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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)

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)

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)

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 two-storey, commercial, ‘row’ building located mid-block on the south side at 16 Holland St. West was built around 1872-1899 in the Ontario Vernacular style. The second floor had space for offices or living quarters. Whimster and Wilcox operated a clothing and garment store at this location many years ago. Charles Wilson worked for them. John McDowall moved to the area from Midland and ran a clothing store there sometime in the 1930’s or 1940’s. He had three children (Norrie, Jack and Pat). They lived in quarters above the Bank of Commerce and later moved to the apartment over the store.
The building has a wide, rectangular plan with a symmetrical organization. ‘Main street’ frontage with a typical, storefront façade is located at the street line. The symmetrical, three-bay façade originally had a high, articulated cornice of corbelled and dentilled brick (typical of rich detailing). Its ground floor was characterized by the rhythm of flat pilasters along the street edge. The existing doors and storefront are not original. Three, large window openings with segmented arch openings and concrete lug sills at the second-floor level have been partially filled. The windows are also not original. Built-up tar and gravel covers the flat roof. Masonry construction with brick cladding has been considerably altered in appearance. It is also no longer the site of Carmen’s Backyard Restaurant, as seen in this photo from 1995. (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)

The structure located at 29 Holland St. West was vacant for many years. Howard Bowser bought and restored it as a shop with living quarters upstairs. Ted and Audrey Gapp lived here for a number of years. Helen Bantam ran a ladies’ shop downstairs and lived upstairs. She may have bought it from Bowser. At the time of this photo (1995), it was a barber shop.
The building located at 31 and 33 Holland St. West (on the northeast corner of Holland and Moore Streets) was built around 1880 in the Ontario Vernacular style. It was constructed on the site of the former Edmanson Bakery (33 Holland St. West). The bakery was the origin of the big fire on May 23, 1871 that destroyed much of downtown Bradford. E.P. Snow had a harness and saddle shop at 31 Holland St. West for many years. He lived on the north side of John Street. Later it was bought by Secondo Cavallo, who ran a shoemaking business at this location. He lived on the south side of John Street. Cavallo’s daughter (Aida) ran the business for a few years and then it was sold. Lash Davey and Bill ran a butcher shop at 33 Holland St. West for several years. They had a slaughter house on Piccadilly Hill (Simcoe St. South). James Webb, a butcher and lacrosse player, later ran his shop here. Webb was joined by his son Jim, who eventually took over the business and employed Harold Boyd. Jim originally had an ice house at the back of the property. A freezer locker was built later by Len Saint at the back. The building and business were eventually owned for many years by the Pezzanitti family.
The one-storey, commercial, semi-detached ‘row’ building has a wide, rectangular plan with an asymmetrical organization. There is “Main Street” frontage with a typical, storefront façade located at the street line. A plain façade is characterized by a high, flat, ‘boomtown’ façade with brick dentils. The two-bay façade is dominated above the storefronts by an applied, pressed- metal cornice with stone brackets at each end. Existing doors and storefronts are not original. Wide, glass, storefront windows with stone sills are also not original. The building has masonry construction with brick cladding, a stone foundation, and a flat, built-up tar and gravel roof. According to the 2000 inventory, the modest building is in good condition. (1, 2, 3)

The structure located at 38 Holland St. West (on the southwest corner of Holland and Drury Streets) was built around 1900 in the Ontario Vernacular style. B.B. “Ben” Collings lived upstairs with his wife (a Waldruff), and children Bernice, Kathleen and Norman. Both daughters became school teachers and Norman (“Dodger”) was a professional hockey player who helped his father and later took over the business. Ben’s workshop was also located here and there was a horse stable at the rear of the property many years ago. The back end of the building was destroyed by fire in the 1920’s. Ben Collings was involved in several businesses. He was also known as an organizer and sports manager. At one time this building was the site of the Collings’ mattress factory. Ben also cut marsh hay and hauled it down the river on a scow. Sometimes the hay was stacked for winter baling. The horses wore four wooden boots and wouldn’t get off the scow until they were applied. Ben was a furniture maker and an undertaker. His first experience as an undertaker was with the body of his own father. He bought Jack Spence’s fishing business (including nets, reels, pulleys, ropes and the fish shanty at the mouth of the river on the east side opposite the 8th Line). His largest catch of fish was five tons of carp. He fished in the spring and fall and put nets under the ice in winter. Carp was caught (when in season) and had to be kept alive for the Jewish market. He employed about eight men all year round. Later he had old cars cut down to make tractors. Ben and another man broke (worked?) Col. Bar’s marsh land at the north end of Federal Farms Rd. (Bathurst Street). The Newmarket Canal started and died on this property.
The two-storey, commercial ‘row’ building has second floor offices (or living space), a wide, rectangular plan with symmetrical organization, and a flat, built-up, tar and gravel roof. The ‘Main Street’ frontage with a typical, storefront façade is located at the street line. The Drury Street façade on the north portion of the building (fronting Holland Street) has a more informal façade with openings placed as required to suit the building’s requirements. The Drury Street building has a plain, symmetrical façade and is dominated by a wide, segmented, arch entrance raised slightly above the sidewalk. A loading door to the rear portion of the Holland Street building has a segmented, arch opening and a concrete sill raised above street level. The existing doors and windows are not original. There are several window openings with segmented, arch openings and concrete lug sills. Several basement windows (all topped with segmented arches) have been fully, or partially, blocked in. This suggests that the building was built before the existing road or town services were installed. The building has masonry construction, brick cladding, and a parged, stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, this modest, commercial building is in good condition with some original details. (1, 2, 3)

