Showing posts with label St. Catharines Then and Now. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St. Catharines Then and Now. Show all posts
Friday, March 25, 2011
Airforce buzzes St.Catharines
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
F.C. Burroughes Furniture
above: the F.C. Burroughes Furniture store on Queen St., Niagara Falls Ont., Oct.4, 1964.
above: same view, Mar.30, 2010, the same building with Burroughes now long gone; new sewers are being installed out front along Queen St.
above: Burroughes Furniture Niagara Ltd. had an outlet at 45 James St. in St.Catharines, as seen in this 1963 invoice for a Kroehler sofa, made in Stratford, Ont.
Mr. F.C. Burroughes, photo at left, arrived in Canada from England with his parents as a young boy. He apprenticed in the woodworking shops of fine furniture maker Jacques and Hay.
F.C.opened his first shop in 1887 on Queen St. W. in Toronto, a block from Queen and Bathurst St. (Photo of shop is seen below, though I'm not sure of its exact address on Queen. It looks to have been a corner location)
In 1907 Mr. F.C. Burroughes incorporated his firm into the 'F.C. Burroughes Furniture Co. Ltd.', and then built his new 7-floor showroom and head-office at 641 Queen St. W. (the building is still there, now renovated, and now the address is 639 Queen St. W.; from 1949 to about 2002 this was the King Sol army surplus place, I remember that store well, having been in it many times - it was huge inside, many floors were vacant, and not very well maintained.)
As F.C. Burroughes' business grew, they soon built a large warehouse behind the Queen St. store, connected with a bridge over the laneway, and in 1910 added an addition to the 'new' store at its east side, along Queen St. (photo above shows the original showroom building at the far right, with the newer addition, seen in the center of photo).
Eventually the firm covered the area from Queen to Richmond St., and also had a large frontage facing onto Bathurst St. as well! (This all must have grown to the south of the hotel which now stands directly on the s-e corner of Queen and Bathurst [the former Big Bop, former Holiday Tavern]; when this building was built, I'm not sure, but the Potter and Co. building on that corner must have been torn down earlier at some point.)
Eventually the firm covered the area from Queen to Richmond St., and also had a large frontage facing onto Bathurst St. as well! (This all must have grown to the south of the hotel which now stands directly on the s-e corner of Queen and Bathurst [the former Big Bop, former Holiday Tavern]; when this building was built, I'm not sure, but the Potter and Co. building on that corner must have been torn down earlier at some point.)
Mr. F.C. Burroughes died in 1917, leaving his sons to run the business: the eldest, B.C. Burroughes, became president of the firm; while C.R. Burroughes became VP.
above: B.C. Burroughes
below: C.R. Burroughes
The F.C. Burroughes' company presence in Niagara Falls began when they bought the stock of the T.Badger company in 1927, in a 7,350 square-foot building on Queen St.
In 1933 they purchased another building at 554 Queen St. (former location of Northcott's) and re-modeled it into a 15,000 sq. ft. showroom. (see here; here for more photos)
(In 1932, the Kotex Co. was located at 554 Queen St. It is not clear whether Kotex and Northcott's had, at some previous point, both shared the same building at 554 at the same time, perhaps on different floors (?). In 1932, Burroughes was listed as being at 400 Queen St.)
(In 1932, the Kotex Co. was located at 554 Queen St. It is not clear whether Kotex and Northcott's had, at some previous point, both shared the same building at 554 at the same time, perhaps on different floors (?). In 1932, Burroughes was listed as being at 400 Queen St.)
In 1937, Mr. M. McBride was Burroughes' Niagara Falls store manager.
*
Thursday, January 14, 2010
House demolished on Queenston St.
below: Jan.6, 2010 - looking along the south side of Queenston Rd., just west of Spring St., as an old house awaits demolition. To the left of this house is seen a corner of Kirkpatrick and O'Brine Monuments; further east, out of frame, is the Victoria Lawn cemetery.
above: same view, Jan.14, 2010 - the last part of the stone-rubble basement is being demolished.
*
above: same view, Jan.14, 2010 - the last part of the stone-rubble basement is being demolished.*
below: Jan. 13, 2010, looking at the house from the north-west
above: Jan.14, 2010 - same view, the next day; the building's demise leaves a prominent gap in the familiar streetscape.
above: Jan.14, 2010 - same view, the next day; the building's demise leaves a prominent gap in the familiar streetscape. below: Jan.6, 2010, looking at the building from the north-east.
above: Jan.14, 2010 - same view, the building is gone.
above: Jan.14, 2010 - same view, the building is gone.*
below: Jan.14, 2010 - massive hand-hewn timber beams were removed from the old house, some with traces of bark on them
above: closer view of the original old beams, showing the pegged mortise and tenon joinery.
above: Jan.14, 2010, looking from the west into the basement under demolition.
above: Jan.14, 2010 - looking in a north-easterly direction; across the street is the building in which the venerable Albert's coffee shop once stood, with its Coke sign overhanging the sidewalk. I remember the place well, with its curved sit down counter and quilted steel backbar behind the griddle. On such a freezing cold day as today, it would have been nice to stop in to Albert's for a soup and coffee.
above: closer view of the original old beams, showing the pegged mortise and tenon joinery.
above: Jan.14, 2010, looking from the west into the basement under demolition.
above: Jan.14, 2010 - looking in a north-easterly direction; across the street is the building in which the venerable Albert's coffee shop once stood, with its Coke sign overhanging the sidewalk. I remember the place well, with its curved sit down counter and quilted steel backbar behind the griddle. On such a freezing cold day as today, it would have been nice to stop in to Albert's for a soup and coffee.Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Queen Mary school demolished
Below: a series of photos of Queen Mary School in St.Catharines, Ont. as it was being demolished, taken by R. Bobak on Dec.6, 2009.
above: the gym was the building at the right. This view looks from the north.
above: the gym, looking from the south
above: the west corner of the gym; the rear of the Q-Way Motel (also to be demolished soon) is seen in the left distance.
above: The crowned "Queen Mary Royals" logo sits forlornly on the north wall of the half-demolished gym.
above: closer view of the Royals logo amidst the debris.
above: a lion once roared on the southern side of the Queen Mary School's gym
above: the gym was the building at the right. This view looks from the north.
above: the gym, looking from the south
above: the west corner of the gym; the rear of the Q-Way Motel (also to be demolished soon) is seen in the left distance.
above: The crowned "Queen Mary Royals" logo sits forlornly on the north wall of the half-demolished gym.
above: closer view of the Royals logo amidst the debris.
above: a lion once roared on the southern side of the Queen Mary School's gym
above: looking north at the Queen Mary site from the school's main drive. The gym is at the left of the photo; the school's collection of buildings had stretched all the way to the right. Photos above taken Dec.6, 2009 by R. Bobak
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Below: last video on a rainy Dec.9, 2009, as the demolition of Queen Mary School in St.Catharines, Ont., reached the last remaining wall, which had been the west wall of the gymnasium building.
above video: Queen Mary demolition as seen Dec.6, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Welland Ave. reverts back to two-car lanes
Welland Ave., east of Grantham Ave. (which had a single-car-lane plus a bike-lane traffic design unveiled in the summer of 2009) was reverted back to a two-vehicle-lane design on Nov.17, 2009. The traffic created by the single-lane design caused constant backups along Welland Ave., below is a typical view of the traffic line up, as seen Nov.16, 2009, with the centre-turn lane unused.
above: Nov.17, 2009: looking at the same stretch of Welland Ave. - the road is now back to two lanes each way; the old markings from yesterday are seen painted out on the road.Friday, October 23, 2009
QEW girders shifted on Welland Ave. overpass
above: Oct.2, 2009 - heading east down Welland Ave. approaching the QEW overpass, in St. Catharines, Ont. Here can be seen that the part of the bridge closest to the camera has not yet received its precast concrete girders, which would support the lanes of the Niagara-bound QEW. Two cranes can be seen set up in preparation to raise the girders in place. Further back can be seen the Toronto-bound lanes of the new bridge, which were completed earlier; that side of the new QEW bridge is temporarily carrying both Toronto and Niagara bound traffic.
above: Oct.2, 2009 - looking at the QEW-Welland Ave. overpass; at the left can be seen that the Niagara-bound girders have not yet been placed. One of the cranes is seen above.
above: Oct.5, 2009 - same view, the girders for the Niagara-bound lanes have been placed over the weekend. The cranes are gone.
above: Oct. 13, 2009 - same view; note in above two photos that all the girders under the bridge are in place, there are no gaps.
above: Oct.23, 09, heading west along Welland Ave. approaching the QEW overpass, there are now cranes seen again above the bridge, on the Niagara-bound side; and there is a new ribbon of light underneath, in the centre of the bridge.
above: Oct.23, 09; a concrete girder in the middle of the QEW bridge has been removed for some reason; workers examine the area. In this view, the Niagara-bound bridge portion under construction is to the right of the missing girder; the currently-in-use QEW lanes are to the left.
above: Oct.23, 09 - the now-missing girder was the twelfth one in, counting from the right. The Niagara-bound lanes now under construction are in the above foreground; the portion of the bridge now-in-use, which temporarily carries both the Toronto and Niagara bound QEW lanes, is to the left of the gap.
above: Oct.23, 09, same view, later the same day; a concrete girder was placed back in the twelfth spot from the right (marked where the red arrow is); not sure whether this was the original girder which was put back; or if it was a new replacement. Why did this procedure take place? Also, now there is another, thinner gap (visible on the left side of the ninth girder from the right) which wasn't there earlier, compared to the above photos.
Friday, August 7, 2009
The Hunt farmhouse demolished in St. Catharines
Grant LaFleche wrote in "Demolition will be bittersweet", (St. Catharines Standard, May 26, 2009):
"When the wrecking ball makes its first pass through the old red-brick farmhouse, Margaret Pulford won't be anywhere nearby.
She has made her peace with the fact that the home of five generations of her family will soon be reduced to rubble. And she couldn't be happier that it is making way for a new St. Catharines hospital.
But that doesn't mean Pulford will be able to watch the death of her family home next month.
"It's the memories. The memories of your home. Those are always special," Pulford said, standing outside the farmhouse near the intersection of Fourth Avenue and First Street. "I won't be able to watch that. I just couldn't."
Sometime between June 2 and June 29, the house, which dates back to the late 19th century, will be torn down as part of the site preparation for the new hospital.
Once it and the nearby barn have been removed, construction crews will begin the four-year process of building the 970,000-square-foot, 375-bed acute-care hospital, which is expected to open in early 2013.
The house was the heartbeat of a 45-acre farm - first a dairy farm and then a vineyard run by the Blundell family, including Pulford's mother.
The two-storey building was subdivided into two homes, one where Pulford's grandfather lived and the other where Margaret Pulford and her husband, Ross, stayed.
They lived there for 38 years and raised their two children, Pulford said.
"About 15 years ago I pulled the grapes out," Ross Pulford said.
"The price of them was going down and down and the cost of keeping them was constantly rising."
Although the couple lived in the house, it was actually owned by Margaret Pulford, her two brothers and sister and their parents, Dr. Douglas Earl Hunt and Jean Hunt.
When the family was approached to sell the house in 2003 to make way for a hospital, Pulford said the decision turned out to be easier than expected.
"My parents, and especially my father, were absolutely thrilled that a hospital was going to be built here," Pulford said.
"They were even going to make a special parking space for my father, who was still practising medicine up till about two months before he died three years ago."
Even though the family agreed to sell, it was difficult to grasp the idea that the house would eventually be knocked down.
Fortunately for Pulford and her husband, it has taken years for the new hospital to reach the point where construction could begin.
"We were constantly being told we were going to have to move out," Ross Pulford said. "We had something like seven going-away parties. Our friends started to laugh because every Christmas we would say this was going to the last one in the house. And they would say, 'Oh we've heard that one before.'
"It took a long time, but it was good for us because it allowed us to get our heads around it."
Eventually, the hospital project moved forward and last month it was official -- construction would soon begin and the house would come down.
The Pulfords have since moved into a new home and visiting "the farm," as they call it, is an event tinged with a little melancholy.
"It's amazing how much it is already started to fall apart with nobody living here," Pulford said. "The barns look ready to fall down."
While the home will be destroyed, its history will be preserved, said Lisa Morley, the communications co-ordinator for the new hospital project.
"We're not sure yet exactly what will be preserved, but certainly some of the brick and the beams," she said.
The materials will be incorporated into the hospital building. There will also be a display in the hospital featuring some of the more historically interesting artifacts from the house, she said. "
*
R. Bobak wrote in "NHS should find a way to save the old farmhouse", (St. Catharines Standard, May 30, 2009):
"Re: "Demolition will be bittersweet", May 26, 2009
It's regrettable that the Niagara Health System can't be bothered to find a creative way to preserve the Hunt farmhouse and incorporate it into its hospital site plan.
What, is it in the way of a couple of parking spots?
Saving some old bricks and beams is not the same as saving the structure. The farmhouse is an authentic link to Niagara's agricultural past; it provides historical context as the surrounding farmland is redeveloped.
Is this not heritage worthy of preservation?"
*
below: The Hunt farm property (centre-left) was located on the west side of First St. Louth, between the CN railroad tracks and Fourth Ave. The farmhouse stood facing First St. Louth, opposite the T-intersection with Burbank Dr. (see red arrows in centre) [click on any photo to enlarge!]
below: closer view of the Hunt farm, two barns, and long shed
above: same aerial view, with site completed and in service. The farmhouse footprint was smaller than the width of the new entrance road. It could have easily been restored and remained at the corner of the parking lot, repurposed for some other viable use - office space, meeting rooms, café, etc.
below: Jun.2, 2009 - Looking at the front of the Hunt farmhouse, from the south-east.
below: Jun.2, 2009 - same view of the house, from a little further back, showing its close proximity to the road in front, First St. Louth.
above: same view, Aug.7, 2009. The solid brick house has been demolished by the NHS government health agency. Obviously, the heritage of this Niagara home wasn't worth preserving. What a shame. No cucumber trees here for local Liberal MPP Jim Bulldozer Bradley to 'save'.
above: same view, Sept.28, 2009 - red truck parked where the house once stood. Thankfully, a new parking lot now occupies the 'massive' (!) footprint which had once been taken up by the farm house. Obviously, the old house was just in the way - of several parking spots - can't have that!! As can be seen, there was enough room there that the farmhouse could have easily remained to serve a new purpose.
*
below: Jun.2, 2009, looking at the Hunt farmhouse from across the street. (Burbank Dr. is at the far lower right). If the opportunity had been approached creatively, this heritage house, with its small footprint, and with such close proximity to the street, certainly could have been restored and maintained as a functional outbuilding on the new hospital site. No one bothered to raise a concern for saving the structure; the "green" proud mayor of St. Catharines, Brian McMullan, said nothing.
above: same view, Aug.7, 2009. The site where the Hunt home sat has been levelled, along with the mature trees that surrounded it. Note the two chestnut trees, which stood near the street, right in front of the Hunt house, now appear severely damaged.
*
below: Jun.2, 2009, closer view from the corner of Burbank Dr. and First St. Louth
above: same view, Aug.7, 2009
*
"When the wrecking ball makes its first pass through the old red-brick farmhouse, Margaret Pulford won't be anywhere nearby.
She has made her peace with the fact that the home of five generations of her family will soon be reduced to rubble. And she couldn't be happier that it is making way for a new St. Catharines hospital.
But that doesn't mean Pulford will be able to watch the death of her family home next month.
"It's the memories. The memories of your home. Those are always special," Pulford said, standing outside the farmhouse near the intersection of Fourth Avenue and First Street. "I won't be able to watch that. I just couldn't."
Sometime between June 2 and June 29, the house, which dates back to the late 19th century, will be torn down as part of the site preparation for the new hospital.
Once it and the nearby barn have been removed, construction crews will begin the four-year process of building the 970,000-square-foot, 375-bed acute-care hospital, which is expected to open in early 2013.
The house was the heartbeat of a 45-acre farm - first a dairy farm and then a vineyard run by the Blundell family, including Pulford's mother.
The two-storey building was subdivided into two homes, one where Pulford's grandfather lived and the other where Margaret Pulford and her husband, Ross, stayed.
They lived there for 38 years and raised their two children, Pulford said.
"About 15 years ago I pulled the grapes out," Ross Pulford said.
"The price of them was going down and down and the cost of keeping them was constantly rising."
Although the couple lived in the house, it was actually owned by Margaret Pulford, her two brothers and sister and their parents, Dr. Douglas Earl Hunt and Jean Hunt.
When the family was approached to sell the house in 2003 to make way for a hospital, Pulford said the decision turned out to be easier than expected.
"My parents, and especially my father, were absolutely thrilled that a hospital was going to be built here," Pulford said.
"They were even going to make a special parking space for my father, who was still practising medicine up till about two months before he died three years ago."
Even though the family agreed to sell, it was difficult to grasp the idea that the house would eventually be knocked down.
Fortunately for Pulford and her husband, it has taken years for the new hospital to reach the point where construction could begin.
"We were constantly being told we were going to have to move out," Ross Pulford said. "We had something like seven going-away parties. Our friends started to laugh because every Christmas we would say this was going to the last one in the house. And they would say, 'Oh we've heard that one before.'
"It took a long time, but it was good for us because it allowed us to get our heads around it."
Eventually, the hospital project moved forward and last month it was official -- construction would soon begin and the house would come down.
The Pulfords have since moved into a new home and visiting "the farm," as they call it, is an event tinged with a little melancholy.
"It's amazing how much it is already started to fall apart with nobody living here," Pulford said. "The barns look ready to fall down."
While the home will be destroyed, its history will be preserved, said Lisa Morley, the communications co-ordinator for the new hospital project.
"We're not sure yet exactly what will be preserved, but certainly some of the brick and the beams," she said.
The materials will be incorporated into the hospital building. There will also be a display in the hospital featuring some of the more historically interesting artifacts from the house, she said. "
*
R. Bobak wrote in "NHS should find a way to save the old farmhouse", (St. Catharines Standard, May 30, 2009):
"Re: "Demolition will be bittersweet", May 26, 2009
It's regrettable that the Niagara Health System can't be bothered to find a creative way to preserve the Hunt farmhouse and incorporate it into its hospital site plan.
What, is it in the way of a couple of parking spots?
Saving some old bricks and beams is not the same as saving the structure. The farmhouse is an authentic link to Niagara's agricultural past; it provides historical context as the surrounding farmland is redeveloped.
Is this not heritage worthy of preservation?"
*
below: The Hunt farm property (centre-left) was located on the west side of First St. Louth, between the CN railroad tracks and Fourth Ave. The farmhouse stood facing First St. Louth, opposite the T-intersection with Burbank Dr. (see red arrows in centre) [click on any photo to enlarge!]
below: closer view of the Hunt farm, two barns, and long shed
below: Jun.2, 2009 - Looking at the front of the Hunt farmhouse, from the south-east.
below: Jun.2, 2009 - same view of the house, from a little further back, showing its close proximity to the road in front, First St. Louth.
above: same view, Aug.7, 2009. The solid brick house has been demolished by the NHS government health agency. Obviously, the heritage of this Niagara home wasn't worth preserving. What a shame. No cucumber trees here for local Liberal MPP Jim Bulldozer Bradley to 'save'.
above: same view, Sept.28, 2009 - red truck parked where the house once stood. Thankfully, a new parking lot now occupies the 'massive' (!) footprint which had once been taken up by the farm house. Obviously, the old house was just in the way - of several parking spots - can't have that!! As can be seen, there was enough room there that the farmhouse could have easily remained to serve a new purpose. *
below: Jun.2, 2009, looking at the Hunt farmhouse from across the street. (Burbank Dr. is at the far lower right). If the opportunity had been approached creatively, this heritage house, with its small footprint, and with such close proximity to the street, certainly could have been restored and maintained as a functional outbuilding on the new hospital site. No one bothered to raise a concern for saving the structure; the "green" proud mayor of St. Catharines, Brian McMullan, said nothing.
above: same view, Aug.7, 2009. The site where the Hunt home sat has been levelled, along with the mature trees that surrounded it. Note the two chestnut trees, which stood near the street, right in front of the Hunt house, now appear severely damaged.*
below: Jun.2, 2009, closer view from the corner of Burbank Dr. and First St. Louth
above: same view, Aug.7, 2009*
below: Jun.2, 2009, view from south-east
above: same view, Aug.7, 2009
*
above: same view, Aug.7, 2009*
below: Jun.17, 2009
above: same view, Aug.7, 2009
above: Sept.22, 2009 - there is a new parking lot at the right where the house had stood.
*
above: same view, Aug.7, 2009
above: same view, Aug.7, 2009
above: same view, Aug.7, 2009above: Sept.22, 2009 - there is a new parking lot at the right where the house had stood.*
below: Jun.17, 2009, view of the front of the house
above: same view, Aug.7, 2009
above: same view, Sept.28, 2009 - the house was bulldozed for a few parking spaces. The trees by the road are now dead.
*
below: Jun.17, 2009, looking at the Hunt farmhouse from the north-east. Note the mature pines cut down and laying at the north side of the house.
above: same view, Aug.7, 2009 
above: same view, Sept.28, 2009 - a nice new parking lot covers the location where the farm house had stood
*
below: Jun.17, 2009 - the north-east corner of the farmhouse is at the left; this view shows the proximity of the farmhouse to two of its outlying barns, which were north-west of the farmhouse.
below: Jun.17, 2009 - a closer view of the barns as seen looking west from First Ave. Louth.
Above: Aug.7, 2009 - exact same view of where the now-bulldozed barns, seen above, stood.
Above: same view, Sept.28, 2009 - a new parking lot has now taken the place of the barns and field, as well.
above: a last closer look at the south-east corner of the Hunt farmhouse, as it was on Jun.17, 2009.
below: Jun.17, 2009 - a closer view of the barns as seen looking west from First Ave. Louth.
Above: Aug.7, 2009 - exact same view of where the now-bulldozed barns, seen above, stood.
Above: same view, Sept.28, 2009 - a new parking lot has now taken the place of the barns and field, as well.
*
Below: a last closer look at the north-east corner of the old Hunt farmhouse, as it was on Jun.17, 2009.
above: a last closer look at the south-east corner of the Hunt farmhouse, as it was on Jun.17, 2009.
Photos above and video below by R. Bobak.
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