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A photograph found in the newspaper showing Holland Street East at Colborne Street, looking west. It also shows the celebrations for the July 1st weekend. Printed in in the 1950s. Article clipped out of newspaper by Lew Campbell.

Denis Nolan's Ford Garage which was located on Holland Street East. McKinstry's Blacksmith Shop across the street.

A photograph of the Old Bradford Fire Hall at 57 Holland Street East. It was demolished in approx. 1992/93.

The building located at 15 Holland St. East was bought by Harold Boyd many years ago. He ran a pool room on the ground floor on the west side. He added a second floor above the pool room for living quarters. Jack Pong owned a restaurant on the east side of the building in the 1930’s. (1, 2)
The two-storey, brick and cement building located at 19 Holland St. East was owned at one time by George Simpkins. He ran a plumbing, heating, electrical, and eavestroughing company upstairs. There was a show room downstairs and the east side was a workshop. George and his family lived on Moore St. across from Joseph Street. Ethel Gapp was his bookkeeper, Ted Gapp was his electrician, and George Manton did the heating work. They drove for miles around the country in a Model T truck. Harry Barron bought the business in the 1930’s and kept the same workmen. Then the business was moved to the southwest corner of Holland and Simcoe Streets. (1, 2)

The building located at 5 Holland St. East (near the northeast corner of Holland and Barrie Streets) has solid-brick construction. The office of veterinarian Dr. Stephenson (who lived on Queen Street across from the public school) was on the ground floor at this address. Grain buyers worked upstairs. They had their own stairway and a huge, walk-in safe. Later, that space was turned into an apartment that became the home of Rae Green after WWII. Around 1928 or 1930, Fred Buck (a pharmacist) opened a drugstore on the ground floor. It later became Brackens Drugstore and was run by Mr. Harrison. (1, 2)
The building located at 9 Holland St. East (beside 5 Holland St. East) also has solid-brick construction. It was the site of Dennis Nolan and Jim’s Model T Ford dealership. There was a garage with an elevator. Overhauling was done in the basement and painting was done upstairs. Hugh Bannerman pumped gas and Rose MacEwan was the bookkeeper. Nolan had as many as 10 employees working for him at one time. Mr. Martin moved in around WWII and opened a used furniture and appliance store here. It was later sold to Bob Sewery, a WWI veteran. (1, 2)

Ed Cave built the flat-roofed, cement building located at 32 Holland St. East. It was originally used as a milk creamery. Around 1934, Cousins Dairy (from Aurora) took over and put Roy in charge. A restaurant was added at the front that was run by Mrs. Walt Mussen and Mrs. Ossie Depew. It employed several local girls over the years. There was a bus stop in front of the building and bus tickets were purchased in the restaurant. Jim Phillips (a butter maker) and Gord Bantam worked here. Ossie Depew delivered butter, milk, and buttermilk to Beeton, Lefroy, etc. Cousins Dairy later sold the building to Jim Phillips. He worked there until his death. When the business folded, Roy went to Brussels where he opened another creamery. In this photo taken in 1995, the building was the home of the Bradford West Gwillimbury Times newspaper. La Mexicanada Restaurant is located here in 2014. (1, 2)
Please contact the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library (905-775-3328) if you have any other information about this photo.

The Edmund Garrett House is a two-storey building located at 45 Holland St. East. It was built in the Classic Revival style in the 1880’s (after the fire of 1871 that destroyed much of Bradford’s downtown). The building was converted into two living quarters many years ago and was once the home of the VanZants (on the west side) and the Bennett family (on the east side). George Bennett, a powerful man and labourer, dug (by hand) a large number of the ditches on Dufferin Street. Howard Thornton eventually bought the building and started a crate factory with Bill Fuller in the barns at the rear. He had a crate and lumber yard on Back Street. Howard and his brother also owned Barron’s Hardware store. After Howard died, Mrs. Thornton rented the upstairs apartment and lived downstairs by herself. After her death, the town bought the structure and had it remodeled to accommodate the Bradford Police Station on the ground floor, which it housed from 1980-2008, and the building inspectors’ office on the upper floor.

The building has a modified, rectangular ‘temple’ plan with a projecting frontispiece flanked by two-storey wings on either side. A medium-pitched, gable roof has a plain cornice and frieze supported on small brackets. There is an enclosed, raised porch with a shed roof and a plain cornice and frieze supported on small brackets. The building has tall, narrow window openings with high floor to ceiling heights. Windows are used to highlight the frontispiece with an angular, flat-roofed bay at the ground level and a projecting cornice and eaves on brackets. Double, semi-circular, arched windows at the second floor are highlighted with dichromatic, brick voussoirs. There is a rose window set within the gable into a round opening of cut-stone voussoirs. Other windows are set into rectangular openings with stone (or concrete) lintels and lug sills. The original windows were probably multi-paned and double-hung. Masonry construction has brick cladding and there is a coursed, rubble-stone foundation. The two, two-storey additions have filled in the east corners of the building and the entrance porch has been modified and enclosed. According to the 2000 inventory, the structure is in good condition with some original details remaining. (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)

John Zampaloni's store was located at the corner of Colborne Street and Holland Street East.

If you have any additional information about this photo or its contents please contact the library at 905-775-3328.

The two-storey frame building located at 93 and 95 Holland St. East was originally a dry hotel and a boarding house. It was later divided into two separate living quarters. Henry Pringle and his family lived on the west side (93 Holland St. E.) for a number of years before moving to the north side of John Street. Tom Fuller and his sons Leonard and George lived on the east side (95 Holland St. E.) for years before moving to John St. (on the northwest corner of Colborne Street) to a house built by Dan Collings. (1, 2)