Neighbour Day

Neighbourhood Walking Tour App

Does the Tourism Thunder Bay have the perfect Neighbour Day activity for you! Their brand new Tour App has a number of neighbourhood walking tours! Download and discover the most incredible things to see and experience in Thunder Bay through detailed tours with turn-by-turn directions, local attractions, and event information all from your hand held device.

The Thunder Bay Tour app is available in the Apple iTunes App Store and Google Play Store: Thunder Bay Tours

 Neighbour Day Ideas 

• Neighbourhood Clean Ups
• Neighbourhood BBQs or picnics
• Neighbourhood Window Walks - Be creative and brightly dress up your windows for a neighbourhood walking tour. 
• Light up your neighbourhood - Bring out your lights and let your block shine brightly.
• Show random acts of neighbouring. Celebrate your neighbours or do something kind to show you care. Share your ideas using #thanksneighbour.
• Neighbourhood Art Gallery - Families can use their imaginations to create their own works of art, chalk drawings or yard sculptures in their yards, sidewalks and driveways for the neighbourhood to enjoy.
• Driveway Concerts
• Neighbourhood Yard Sale
• Neighbourhood Gardens and beautification projects
• Plan a night out and explore the downtown core

 New City, New Streets

After amalgamation in 1970, the newly formed City of Thunder Bay found themselves with a problem other amalgamated municipalities have faced: multiple streets with the same or similar name.  

One street name in particular that held great prominence in both Fort William and Port Arthur was Arthur Street.

As with many street names in Fort William, Arthur Street was associated with the Vickers family, named after son Arthur Algoma Vickers. Residents of Toronto, John Joseph (J. J.) Vickers, and his wife Catherine, were frequent visitors to Fort William and held close friendships with prominent Fort William families. Recognizing the region’s great opportunity after his first visit in 1859, Vickers began investing locally both in mining and real estate. The Vickers Park property, bordered by Arthur Street to the north, was gifted to the Town of Fort William in 1902 by Catherine Vickers in memory of her husband. Arthur Vickers himself did become a resident of Fort William, arriving in 1903, he handled the sales of family lands.

In contrast, Arthur Street in Port Arthur was named in 1871 when the community was first surveyed as Prince Arthur’s Landing. Both the community and the street were named in honour of H.R.H. Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught. In 1977 the street was re-named Red River Road, commemorating the route to the Red River Settlement.

Another set of streets sharing the same name was McIntyre Street. The Port Arthur street, named after railway executive Duncan McIntyre, retained its name after amalgamation.  

The Fort William streets’ namesake was John McIntyre, Clerk in Charge, and later Factor, of Hudson Bay Company’s Fort William Fur Trade Post.  Upon his retirement in 1877, McIntyre remained a prominent member of the growing community along the Kaministiquia River.

In 1971, McIntyre Street in Fort William’s East End, was renamed McNaughton Street after long-time city clerk Alexander McNaughton.  McNaughton began his role in 1900 prior to Fort William’s incorporation as a city.  He remained city clerk until 1945.

Certain duplicated street names had straightforward solutions. John Street in Fort William, named after Fort William’s first Mayor, John McKellar, was simply renamed McKellar Street.

These are just a few examples of Thunder Bay street name changes post-amalgamation, there are certainly many others! If you would like to learn more, contact the City of Thunder Bay Archives, archives@thunderbay.ca.

Source: The Street Names of Thunder Bay by Diane Grant

 Neighbour Day 2023

Neighbour Day Scavenger Hunt
September 18th - September 23rd
Download the Neighbour Day scavenger hunt here or grab a copy at any Thunder Bay Public Library.
Complete your hunt by September 29th for a chance to win $100 in BIA Bucks!

Gallery Neighbour Day (Thunder Bay Art Gallery)
September, 23rd 12:00pm-5:00pm