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The building seen in this photo from 1995 was once located at 60 Holland St. East. It was rented to several people over the years, including a relative of Bob McKinstry. Years later, Alec Dutcher moved here from the Clubine farm at the back of town. He had a garden and lawn on the west side of the house. There was a large barn at the back. Alec worked for Bill Sutton (painting and paper hanging). Lou Wyman and his family and mother-in-law later bought the house and it was eventually used as a real estate office before being demolished in the 1990’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 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 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 Tindall House is located at 7 John St. East (on the northeast corner of John and Barrie Streets). It was built by Isaac Coburn around 1910-20 in the Dutch Colonial Revival style. The house was built for Reuben Tindall (an implement dealer), his wife, and daughter Ida Evelyn (a school teacher). Dr. S. Hecking bought the property after WWII. He moved here from the northeast corner of Barrie and Holland Streets. His office was also in this structure. Its address was 47 Barrie Street. The building was eventually sold (in 1994) to Giuseppe (Joe) Campagnola. He has leased the doctor’s office since then and still owns the building in 2014.
The 1½-storey, two-bay house has a simple form with an asymmetrical façade and a rectilinear plan. The building has a steeply-pitched, gambrel roof with a gambrel-roofed dormer. The one-storey wings (reminiscent of the Classical Revival style) are reinterpreted here more modestly as entrance porches. There is an off-centre, hall entrance from an enclosed, front entrance porch. The raised porch has a shallow hip roof and is entered from the front. It has frame construction and is clad and finished as part of the main portion of the house (rather than a separate, attached structure). There are wide window openings with low floor to ceiling heights. The double window and door are set into rectangular frames of plain wood. The ground-floor and basement windows and the front door are set into segmented, arched openings with concrete sills. Second-storey dormer windows and a bay window are centred within the gambrel form and are offset from the ground-floor openings. This creates a more informal composition common to twentieth-century buildings. The original, multi-paned windows have plain, wood sills and trim. Front, ground-floor and second-floor windows are not original. The roof material appears to be a siding on the steep, roof slope. A wood fascia band, expressing the line of the floor structure between the foundation and ground floors, is common to this style. The house has wood frame construction, vinyl siding, and a textured, concrete-block foundation. The original siding was wood. According to the 2000 inventory, the building is in excellent condition with many well-maintained, original features. (1, 2, 3)

The mid-block building located at 37 Holland St. East was built in the Gothic Revival style in the 1880-1890’s. Originally, the left side on the ground floor contained an office occupied by grain buyers. It had a front door and a small window. The remainder of the building was used as living quarters for several families over the years, including Art Hand (a painter and decorator) and his wife (Sawyer), and later their son Orville and his wife Helen (Noble). It was eventually sold to Mr. Glass, a merchant.
The 1½-storey house has an ‘L’-shaped plan with a centre hall. It also has an asymmetrical façade, an off-centre front gable at the façade projection, and a medium-pitched, gable roof. There is a raised, open porch. The existing roof, supports, and railing are not original. Its wide door opening suggests that the original had a transom and sidelights. The door itself is not original. There are small windows with high floor to ceiling heights. Wide windows set into rectangular openings in the projecting bay are not original and the variation in the brick suggests that the original openings were partially bricked in. The windows in the receding bay are set into segmented, arch openings with brick voussoirs and concrete, lug sills. None of the existing windows are original. The building has wood frame construction with brick cladding and a textured, concrete foundation. According to the 2000 inventory, there are few original details remaining in the building. (1, 2, 3)

The building located at 1 Holland St. West was originally built as a hotel (Central Hotel, Uneeda Hotel, H. Hulse Hotel). Tom and Len Saint worked on the construction of the building. George Webb ran the hotel for a while before he moved to Saskatchewan. Tom Bell was the manager for many years until he retired and moved to the east side of Simcoe Street. Around 1917 it became the Imperial Bank of Commerce. A large safe and living quarters for the bank staff were located upstairs. The entrance to the apartment was on the west side of the building. John McDowell and his family lived here in the 1930’s. The bank was robbed by the notorious “Boyd Gang” in the 1940’s. At one time the front offices were used by the police, and the back offices were used by Mr. Scanlon (a lawyer). The bank closed in 1972 and was moved further west on Holland Street. This building then became a real estate office, a convenience store, and as of 2014, the Coffee Culture Café. (1, 2)

The building located at 23 Holland St. West may have been owned by George Stoddart Jr. at one time. It had living quarters upstairs. The ground floor once housed a bank (possibly the Imperial Bank) and there was a large vault in the back. The manager was Fred Stevens. He moved to Barrie when the bank closed. This left the Canadian Bank of Commerce as the only bank in Bradford at that time. The Bradford Witness newspaper, under the direction of Stewart and Ina McKenzie, later moved to this location from the Seim Building. (1, 2)
The building located at 27 Holland St. West also had living quarters upstairs. The ground floor housed the practice of lawyers Gardner, Morris and Denney for a while after WWII. Mrs. Marg Fallis lived upstairs for many years before moving to John Street. (1, 2)

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)

Builder A.J. (Arthur) Saint and his wife Margaret once lived in the structure located at 113 Holland St. West. Art bought the house in 1931 and completely remodeled it. He added a walk-in refrigerator and a two-car garage in the old summer kitchen and woodshed. At the back of the lot at that time there was a two-storey barn that Art turned into a workshop. He had three children (Keith, Helen and Karen). Art died in 1952 and the house was sold a couple of years later to John DePeuter. It was later remodeled and bricked again as seen in this photo from 1995. (1, 2)

The Dr. Lewis Campbell House is a mid-block building located at 33 John St. East. It was built in 1900 in the Eclectic Edwardian style. Dr. Lewis H. Campbell was a well-known physician, athlete, and field lacrosse player. He travelled with the local lacrosse team to Australia (where they were undefeated). The team continued playing in India and Europe before coming back home. He had the house (and his office) built here the summer he got married. He married a nurse after his first wife’s early death and continued to live and practise here until his own death. The house was then sold to another doctor. Originally there was a full, two-storey horse stable with a loft behind the house. On the south-west corner there was a room for storing harnesses, blankets, etc. This faced the back lane and was clapboard with a peaked, metal roof. At the rear of the house there was also a brick, one-storey garage and storage for a cutter, buggy, etc. It was on the north side of the laneway and was later made into a small house with a verandah closed in on the south side for Kowalchuch (a small market gardener) and his family of two girls.
The 2½-storey house has an ‘L’-shaped plan (a Gothic feature). The steeply-pitched, hip roof has a large, hipped dormer. There is a large, projecting, second-floor bay window with a balanced window opening at the ground floor. Classically-inspired colonnettes on brick and stone piers at the porch entrance are another Edwardian feature. The eaves line is not consistent. Front, projecting roof eaves are higher than at the rear of house. This is more typical of an Arts and Crafts detail. The entrance door has sidelights and the double-hung windows have decorative, multi-pane, upper-sash windows. There are rusticated stone highlights at the belt course, ground floor window sills and porch colonnettes bases at the front façade. The house has brick masonry construction. A balcony infill above the porch does not appear to be original. The roof skylight and replacement entrance stairs and railing are also modern additions. According to the 2000 inventory, the house is unique and grand, with an eclectic mix of many original details. It also notes that it was difficult to see the structure due to the surrounding trees. (1, 2, 3)