Allan (“Wink”) Crake, a nephew of Dick Crake, owned the one-storey building located at 31 Barrie Street. When Wink retired, Bradford Public Utilities bought the building and opened its offices here. There was a laneway behind Reuben Tindall’s house to the back entrance for the residents of John Street. (1, 2) This photograph depicts the exterior of the building after a renovation.
Allan (“Wink”) Crake, a nephew of Dick Crake, owned the one-storey building located at 31 Barrie Street. When Wink retired, Bradford Public Utilities bought the building and opened its offices here. There was a laneway behind Reuben Tindall’s house to the back entrance for the residents of John Street. (1, 2)
Construction of the house located mid-block at 129 Barrie St. (and six others) was begun in 1912 by Lieutenant George Stoddart. When Stoddart went overseas during WWI, the project was completed by builder Art Saint. This house was built in the Edwardian Classicism style. Mr. Moore, who ran a store on the north side of Holland St., moved to this house from John Street. It was eventually bought and sold in the 1990’s by Murray Quinn and family. The two-storey house has a bell-cast, hip roof. A square plan and simple form are highlighted with a large, classically-inspired porch. The hip roof on the entrance porch is supported by painted wooden columns and simple, rounded bracket supports. Simple, double-hung windows are balanced within the façade. The dormer window mimics the roof line of the main house. Construction is solid, smooth brick with simple details. According to the 2000 inventory, the screening (added later to enclose the porch) does not detract from the building’s appearance. It also notes that the house is well-maintained. (1, 2, 3)
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)
This house is located at 62 Frederick Street. The section of this street from Moore Street to Barrie Street was originally known as Letitia St., and was named after Letitia Magee (a land speculator in the 1830’s). The name was later changed to Frederick St. to avoid confusion during emergency calls. (1, 2)
The Dougald MacDonald House is located mid-block at 63 Frederick Street. The house was built pre-1900 (around 1882) in the Ontario Vernacular Cottage style. It was built by George (Geordy) MacDonald, a bachelor, stone mason, and contractor who emigrated from Scotland at the age of 27. He was responsible for building homes and schools in this community, as well as the first Presbyterian Church in Bradford that once stood on John Street. The one-storey, three-bay cottage has a square plan with a centre hall. A box hall was typical for this style. The house has a symmetrical façade and a simple, gable roof. The grade-level entrance has a single entrance door with a rectangular, glazed transom. The large, 8/8, double-hung windows have plain, wood trim and sills. The house has wood frame construction covered with aluminum siding. According to the 2000 inventory, the original siding was probably wood. It also notes that the building was largely obscured by trees and that it probably had few decorative details originally. A photo (and brief article about the renovations) in Century Home Magazine (April 2002, page 18) reveals that the two cedar trees in the front yard have been removed and that a porch has been added at the front of the house. (1, 2, 3, 5, Century Home Magazine)
The barn located on the east side of Essa St. (south of Frederick St.) belonged to the former Anglican Manse. The Manse was located at 81 Frederick St. (1, 2)
The building located at 10 Holland St. East in this 1995 photo is not the original structure on this property. That building was destroyed in the big fire of 1871 and the space stood empty for many years. A man from Aurora hired Art and Leonard Saint in 1936 to build a movie theatre on the vacant lot. It was to be a winter and fall project after they finished building the Post Office on Barrie Street. The Holland Theatre, as it became known, was completed in 1937. It had a basement, a front projection room upstairs, a cement foundation, cement floors and red, block, tile walls. All of the quicklime that was used was hauled in from Hagerville and made into mortar in the basement. The mortar contained camel, goat, and cow hair which came from Colles’ Leather business in Aurora. A steel, suspended lath was plastered in the ceiling. The roof was flat and sloping and the stage was at the rear. The owners in the 1940’s and early 1950’s were Mr. Rees and Mr. Hobberlin. George Carson bought the theatre after WWII. The structure later housed many businesses, including a Deemac Furniture store. The building is currently (2014) unoccupied. (1, 2)
