Thunder Bay Unseen

Superior History

The McVicar Family Farm

The route of this walk took me through one of the oldest neighbourhoods in old Port Arthur. Many of the homes date back over 100 years and feature plenty of unique architectural touches. The route was a relatively simple one but turned up many unexpected surprises. The majority of the route was through land which formerly was the McVicar Family Farm in the late 1800s, and later King's Garden in the early 1900s. Camelot Street is home to some genuinely beautiful old houses, and Cumberland Street is home to a great collection of former industrial and current commercial buildings.

The start of my walk took me past Maudslay Court, one of the oldest apartment buildings in the Old Port Arthur area. The original sign still adorns the front of the building - Note the iron embellishments around the sign. There is a large amount of detail in the trim between the 4th and 5th floors of the building. In the image to the left one can see the entrance to the former caretaker's apartment in the basement of the building. The caretakers apartment has since been changed to storage space for the building's residents. The apartments on the south side of the building also possess beautiful sun rooms, supported at the basement level by brick arches.

The fifth floor, I suspect, was once home to extravagant open air balconies.
At some point however, most likely to conform to current building codes, these balconies were reduced and covered.
I am afraid the effect is quite lacking. Directly below is a view of one of the south facing sun rooms. The trim between the 4th and 5th floors is also quite detailed and intricate.

To the immediate north of Maudslay Court lies a short lane/parking area. It also possesses a single utility pole. I suspect that this is a remnant of the old road which used to run parallel to McVicar's Creek on the north bank. The road no longer exists.
The pole may also be left over from houses that used to exist next door to Maudslay Court but were torn down to make way for the McVicar Estate condominium. Although those homes were torn down in 1977 the address sign of one home persisted, nailed to a tree along court street, along with a clump of hedges with a break in them, marking the entrance to the home. The sign was finally removed, along with the hedges, some 15 years later.

I suspect the Court Street Bridge over McVicar's Creek is still composed mostly of one of the original concrete bridges built in Port Arthur at the dawn of the last century. Its construction is quite unlike any other bridge spanning McVicar's Creek and brings to my mind images of the old Simpson Street Bridge over the Neebing River. McVicar's Creek spills directly over the Canadian Shield here and, although is quite shallow, can be running quite fast. Definitely not a wading area.

Prior to 1966 the small street which ran parallel to McVicar's Creek on its south bank was called River Street. Port Arthur By-Law #5499 in that year changed the name of the street to its present designation.

The next stop on my walk was the McKibbin House - a dedicated Heritage Property.

Below is a picture of the leaded glass window on the front of the house and to the lower right is a picture showing the stained glass embellishments above some of the rear and side windows. Above is the large addition built on its rear in the early 1990's. Currently the building is home to an architectural and engineering firm.

From the dedication plaque -

Built in 1910, This 2 1/2 storey Edwardian House remained in the McKibbin Family until 1956. Features include window sills, foundation, and a porch all built of white Simpson Island Sandstone, twin gables ornamented with shaped-cedar shingles and a large leaded glass arched window. It is located in the former King's Gardens, a beautiful creation of Joseph King, the "Planter King", established in the early 1900's

Note the brickwork arch above the window.

Continuing along Court Street towards the former downtown core I noticed this light fixture above the front door of one house. I thought it was quite unique for a residential house and left me to wonder when it had actually been first installed.

The next house that I stopped to consider is shown above. I remember learning at some point growing up that this house featured a tunnel that had been dug to the house behind it on Villa Street. The tunnel was used for smuggling purposes during prohibition. I will have to try and confirm as to whether this is actually true or not. Currently the house is divided into a number of small apartments but, in its prime, it must have been a beautiful home. Note the small circular window in the attic area - probably the servant's quarters, as well as the bay windows towards the rear of the house, and the fancy brick trim above the first floor windows.

Villa Street was named Victoria Street, prior to 1971, in honour of Victoria McVicar whose family owned the farm upon which the street now sits. The name was changed to Villa Street in 1971 after the unification of Port Arthur and Fort William to avoid duplication of street names.

Tupper Street itself is named for Sir Charles Tupper, who was a former Prime Minister of Canada (although he only served in that position for a total of 69 days).

Some sidewalks in Thunder Bay, particularly those on forgotten side streets, are not made out of standard concrete. The sidewalks along Tupper Street are actually made of a red stone material with plenty of larger pebbles in the mixture. The sidewalks have stood up well to the ravages of time but are probably not too much fun to roller skate on. I am curious as to the source of these red sidewalks.

The next structures to catch my eye was the law office on the corner of Tupper and North Court Street. While the building itself is mostly a nondescript, one story office building it does feature a rather unique entrance to one of the offices which lies partially hidden from view along Court Street. Before this building was constructed this lot was home to the city of Port Arthur's bus barn.

Next door the above law offices is Mike's Barber Shop. Mike's is a typical commercial addition on to a residential house, quite common in old neighbourhoods across Canada. Mike's is still open daily (closed Sundays and Mondays) and you can still get a full, proper shave with a straight razor and full hot towel treatment, in addition to a full range of men's hair styling.

