The John Cook House is located mid-block on the east side at 65 Moore Street. It is set well back and was built around 1880 in the Gothic Revival style. The building was owned by the Cook family for many years. Originally, a series of sheds ran along the south side of Joseph Street from Moore Street almost to the houses on Barrie Street. These sheds were owned by John (Jack) Cook. He ran the local livery business and he was also a seed merchant. Fred (the son of Jack) lived in this house after his father’s death. Fred was an insurance agent, town politician, school board member, and a lay minister. The Fred C. Cook Elementary School in Bradford is named after him. The 1½-storey, ‘L’-shaped building has large window openings with high floor to ceiling heights and a steeply-pitched, gable roof. There is an elegant, shallow-pitched, hip roof at the porch. It has elaborately-carved, wooden brackets at the support posts. There are (replacement) sash windows with wide, wood trim and projected, wooden hood moulding above the windows. The entrance door has the original transom and sidelight. Wood frame construction is clad with stained board and batten siding and the house has a stone foundation. The original cladding was stucco. According to the 2000 inventory, the house has been maintained well and it is pleasingly renovated. It also notes that although the shutters are not original, they are a tasteful (and not inappropriate) addition. (1, 2, 3)
The mid-block building located at 94 Moore Street was built in the 1920’s in the Ontario Vernacular Cottage style. It was once the home of the Simpkin family. George Simpkin was a plumber and electrician. His brother Robert was a policeman. On the Collings’ map, the Simpkin gardens ran from Frederick St. to James St. (along the west side of Moore Street). In later years, Mr. Simpkin built a new home on his south garden lot (at James Street). The one-storey, three-bay ‘cottage’ has a symmetrical façade, a rectilinear plan, and a shallow-pitched, hip roof. There is a centre, hall entrance from a prominent, covered front porch. The open, front porch is raised and has a gable roof with a decorative, wood pediment. Its roof is supported on wood half columns on brick piers at the back of the porch, and triple wood posts on brick piers at the front. The porch is raised and has a turned-wood handrail and baluster. There are narrow window openings and narrow windows with low floor to ceiling heights set into segmented, arched openings with concrete lug sills. The house has wood frame construction with brick masonry cladding and a parged, concrete foundation. 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, pre-cast concrete porch stairs, and rear, one-storey addition are not original. (1, 2, 3)
The house located at 95 Moore Street on the southeast corner of Moore and Letitia (later Frederick) Streets was built pre-1900 in the Ontario Vernacular Cottage style. George Ogilvie (a tailor) once lived here. A three-foot high, picket fence originally ran along the east side of Moore Street from this corner to Joseph Street. The one-storey, three-bay cottage has a symmetrical façade, a rectangular plan, and a centre hall. A box hall was typical for this style. It also has a one-storey, rear addition. There is a shallow-pitched, gable roof on the main portion and a shed roof on the rear addition. The covered, front porch has a gable roof supported on brackets. A simple entrance is raised above grade level and it has a single door in a rectangular opening. There are small, single windows to the primary rooms on each side of the porch. The porch stairs are a recent addition and the double-hung windows are also not original. Windows are set into simple, rectangular openings and have plain, wood surrounds and sills. Wood frame construction is covered with insulbrick (asphalt) and aluminum siding. The original cladding was probably wood cove siding. There is a stone-rubble foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, this modest cottage probably had few decorative details originally. It also notes that other than the building’s form, few existing building elements appear to be original. (1, 2, 3)
The building located mid-block at 123 Moore Street was built pre-1900 in the Gothic Revival style. It stood behind the grand, Italianate villa (The Convent) that was once located at 118 Barrie Street and was the home of the Lukes’ family. Originally, the structure was built to be a two-car garage to house Gibb Lukes’ vehicles (particularly his Stanley Steamer). The garage was eventually converted into a dwelling. At the time of this photo (1995), it was being used as the Bradford Food Bank. The one-storey, three-bay cottage has an “L”-shaped plan with a side hall. There is an asymmetrical façade with a front gable above the façade projection and a medium-pitched, gable roof. The front wall below the gable is inset slightly to provide shelter for the front entrance. It is set into a simple, rectangular opening. Small windows that are not original have low floor to ceiling heights. They are set into rectangular openings with plain, wood frames and sills. The building has wood frame construction with stucco cladding and a parged, stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, this modest cottage has few original details other than the building’s form. (1, 2, 3)
This mid-block building located at 24 Queen St. was built pre-1880 in the Gothic Revival style. The one-storey cottage has an ‘L’-shaped plan with a centre hall. It has an asymmetrical façade, a medium-pitched, gable roof and off-centre gables at the front and side façades. A covered, open porch extends beyond the façade projection to shelter the entrance at street level. It has a shallow, hip roof supported on narrow, wood posts with decorative gingerbread brackets and a plain, wood railing. The centre entrance is set into a simple, rectangular opening. Narrow, double-hung windows with low floor to ceiling heights are set into rectangular openings with plain, wood frames and sills. There is an angular, bay-window projection on the north side that has a truncated, hip roof. The 2/2 windows are original. Decorative, painted, wood half-timbers are found on the exterior walls (at both the front and side gables) and the centre, brick chimney is original. Wood frame construction has stucco cladding and there is a parged, stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, the concealed foundation indicates that the house was built prior to the construction of the existing street and town services. It also notes that the house is in good condition with many original details. (1, 3)
