The structure located at 21 Holland St. West is part of what is known as the Evans Block. The building was raised and Len Saint added a cellar and a foundation. The work was done by Mac Campbell and his team of carpenters. T.W.W. Evans had the building constructed to house his law practice. The upstairs was also used for years by Dr. Ellis, a dentist. The upper floor even served as Bradford Library in the 1930s, run by Mrs. Day. At one time, the offices of Tupling Insurance were also located in this building. In 1957 a fire destroyed several buildings to the east, but this structure was spared. (1, 2)
The Village Inn is located at 2 Holland St. East (on the corner of Holland and Simcoe Streets). There had been a hotel located at this site before the great fire of 1871. The building in this photo (1995) was built in 1920 in the Ontario Vernacular style. The original two-storey, cement building contained living quarters upstairs. One of the early inhabitants was Dave Watson, a farmer from the Scotch Settlement. He was one of the first to work with Professor Day in bringing about the drainage of the Holland Marsh. The ground floor was a grocery store in the early 1930’s (or before it was bought by Jim Gray and his wife). It was separated by a central entrance downstairs. Ken Morris bought the building around 1933 or 1934. Renovations were done by Art and Len Saint in 1937. The building was converted into the English Tudor-style hotel currently known as “The Village Inn”. A one-storey addition was added later (on the east side of the building) to contain a restaurant and ladies’ room. Under Jack Pong’s ownership, the addition became a Chinese restaurant. Additions were built later at the rear. Frank Sakowski ran the Inn for a while before it was sold to Bill Callum and Mr. Grant. The two-storey building has a wide, rectangular plan with an asymmetrical organization and a typical ‘Main Street’, storefront façade located at the street line. It is characterized by a high, flat, ‘boomtown’ façade and cornice with brick dentils. The prominent, corner entrance door is oriented diagonally toward the street intersection. Existing door and storefronts are not original. The upper-floor pairs of windows suggest some original Italianate styling. The windows are not original on either level. At the time of the 2000 inventory, the building had masonry construction, stucco and wood siding, and a built-up, tar and gravel roof. It notes that the modest, commercial building is in fair condition with no original details visible. (1, 2, 3)
This is the front view of the house located mid-block on the east side at 143 Barrie Street. It was the last house built by Art, Tom and Len Saint after WWI. The building was constructed in 1925 in the Arts and Crafts style. It became the home of many people, including Erv Hill and his wife. He worked for Dennis Nolan and was a noted (Ford) mechanic. Harold Seaurow and his wife (who came from Grand Valley) later bought and moved into this house. Harold was a car salesman and a partner with Wink Crake for a while. He then went with Jim (Catania) and Brad Walker. The 1½-storey ‘bungalow’ has an asymmetrical façade and a rectilinear plan. A broad, medium-pitched, gabled hip roof extends down to reduce the scale of the building. The slightly-raised porch is entered from the front. The roof, horizontal siding, and a wide band of windows across the front of the porch emphasize the horizontal lines and massing of the style. There are wide window openings with low floor to ceiling heights. Multiple, double-hung windows are set into wide segmented, arched openings with 1/1 panes, lug sills of precast concrete, and brick voussoirs at the arches. The smaller, second-storey windows are offset from the ground floor windows. They are set into a gable and dormers and have plain, wood sills and trim. A bay window projects out from the south wall and has no foundation. The house has wood frame construction with masonry cladding, vinyl siding and a painted, concrete foundation. The original siding would have been wood. According to the 2000 inventory, the house is in good condition with many original features that have been maintained well. It also notes that the windows, shutters, and porch railing are not original. (1, 2, 3)
This is the front view of the house located mid-block on the east side at 143 Barrie Street. It was the last house built by Art, Tom and Len Saint after WWI. The building was constructed in 1925 in the Arts and Crafts style. It became the home of many people, including Erv Hill and his wife. He worked for Dennis Nolan and was a noted (Ford) mechanic. Harold Seaurow and his wife (who came from Grand Valley) later bought and moved into this house. Harold was a car salesman and a partner with Wink Crake for a while. He then went with Jim (Catania) and Brad Walker. The 1½-storey ‘bungalow’ has an asymmetrical façade and a rectilinear plan. A broad, medium-pitched, gabled hip roof extends down to reduce the scale of the building. The slightly-raised porch is entered from the front. The roof, horizontal siding, and a wide band of windows across the front of the porch emphasize the horizontal lines and massing of the style. There are wide window openings with low floor to ceiling heights. Multiple, double-hung windows are set into wide segmented, arched openings with 1/1 panes, lug sills of precast concrete, and brick voussoirs at the arches. The smaller, second-storey windows are offset from the ground floor windows. They are set into a gable and dormers and have plain, wood sills and trim. A bay window projects out from the south wall and has no foundation. The house has wood frame construction with masonry cladding, vinyl siding and a painted, concrete foundation. The original siding would have been wood. According to the 2000 inventory, the house is in good condition with many original features that have been maintained well. It also notes that the windows, shutters, and porch railing are not original. (1, 2, 3)
There was a vacant lot located at 11 Holland St. East after the big fire of 1871. Dennis Nolan built an addition to his Model T Ford dealership (located at 9 Holland St. E.) on this vacant lot. Len Saint used cement to build the new structure and Art Saint did the carpentry. The cars arrived at the railroad station in boxcars and then were brought to this new building. There was a display room at the front. At the rear was another service department with a door on the west side leading to the laneway at the rear. In time, Jim Armstrong and Fred Gregory opened a garage at this location. Charles Roberts also ran it and had a taxi business. Armstrong sold the building to Patchett, who turned the upstairs into a bowling alley (while also still running a taxi business) with a garage in the back. (1, 2) There was also a vacant lot located at 13 Holland St. East after the fire of 1871. Russell “Curly” Curtis (from Newmarket) married Aileen Church and they built a butcher shop here after WWII. Years later it became the site of the Simpson order office (which was run by Mrs. Fallis). (1, 2)
The building located at 1 Holland St. West was originally built as a hotel (Central Hotel, Uneeda Hotel, H. Hulse Hotel). Tom and Len Saint worked on the construction of the building. George Webb ran the hotel for a while before he moved to Saskatchewan. Tom Bell was the manager for many years until he retired and moved to the east side of Simcoe Street. Around 1917 it became the Imperial Bank of Commerce. A large safe and living quarters for the bank staff were located upstairs. The entrance to the apartment was on the west side of the building. John McDowell and his family lived here in the 1930’s. The bank was robbed by the notorious “Boyd Gang” in the 1940’s. At one time the front offices were used by the police, and the back offices were used by Mr. Scanlon (a lawyer). The bank closed in 1972 and was moved further west on Holland Street. This building then became a real estate office, a convenience store, and as of 2014, the Coffee Culture Café. (1, 2)
