St. Thomas Through The Local Lens

Take a look at the Railway City through the lens of these local advocates.

St. Thomas pride is everywhere.

You can feel it in the air at community events, see it on display as you drive through the city, and even explore its presence on social media! 

​In fact, Instagram is currently home to over 9,000 posts marked with the #stthomasproud hashtag, and another 800 posts with the #explorerailwaycity hashtag.

As locals and visitors pay homage to all our city has to offer, these numbers continue rise. Through these searchable hashtags you can find pictures highlighting everything from St. Thomas’ beautiful landscapes and heritage buildings to tasty local treats and adventures.

 These posts and the people behind them truly embody what it means be #stthomasproud.

What makes you St. Thomas proud?
​Being welcomed into the community when I moved here in 2015.
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What’s your favourite place to photograph in St. Thomas? 
​Probably the CASO building because it’s such a gorgeous piece of architecture.

Do you have a favourite annual event? 
I love the Canada Day celebrations, and the farmers market. I love the gathering of people hanging out in good weather, just enjoying life and what local businesses have to offer. Oh that reminds me … RIBFEST.

This is one of my favourites because of the #stthomasproud banner in the background & the gorgeous post-sunset sky.

This is one of my favourites because St. Thomas is railway capital of Canada after all!

I shot this at Optimist park. Amazed that I could capture such a sky in the middle of the city.

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What makes you St. Thomas proud?
The first thing I noticed after moving from a large city to St. Thomas and what continues to make me proud of where we chose to live are the friendly people you encounter on a daily basis. Since it’s a smaller city, a sense of community is exhibited and definitely felt.

What’s your favourite place to photograph in St. Thomas? 
I have a few favourites! Those being the immaculate green space St. Thomas has to offer at Pinafore Park and Waterworks Park, along with the numerous trails one could enjoy - Lake Margaret Trail and Elgin Trails. I also enjoy taking pictures of local events as well to show the hustle and bustle and the fun we all have together! I love water too, so I enjoy taking pics of Lake Margaret and Lake Erie close by.

I absolutely love Mexican food and Bella Jack's offers real authentic Mexican food that you can pass up.

Fire Muster

I love the ability to walk out my back door and have the Elgin trails accessible to me in 2 minutes!

With its immaculate green space, Pinafore Park is one of Krista's favourite places to photograph.

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Optimist Park

What makes you St. Thomas proud?
I'm passionate about the potential of this city. I have much admiration for the people who make the most of their life here, who express their art or open businesses, those who want to preserve the history in this town and those who have vision to make the city better. I love that there are people who give back to the community in numerous ways.

Tell us about one of your favourite pictures!
The Optimist Park fitness trail is amazing. Once it was put in, with the paved trail going around the perimeter of the park with all year round outdoor exercise equipment stations along ​the way, I think it transformed the park into a real gem. There is still plenty of grass area and the hill has been extended, the lone standing tree near the centre is stunning year round and it's a fantastic park to watch the sun go down or look up at the ​stars.
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What do you find personally unique about St. Thomas? 
I can revisit places and connect early memories to them - places and streets, bits of nostalgia. When I've gone for bike rides, I'll find myself back in old neighbourhoods, as though drawn to them.

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I love seeing art in our city, in various forms, and it's even better when one doesn't expect it.

The St. Thomas Public Library holds a special place in my heart because of my love for reading, for books and for public access to knowledge.

The row of trees on the grounds of what is now the Balaclava Street Adult Learning Centre is one of my favourite pictures. St. Thomas is especially beautiful in Autumn when the trees burst in vibrant colours everywhere.

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What makes you St. Thomas proud?
I've only been a resident here for one year but there is something about the community that is warm and inviting. It feels like home.
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What’s your favourite place to photograph in St. Thomas?
I like capturing the storefronts downtown along Talbot. There’s something about the colours and history that draws me to try and capture something of the story that is found there. Waterworks park is another favourite place. So much to see there. Birds, flowers, the ponds and the creatures in the ponds make for some interesting shots.

Is there anything you’re looking forward to in St. Thomas?
​The elevated park sounds interesting. I'm not a lover of heights so I'm not sure how I'll take to it but it sounds like a place for some great pictures. I might just have to brave it out.

There was a mural outside the Lotus Thai restaurant I saw and I love how that looks.

This is a picture I took of the waterfalls at Waterworks park.

I took this at one of the ponds in Waterworks park. It captures the spot quite nicely.

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What makes you St. Thomas proud?
Our people, the businesses that are uniquely our own and our community.

What’s your favourite place to photograph in St. Thomas?
Lake Margaret. It’s a hidden treasure!

Do you have a hometown hero?
​Joe Thornton has made this city proud. He shows us all that small town living doesn't mean BIG dreams can't come true.

Streamliners has the best lattes around.

I’m a foodie. I enjoy a good dinner photo, ha!

Our favourite hometown team is the St. Thomas Stars. We LOVE attending games and cheering them on.

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​Our featured Instagrammers shared some of their favourite places in St. Thomas. Check out this interactive map to find out where these spots are and what makes them so special.
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How to navigate the map:
1. Click through the legend on the top left.
2. Click the boxes and a list of destinations will appear under each of the headings.
3. Click the destination and the information will expand! You’ll be able to see a picture accompanied by a description given by the featured Instagrammer.