By the beginning of World War I, the character of the two cities at the head of the Great Lakes had been shaped by two main factors besides geography: their role as rival ports and railway terminals and the electric street railway which linked the industrial areas along the waterfront from Current River at the north end of Port Arthur to Westfort at the far end of Fort William. The Canadian Pacific Railway's operations are located near the mouth of the Kaministikwia, while south of the river delta are the terminal facilities of the Grand Trunk Pacific. At the foot of Arthur Street, the former Dawson or Red River Road, are the Canadian Northern sheds, while their elevators and coal docks are located along the lake to the south. In the upper left corner is Westfort, site of the C.P.R.'s original terminus and such industries as the Canadian Car and Foundry Company. In the lower right corner is Current River, source of electric power and site of the Pigeon River Lumber and the Port Arthur Shipbuilding Companies. The map shows the two distinctive communities each with its own business centre, separated from one another by a low, swampy area known as "intercity", one of Port Arthur's immigrant districts. In each city, commerce and industry forced residential development back from the waterfront, with working-class and immigrant housing closest to the harbour and the street railway, and the more expensive housing further back still. In Port Arthur the preferred area was the hill overlooking Thunder Bay, while in Fort William it was back from the C.P.R. station.