The Thompson Fisher House is located at 37 Queen St. (on the northeast corner of Queen and Rebecca Streets). It was built around 1880 in the Eclectic Neoclassical style. It belonged to J.C. Wood in the 1950’s. He was the principal at the original, adjacent Bradford High School. The two-storey, rectangular building has a symmetrical façade and a centre hall plan (Neoclassical features). A medium-pitched, hip roof with a wide overhang and a full-width, awning roof at the porch are Regency Revival features. The house has large window openings with high floor to ceiling heights. Ground-floor windows and the entrance door have transom lights. The arched shutters may be original. Decorative details at the porch columns, a busy verge board, and paired, soffit brackets (over new metal soffits) appear to be twentieth-century additions. The house has solid brick construction as well as the original wood banister, doors, and 12” baseboards. According to the 2000 inventory, the decorative trim is excessive and without precedent in the community. It also notes that while some degree of eclecticism is not out of place, the total effect on this well-maintained building is unconvincing. (1, 3, 5)
The house located at 149 Queen St. (on the northwest corner of Queen and Essa Streets) was built pre-1900 in the Ontario Vernacular Cottage style. It was once the home of the Bales family. The 1½-storey, three-bay ‘cottage’ has a simple, rectangular form with a symmetrical façade and a centre hall plan. It has a medium-pitched, gable roof and a lack of decoration and porch addition. The replacement windows have the original, plain, wood lug sills and trim. Metal storm windows and the door are later additions. The structure also has a one-storey addition that was built at a later time. This structure has stucco cladding on 4” poured-in-place, concrete walls and a parged, stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, the modest dwelling requires painting and landscaping. (1, 3)
The two-storey house located at 21 Simcoe Road was built by George Stoddart before World War I. Originally, it was clad in brick and there was a large barn at the rear across the full lot. There was also a 2’-square dumb waiter in the house. It was operated by a pulley system and used to move things from the basement to the upper floors. Mrs. Stoddart and her son (George) lived here for many years. Tom Bell retired from the Bank of Commerce in the 1930’s, and he and his wife and daughter (Dorothy) were next to live in this house. Dorothy lived here until her father died and she was too old to remain. (1, 2)
The Dan Collings House is located mid-block at 33 Colborne Street. It was built in the Gothic Revival style in the 1880’s. There were once barns (for animals and equipment as well as for marsh hay) on the property. It was the original home of Dan Collings. He was always a teamster who worked the marsh and he later bought and sold junk and farm machinery. Dan had three daughters, Edna, Olive (Al Readman) and Emily (Chet Wilkinson). Dan was considered to be a real character who lived to the age of 93 years. Mrs. Collings died in the 1920’s. The 1½-storey, two-bay ‘farmhouse’ has an ‘L’-shaped plan with an off-centre hall and a medium-pitched, gable roof. There is a single door with a multi-paned transom and sidelights. The structure has large window openings with low floor to ceiling heights. Large, replacement, double-hung windows are set into the original openings with plain, wood trim and sills. The house has wood frame construction with vinyl siding. Originally, the siding was probably wood. According to the 2000 inventory, despite its new colours, the basic Gothic Revival form is very evident in this house. (1, 2, 3)
The Wilkinson House is a mid-block building located at 31 Simcoe Road. It was built by Art Saint and/or George Stoddart around 1923 in the Arts and Crafts style. The house was sold to Chris Long, his daughter, and her husband Fred Wilkinson (a printer for the Bradford Witness) and daughter Marjorie. When they moved to Toronto to work at the DeHavill and Aircraft Company during WWII, the house was sold to a market gardener whose family lived here for many years. The 1½-storey, two-bay ‘bungalow’ has a simple form with an asymmetrical façade and a rectilinear plan. A broad, steeply-pitched, gable roof extends down to reduce the scale of the building from the street. It covers the open front porch and is supported on wood half columns on brick piers. There is an off-centre hall entrance from the porch. The porch (entered from the front) is raised and has a simple, wood handrail and baluster. There are wide window openings with low floor to ceiling heights. A wide band of windows across the front of the dormer emphasizes the horizontal lines and massing of this house. The wide windows are set into rectangular openings. Smaller, second-storey windows in the front dormer are offset from the ground-floor windows and have plain, wood sills and trim. The windows and the second entrance door are not original. A mix of exterior cladding materials is common to this style. The house has returned eaves at the dormer roof. Wood frame construction has brick, masonry cladding and vinyl siding on the dormer. The original cladding would have been wood. There is a painted, concrete foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, the house is in good condition with many original features that have been maintained well. (1, 2, 3)
