Dear Landlord film, 1970

Through the wonders of Facebook and the efforts of the Swamp Ward and Inner Harbour History Project(SWIHHP) and others, here are a few captures from a 1970 film entitled Dear Landlord. For the full back-story on the film, keep scrolling. The views were interspersed with neighbourhood footage and first-person interviews. Leading off with my personal favourite, a view towards downtown from the River Street bridge. Note the (CN?) boxcar at the National Grocers building (top) or perhaps delivering newsprint for the Whig-Standard. The same year this publicity photo of a local band was taken.  Our still-recognizable Bajus Brewery building:

Bikers in Kingston? Yessir! They even tagged the Montreal Street underpass bridge. Note the embankment of the CN Hanley Spur in the background, under the bridge:

Looking up Princess Street: 

Looking along King Street through Portsmouth Village:

The back-story: Dennis Crossfield and others made an amazing film in 1970 about Kingston's housing crisis and how to organize tenants, titled Dear Landlord. SWIHHP was honoured to help Dennis locate the film, and we had a sold-out showing of it at the Screening Room a few months ago. Now Clarke Mackey has done some audio cleanup and it is online for all to see. It shows neighbourhoods you will know, but from a completely different moment and perspective. It also shows, beautifully, Kingston's history of radical organizing, a history not very often known or celebrated. Thanks to all those involved in making the film -- there are some supremely articulate people in it -- and to Neil Roy who notified me it was online.