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Sarnia, Above it All

Aviation was in its infancy when Sarnia became a city in 1914. Few of the 11,000 residents had seen what things looked like from an open biplane, and no one had yet taken a camera aloft to record the scene for posterity.
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Sarnia’s downtown skyline has changed dramatically over the past 100 years and is continuing to evolve. The city is rare among Great Lakes communities for having designed public access and greenspace into virtually all of its urban waterfront. Glenn Ogilvie

 Aviation was in its infancy when Sarnia became a city in 1914.

Few of the 11,000 residents had seen what things looked like from an open biplane, and no one had yet taken a camera aloft to record the scene for posterity.

In this issue, The Journal presents ‘Sarnia, Above it All,’ a 16-page pullout section devoted entirely to aerial photos of Sarnia, Point Edward and Corunna.

The images were shot by award-winning photojournalist Glenn Ogilvie, who worked closely with pilot Jason Brent of Huron Flight Centre to create a unique photo album of our community.

The Journal began ‘Sarnia, Above it All’ as a Centennial project, and it’s being released today on the six-month anniversary of our own launch as this community’s local independent newspaper.

We hope you enjoy it, and have fun picking out various landmarks that look so different from above.

We also hope it becomes an artifact itself one day, giving future Sarnians a snapshot of what their community looked like way back in the year 2014.

 - George Mathewson

Sarnia Bay has also been transformed over the past 100 years and bears little resemblence today to the shoreline recorded on early maps. Once a marsh, then an industrial site, today the bay is a recreational playground. Captured here are Sarnia Bay Marina, the Point Lands and, to the left, portions of Sarnia Harbour, of which the city assumed ownership from the federal government this year. Glenn Ogilvie
Sarnia Bay has also been transformed over the past 100 years and bears little resemblence today to the shoreline recorded on early maps. Once a marsh, then an industrial site, today the bay is a recreational playground. Captured here are Sarnia Bay Marina, the Point Lands and, to the left, portions of Sarnia Harbour, of which the city assumed ownership from the federal government this year.Glenn Ogilvie

Norm Perry Park is the fabled home of the Sarnia Imperials and its two Grey Cup-winning teams. Resurfaced in 2013 with durable artificial turf, the field is shared today with the Sarnia Football Club, Sarnia Saints rugby and numerous minor sports teams. Glenn Ogilvie
Norm Perry Park is the fabled home of the Sarnia Imperials and its two Grey Cup-winning teams. Resurfaced in 2013 with durable artificial turf, the field is shared today with the Sarnia Football Club, Sarnia Saints rugby and numerous minor sports teams.Glenn Ogilvie

SEE THE FULL 16-PAGE SECTION IN OUR 'VIRTUAL PAPER' AT WWW.THESARNIAJOURNAL.CA

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