On my other website – 365 things to do in Kitchener Waterloo, I was posting about some upcoming outdoor movie events and I started to wonder if the Mustang Drive-In was still open in Guelph. It is.

As a teenager, growing up in the 70’s, the local drive-in theatre was a summer time all night extravaganza of marginal and mediocre movies. I remember seeing such classics as “Dawn of the Dead” where zombies took over the earth, and “The Song Remains the Same”, a Led Zeppelin movie and “Dead Men don’t Wear Plaid”.

I did some research about drive-in theatres and found that the original idea of the “drive-in” was to appeal to the non-movie going public. They were targeting folks who perhaps disliked dressing up — “Leave Your Girdle at Home” was one ad slogan — or had physical problems, or didn’t want to leave the kids with baby-sitters or were smokers or drinkers or had “a fear of contagious diseases picked up in any sort of enclosed buildings.”

The first outdoor movie theatre was in Camden, N.J.

The second was in what is now Rancho Park, an area in Los Angeles California.

The early drive-in theatres had “sole audio systems” which consisted of “a large speaker on top of the screen”.

Noise complaints ensued.

The problem was solved by spreading out the sound via 460 smaller outdoor speakers, each arranged so “that the sound enters a car via the radiator.

It wasn’t until the 1940s that RCA invented in-car systems.

The outdoor theaters reached the zenith of their popularity during the suburban boom of the 1950s. Piling the kids in the car made for a cheap family night out, and drive-ins were a favorite hangout for teens who’d recently gotten driver’s licenses.

The activities of the teenagers prompted another nickname for the theaters — “passion pits.”

Filed under: Around Kitchener Waterloo, editorial by Keith Marshall
Write the first comment! »

A construction principle involving the dispersal of rain relating to brick veneer wall. Since approximately 1970, brick veneer walls provide a rain screen for the dispersing of rain through airs pace and weep holes.

The underlying principle acknowledges that a wind driven rain will pass through the brick wall. A one-inch air spaces left behind the brick, between the interface of the brick and the sheathing on the wood studs. Water is allowed to pass through the wall and run down the inner face of the brick, or the outer surface of the sheathing paper, and through the weep holes.

Past vocabulary words:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q

Keith Marshall is a real estate agent with Prudential Grand Valley Realty, serving Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge. If you’re thinking of buying or selling your home, please give me a call. I aim to take the stress and mystery out of the home buying and selling process. If you have real estate questions, you can chat with me live on my homepage or contact me by phone or email. Sign up for my newsletter.

Filed under: real estate vocabualry by Keith Marshall
3 Comments »

Convenient to upcoming LRT at Fairview Park Mall. Multi-level townhouse with heaps of living space, located in quiet complex.

Vaulted ceiling in living room and open staircase are only two of the features that give this home a modern condo feel. Priced to move.

Where:  131 Traynor Ave, Kitchener

Price: $189,900

MLS# 1131158

Keith Marshall is a real estate agent with Prudential Grand Valley Realty.

Withdrawn 

For other listing like this please visit our latest listings

Filed under: Uncategorized by Keith Marshall
Write the first comment! »

According to calculations by the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario, tenants can expect a 3.1% hike in their rent next year.

The increase, coming after a 0.7% increase this year, won’t be enough to help landlords struggling with the impact of the Harmonized Sales Tax, which added about 5% to their costs. With inflation, landlords are experiencing cost increases of about 7% not enough to allow them to look after their buildings properly.

Because it does not qualify for the same input tax credits that most businesses enjoy under the reformed tax regime, the HST hit the rental industry particularly hard.

Some landlords may feel pressured to defer maintenance rather than go through a process that they find needlessly confrontational with their tenants. Ontario’s rental housing stock is an average of 40 years old.

Filed under: Around Kitchener Waterloo, editorial, general news, real estate trends by Keith Marshall
Write the first comment! »

According to a poll by the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) released last month, the dream of home ownership is alive and well among Ontario renters. 70% reported that they would like to buy a home at some point in the future.

However, the poll also revealed that 81% of Ontarians believe it is more difficult to own a home now than it was for their parents. Furthermore, 89% of Ontarians are concerned that home ownership will become even more difficult in the future.

Over half (54%) of renters cited affordability as a key reason for not owning a home. 70% surveyed indicated they would be more willing to consider owning if the government offered more tax breaks and incentives to offset costs for first time home buyers.

With that in mind, OREA is proposing three policy initiatives to strengthen home ownership in Ontario:

An improved Land Transfer Tax (LTT) Rebate for first-time home buyers. OREA estimates that an improved LTT rebate would save a first-time buyer of an average resale home almost $1,500.

A permanent Ontario Home Renovation Tax Rebate. A renovation tax rebate would create jobs and curb the growth of the underground economy.

Reintroduce the Ontario Home Energy Efficiency Retrofit Rebate program. Investments in home energy efficiency will help home owners cope with rising energy costs and curb greenhouse gas emissions.

Home ownership is good for our society and our communities. Home owners report higher levels of civic engagement. The overwhelming majority (82%) of Ontario home owners have donated to charity in the last two years; home owners are much more likely to say they voted in the last municipal election than renters; and 35%of owners say they have volunteered in their community.

Support for home ownership means support for strong communities and a better Ontario.

Other survey highlights included:

94% of Ontarians think that owning a home provides a healthy and stable environment for raising a family.

93% of home owners want taxes on buying a home lowered.

95% of home owners think that the government should provide incentives to reduce their energy costs.

94% of homeowners believe that the government should encourage home-renovation through tax credits.

48% of Ontario homeowners believe that home repairs/maintenance are the hardest parts of home ownership.

The survey was conducted by Ipsos Reid for OREA’s Home Ownership Matters campaign. For more information visit www.homeownershipmatters.ca.

OREA represents 50,000 brokers and salespeople who are members of the 42 real estate boards throughout the province. Members of the association may use the “REALTOR®” trademark, which identifies them as real estate professionals who subscribe to a high standard of ethics and service.

Filed under: Buying Real Estate, editorial, home owners by Keith Marshall
Write the first comment! »