Bird's Eye: What the Birds See

"Bird's Eye Views" of Ontario towns were quite popular in the 1800s before photographers soared aloft in airplanes. This view of Belleville was published in 1874. The accuracy and detail of the drawings is impressive and of great assistance in historical research.

Before the invention of airplanes - but after the ascension of hot air balloons - artists imagined what they would see if they could be suspended above a town or city. From their imaginations came "bird's eye views" which were very popular. This particular one of Belleville was created and published in 1874.

Neither photo nor map, in some ways the bird's eyes are better than both. The artist provided perspective by showing the town at an angle, but eliminated trees and took other liberties so that buildings could be clearly shown. This is not possible in a photograph. Maps do not provide the perspective available in a bird's eye.

Artists began by sketching from ground level all the buildings on every street. Each feature of the surrounding community, such as wharves, railway lines, factories, stores, hills, open areas and fields, was included. So detailed is the work that more than 130 years later many older buildings, including houses, are easily identifiable. These panoramas serve as extremely important guides for historians and researchers.

Prominent buildings noted on this map are the city hall and market, four churches on Church Street, the old court house and jail on the location of the current Hastings County administration building, the grammar and high school on the site of the former Belleville Collegiate Institute and the Grand Trunk Railway station on the edge of town. The map also identifies 11 denominational schools and a number of hotels and "manufactories". Some street names have changed: Victoria Street was then known as Hotel Street. Copies of this map are available from the Hastings County Historical Society.