An imaginative prelimanary sketch from 1965 of what Downtown Kitchener could look like. King Street would then become the centre pedestrian walkway with little or no vehicle traffic on adjacent streets. Digitally enhanced image King Street in downtown Kitchener on a March day in 1958, looking east from the Mayfair Hotel at Young Street.
Parallel parking is permitted everywhere and store signs hang out over the sidewalks.
Just beyond the Capitol theatre sign is the intersection of King and Ontario streets. Market Square today, on the corner of Frederick and King streets. Downtown Kitchener was still a force to be reckoned with in 1962, a powerhouse commercial centre with half the region's retail sales, plus industry and offices. But it was also a mess. Stores were losing sales to new suburban plazas.