The mid-block building located on the north side at 57 Holland Street West was built in the Eclectic Edwardian style in 1900-1920. It has been the home of many people over the years, including Ken Sawdon (who later moved to Mt. Pleasant), Dr. R.H. Judge, and Steve and Margaret Molokach and son John (market gardeners across the tracks behind the Bradford Bureau Kiosk).
The two-storey, ‘L’-shaped building with a hipped roof has a simple, smooth, brick form with broad, extended eaves and large, symmetrically-placed, window openings. Large windows with stained glass in the transoms at the main floor windows are another Edwardian feature. The contrasts between the rusticated stone base, the smooth-brick surface above, and the textured wood shingles at the gable are Queen Anne features. The hipped roof with a top, curb cap is an Italianate feature. This building has brick, masonry construction and a rusticated-block foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, the single-storey entrance and the narrow shutters are modern additions. (1, 2, 3)

The building located on the north side at 61 Holland St. West was built in the Romanesque Revival style around the 1880’s. The Scanlon Law Offices building was originally constructed to house the law practice of the two Scanlon brothers. Albert "Ab" Scanlon, a lawyer, and Mrs. Frank (Ethel) Woods, a widow and retired farmer (from the 8th Line) both resided here at one time.
The one-storey building has a rectangular plan, small window openings with high floor to ceiling heights, and a flat roof. The symmetrical façade has a simple, solid form. Round arches are reminiscent of the Roman Empire and rich, decorative details. Originally, there were two entrances contained unobtrusively in simple, rectangular openings on either side of the centre window. This is atypical of the Romanesque Revival style, where the entrance door was more frequently the most prominent element of the façade. The second entrance door to the west of the centre window has been “bricked in”, but its flat, arch opening is still visible by the line of the brick voussoirs. There is a wood-panelled door with an upper, glass light and also a rear entrance. The centre, ground-floor window is a prominent feature. It is exaggerated by the arch form set into the parapet above and subdivided vertically into three parts. Smaller windows to each side are set into segmented, arch openings with brick voussoirs. The windows are double-hung with stone (or concrete) lug sills. A major feature is the heavy parapet with an insert panel decorated richly with brick set in a basket weave pattern. The segmented arch extends the window form into the parapet panel. A cornice line along the bottom of the parapet is decorated with a line of brick dentils. The building has masonry construction, brick cladding, and a cut-stone foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, the structure is in good condition with many, original details remaining. (1, 2, 3)

The Standard Bank is located at 65 and 67 Holland St. West. It was built in the Romanesque Revival style around 1860-1900. O.M. Seim, previous owner of the Bradford Witness newspaper (1916-1932), and his family (Gordon, Ken, Marjorie, Maurice and Betty) once lived here. Dr. McMichael, a dentist, lived on John St. but had his practice here many years ago. Aubrey Stewart (and her son Bruce) at one time had an Insurance company here and the living quarters were rented. The building was eventually converted into apartments.
The commercial building (67 Holland St. W.) is set close to the street. Originally, there was a large, walk-in vault at the rear of the building on the ground floor. Residential quarters were on the second floor. The two-storey building has tall window openings with high floor to ceiling heights and an asymmetrical façade with a simplified ‘temple’ form. There is a medium-pitched, ‘pediment’ gable roof facing the front and a tympanum with a rose window. Brick pilasters support a plain cornice and frieze at both the ground and second floors to create the image of a classical Greek temple (combined with the more Roman arch form). The commercial entrance is contained within one of the two corbelled arches and is raised slightly. A double-panelled door is topped by a multi-paned transom light. The ground floor bank window is set into a corbelled arch opening with a transom light and stone or concrete lug sills. Upper windows are set into rectangular openings with transom lights. The cornice and frieze at the ground and second floors are ‘supported’ on corbelled brick brackets. This building has brick masonry construction and a cut-stone foundation.
The residential wing (65 Holland St. West) is set further back from the street to provide greater privacy to the living quarters. It takes a more recessive form with an open verandah at the ground floor and an enclosed porch on the upper floor running the full width of the house. There is a hipped roof on the residential wing. The entrance door to the house also a transom light, but like the rest of the residential wing, it does not have the rich texture or detail found on the more public portion of the building. The residential porch posts, railing, door, and windows are not original. According to the 2000 inventory, the structure is in good condition with many original details remaining. (1, 2, 3)
Please contact the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library (905-775-3328) if you have any other information about this photo.