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Summary of an interview with Mike and Dorothy McKinstry. The interviewer is not introduced, but it is believed to be Joe Saint. Mike and Dorothy discuss people who lived in the Holland Marsh and Bradford areas, histories of the houses, professions of the home owners, business owners in Bradford and anecdotal stories. See the Related Descriptions below for audio.

Audio of an interview with Mike and Dorothy McKinstry. The interviewer is not introduced, but it is believed to be Joe Saint. Mike and Dorothy discuss people who lived in the Holland Marsh and Bradford areas, histories of the houses, professions of the home owners, business owners in Bradford and anecdotal stories. See the Related Descriptions below for summary.

A wood and metal plaque. It reads:

"This Local History Room was furnished by the Lions Club of Bradford to Commemorate the visit of Judge Brian Stevenson of Calgary President of the International Association of Lions Clubs on the occasion of their 50th anniversary October 9. 1987."

"Council highly praised the new library building when it was presented to them last week. the architect, Bill Lett, stood beaming along with the library committee as their $1.2 million proposal was unanimously approved..."

This house still sits on the corner of Holland Street East and Bingham Street.

Municipality : Bradford
Community : Bradford

Description : Picture of the damage done by fire on Holland Street West in 1959.

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 mid-block building located at 10 and 12 Holland St. West was built in the Ontario Vernacular style around 1872-1899. The two-storey, commercial, detached ‘row’ building had a narrow rectangular plan with an asymmetrical organization. ‘Main street’ frontage with a typical storefront façade was located at the street line. The plain façade was characterized by a high, flat, ‘boomtown’ façade and cornice with brick dentils. The two bay-façade each had its own entrance and storefront. Existing doors and storefronts are not original. The original, large, second-floor windows (characterized by segmented arch openings and concrete sills) have been partially bricked in, but are still visible from the brick voussoirs. The building has masonry construction with brick cladding and a flat, built-up tar and gravel roof. (1, 3)
The west side of the building (10 Holland St. West and the location of Pizzaville in this 1995 photo) was once the site of a drugstore run by W.L. "Billie" Campbell. Fred Cook helped him for a number of years. Billie’s son, Lou, and druggist Clarence Ritchie took over the business. Eventually Clarence Ritchie ran it on his own before he retired. Fred McKay sold phonographs on the upper floor and there was a pool room run by James Ferguson. The Salvation Army held services here in the 1930’s. (1, 2)
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 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)

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)