An article about construction of the new library at 425 Holland Street West.

"Garry Pilon, principal of Salter Pilon + Lett Architects, provided an update on the new BWG REcreation complex and Library: 'There's lots of activity on that site...It's progressing well and on schedule.' Since September 1, excavation and grading have been underway on the 'campus lands' site - 21 acres fronting on Holland St. W., just west of Bradford District High School..."

An article about the history of the Campbell family in Bradford, written by Luanne Campbell Edwards.

Photograph printed on paper and then cut out, showing Heidi Northover in a Santa hat standing beside a Christmas wreath hanging in the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library building at 425 Holland Street West. This photograph was taken during a wreath-making event in the early 2010s. The wreath is decorated with pictures of cats.

Photograph of the construction process of the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library building at 425 Holland Street West. Bradford District High School can also be seen in the photograph. Handwriting on the back in ballpoint pen dates the photograph to "Oct 1, 2009"

Photograph of the construction process of the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library building at 425 Holland Street West. Handwriting on the back in ballpoint pen dates the photograph to "Oct 3, 2009"

Photograph of the groundbreaking ceremony at the site of construction of the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library building at 425 Holland Street West. Handwriting in ballpoint pen on the back identifies the event and the date. Lynn Flack is standing on the far right.

Printout copy of a photograph of Heidi (Chard) Northover taken at her desk in the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library. The photo was taken by Siiri Khamis on December 8, 2022, marking Heidi Northover's 35 year anniversary working in the Library.

Sutherland’s Grocery Store was once found at 12 Holland St. West (site of Karen’s and Tina’s Flowers in this 1995 photo). Alec Sutherland was a baker. He had a bakeshop on the south side of Simcoe St. that was run for many years by his daughter Jessie and sister Mrs. Bessie Ryan (and her daughter Betty). They eventually retired and moved to St. Catherine’s. There were living quarters upstairs. William Compton and his wife bought the store and ran it as an IGA grocery store. Gord and Marilyn Compton later took over the store. They built a new store on John St. (where Frank Kilkenny’s house had been). The Comptons’ store eventually moved to what was known as the IGA plaza (located at the corner of Collings Ave. and Holland St. West). As of 2014, 12 Holland St. West is the site of The Holland Bloom florist shop. (1, 2)
The two-storey, commercial, ‘row’ building located mid-block on the south side at 16 Holland St. West was built around 1872-1899 in the Ontario Vernacular style. The second floor had space for offices or living quarters. Whimster and Wilcox operated a clothing and garment store at this location many years ago. Charles Wilson worked for them. John McDowall moved to the area from Midland and ran a clothing store there sometime in the 1930’s or 1940’s. He had three children (Norrie, Jack and Pat). They lived in quarters above the Bank of Commerce and later moved to the apartment over the store.
The building has a wide, rectangular plan with a symmetrical organization. ‘Main street’ frontage with a typical, storefront façade is located at the street line. The symmetrical, three-bay façade originally had a high, articulated cornice of corbelled and dentilled brick (typical of rich detailing). Its ground floor was characterized by the rhythm of flat pilasters along the street edge. The existing doors and storefront are not original. Three, large window openings with segmented arch openings and concrete lug sills at the second-floor level have been partially filled. The windows are also not original. Built-up tar and gravel covers the flat roof. Masonry construction with brick cladding has been considerably altered in appearance. It is also no longer the site of Carmen’s Backyard Restaurant, as seen in this photo from 1995. (1, 2, 3)

The structure located at 18 Holland St. West is a unique, infill building. It was built in the Boomtown style around the 1890’s on a narrow lot that was originally a laneway the two adjacent buildings. It had a side entrance to the Queen’s Hotel so that teamsters and buggy patrons could get their drinks from the Queen’s after work. The owner of the building erected at this site only has the title to the ceilings, floors, and front and rear walls. The side walls belong to the neighbouring buildings. The one-storey storefront has a ‘false’ façade and a narrow, rectangular plan with an asymmetrical organization. An asymmetrical façade with a ‘boomtown’ front was common to small, rural, commercial buildings. The flat roof (built-up tar and gravel) with a high parapet was intended to make the façade appear more imposing and substantial. A recessed, grade-level entrance provides shelter for the doorway. The original entrance had a transom light over the door which was later covered with solid panelling. The entrance door is not original. A large, storefront, window bay dominates the façade at street level and maximizes the amount of area available to display merchandise. The window is not original. When the building was inventoried in 2000, a decorated parapet had a double band of brick corbelling near the top with two recessed panels of decorative brick below. The building had masonry construction with brick cladding and roof spans between the exterior side walls of the adjacent buildings. The panelling above the front window replaced the original signage panel. It noted that and the original brick would have been unpainted and that the building is in good condition.
Several businesses have been located here over the years, including a smoke shop run by Fred “Colly” Collings (and later, by Oswald Davey). Mr. Willoughby, a tailor, and his son Vincent moved to the area from Sutton. He worked for Al Hemock. Lorne Fines later took possession of the building and ran a jewellery shop here until he retired. Jack McKay, a veterinarian, then bought the structure and had his practice here. In more recent years, it became an ice cream parlour. (1, 2, 3)