui River. The bottle of 'bingo' is already being imbibed: