Stops on Doors Open St. Thomas 2012 followed the route of the St. Thomas Street Railway. Beginning in 1879, it operated for nearly 50 years as the municipal transportation system.
At first the service was horse drawn, but electrification of the line began in 1898. Street cars made connections to all the railway stations – Michigan Central, London & Port Stanley, Grand Trunk/Wabash and Pere Marquettte. It was used by residents to get to work, shop, visit friends and relatives, attend an opera and visit Pinafore Park.
At first the service was horse drawn, but electrification of the line began in 1898. Street cars made connections to all the railway stations – Michigan Central, London & Port Stanley, Grand Trunk/Wabash and Pere Marquettte. It was used by residents to get to work, shop, visit friends and relatives, attend an opera and visit Pinafore Park.
Above: Heather Hoevenaars & Keith Noble checked out the CASO Station second floor.
Photos below are from just a few of the sixteen stops.
Above: CASO Station built in 1873, served for 106 years as St. Thomas' main depot. The upstairs dormitory is not yet finished (top left); CASO Volunteer Lyne Aylsworth & Doors Open Coordinator Laurence Grant in the upstairs hall (bottom left); CASO Volunteer Linda Stevenson (bottom middle).
Above: Destination Church (built in 1899 as the Southern Loan & Savings Co; designed by architect Neil Darrach).
Above: Dixie Dairy Bar (built as a grocery store in 1880 for G.J. Reynolds – now the longest continuously operating grocery store in St. Thomas); owner Laurie Davidson with hand-written bills from the past.
Above: Vesta Parenting (built in 1874, originally the American Hotel) bottom right & top left; Muscat Jewelers (J.W. Coffey Cigars, Max Kulman Tobacco, Park’s Smoke Shop) from 1915 to 1975; The Midtown Tavern (for many years it was Taylor’s Hotel and was one of the first taverns in Ontario to be licensed).
Above: Railway City Brewing Co (Jennings Tire); co-owner Al Goulding.
St. Andrew’s Church (began in 1912 with services in homes, and was completed in 1914 as the West Avenue Union Mission); Ritchie Stewart provided details of the changes which the church has undergone over 100 years.
Cedarhurst Salon & Spa Photos in the slideshow above by Mark Girdauskas. Dating from 1842, this is the oldest brick residence in the city. John McKay’s general store was in the rear of the building, facing Centre Street. Owner Kathy Schaeffer Moyes, who takes a keen interest in the historical details of her building, is pictured in her garden (top middle).
Above: Norm & Bev LaVoie toured Cedarhurst Salon & Spa on Sunday.
Other sites on Doors Open St. Thomas 2012 included Elgin County Railway Museum (former Locomotive Repair Shops, built in 1913); St. Thomas Public Art Centre (Imperial Bank, built in 1878); Lotus Thai Restaurant (Italianate style built for county coroner Dr. Gustin in 1870); Canadian Woodenware (founded about 1916 and still manufacturing washboards along with other wooden accessories); Elgin Military Museum (built in 1848 for Dr. Charles Duncombe who was the founder of Ontario's first medical school); St. Thomas Church (constructed in 1824 in the English Gothic Revival style, the oldest Church in the Talbot Settlement and oldest brick structure in the city); Wellington Street Public School (Neil Darrach designed, built in 1989); Pinafore Park (developed by the St. Thomas Street Railway in 1898 as a recreational feature to encourage passenger traffic).
Information on the sites is from the Doors Open St. Thomas 2012 brochure. The event is organized through the office of Mayor Heather Jackson and financially supported by the City of St. Thomas. The event is made possible through the efforts of volunteers. The coordinator of Doors Open St. Thomas is Laurence Grant, president of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario - St. Thomas-Elgin Branch.
Information on the sites is from the Doors Open St. Thomas 2012 brochure. The event is organized through the office of Mayor Heather Jackson and financially supported by the City of St. Thomas. The event is made possible through the efforts of volunteers. The coordinator of Doors Open St. Thomas is Laurence Grant, president of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario - St. Thomas-Elgin Branch.
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