On the southeast corner of Camelot and Court Street lies the Dental Medical Building, instantly identifiable by the above logo on the west side of the building. The building itself is a typical medical office building, circa 1950.
The main floor tenant is one of the last full service watch and clock shops in Thunder Bay.
Next door to the Dental Medical Building is another home business conversion, but not one as visually appealing as the first we encountered. Currently it houses a dental laboratory.

Next door to the dental laboratory is an empty lot which used to be home to the dispatch for Oikonen's (Now Roach's) Yellow Cab. The small dispatch office is long gone (although its position can be seen in the unpaved portion of the lot and the gap in a neighbouring iron fence) but the radio tower, used by dispatchers to stay in touch with the fleet of cabs around the city, still stands at the rear of the lot.

Camelot Street, lakeside of Court Street, is home to a number of businesses, some of which find their place in some classic, private homes. One of the old homes on the north side of the street is home to a small photographic art gallery. There are also a number of commercial buildings of a standard, nondescript style - Save for 244 which is a modern looking office complex, complete with a polished stone exterior.

Camelot Street is also home the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, which is home to Millie's Fragrant Garden at the rear of the building.

Next door to the CNIB building is Dawson's Dry-Cleaning which has been in operation since 1906.

In the rear of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind on Camelot Street lies Millie's Fragrant Garden, a fragrant oasis in downtown Port Arthur.

Dawson Dry Cleaners has had a home in Thunder Bay for almost one hundred years.

This former corner store on the corner of Camelot and Court Street has been converted into legal offices. Note that the front windows have been covered over with stucco.

Camelot Street was formerly known as Cameron Street before the amalgamation of the Port Arthur and Fort William. It was named for the partner of Francis Henry Keefer, E.R. Cameron, a barrister. The change in the name of the street came in 1977 as a result of Thunder Bay By-Law #145. Evidence of its former name can still be found on the Utility Station at the base of the street.

At the corner of St. Paul Street and Camelot lies the Canadian Alliance Credit Union. It is housed in a former service station. The front doors are actually one the former automotive bay doors.

On the southwest corner of Cumberland Street and Camelot lies the former Waverly Hotel, formerly known as 'The Wave' by locals, and currently home to Sanford's On Deck Sport's Bar. The brick front steps of the former hotel are in disrepair and the hotel does not seem to be in existence anymore. The bar, however, appears to be doing brisk business.
This corner was also once home to the City of Port Arthur's street car bar, prior to the construction of the Whalen Building.

The southeast corner of Cumberland and Camelot is home to the this office building. It is a standard office building with little adornment. The trim is not overly intricate but extensive on the exterior of the building. The Cumberland Street side of the building is also fronted in a marble finish at street level.

Update - Fall 2007 - This building was torn down due to extensive fire damage.
Update - February 2007 - This building was severely damaged in a fire, to the point of being unsalvagable. The building had been unoccupied for a few months and there is the possibility that squatters had taken up residence, leading to the fire.

Beside the corner block lies the Thunder Bay Building, a nondescript office building.
The back of the building is home to one of the most curious mysteries I have yet found on my travels. The rear of the building was once home to a barber's shop (note the remains of the pole in the bottom left picture). The mystery lies in the iron 'V' that has been welded to the gate.
Does the 'V' relate to the former barber shop in some way? Or does it predate even that establishment? Maybe a visitor to this site will be able to shed light on this mystery!

One of the final reminders of Camelot Street's history as Cameron Street lies at its lakeside terminus - the Public Utility Commission Cameron Street Station. It is a simple, utilitarian brick structure that has seen little modification for its intended purpose over its 80 years.

However, if one looks closely, various entrances on the rear of the building have been bricked over and there are also a number of electrical fixtures whose purpose was made redundant and obsolete by the progress of technology.

Across the street from Cameron Street Station lies the Brewer's Retail warehouse. Built in 1947 this building has undergone some external modification as Brewer's Retail modified their distribution practices. At least one external door has been bricked over, as have a number of windows on the lake ward side of the building.
Also on the lake ward side of the building lies evidence of the reliance on the railroads that industries once had - rail side loading doors. At one time a spur of the railroad terminated along side the warehouse. Although the doors are no longer in use and the rails have long since been removed, they are a visual reminder of the former industrial nature of Port Arthur's harbour.

The track side platform has long since been removed. But the doors are much higher and further apart than what is needed for modern trucks. The trains came up from a siding off of the E yard at which used to originate at the base of Graham Street where the Marina Park Overpass now stands.

Note the various fixtures such as the overhead light and door side rails, all integral to the off loading of cargo into the evening and through the night.

One of the largest hotels in downtown Port Arthur, the Shoreline Motor Hotel harkens back to an earlier time when travel, either commercial or private, was dominated by the automobile. Its classic neon signs and colour scheme have changed very little over the last thirty years. The neon sign on the roof has changed little since the hotel was first opened.

Both the restaurant and the lounge feature views of the harbour from their seating areas. The name of restaurant has changed many times over the years, most recently being the Beacon Restaurant, although the parking sign still proclaims it to be the Captain's Galley. Prior to that it was known as Norma Jeans, a 50s theme restaurant.
Parking is available across the street but the sign has not been lit up in many many years. It was a classic light bulb lit parking sign. The corner of the lot at Camelot and Cumberland used to be the site of a service station. The outline of its pump island can still be traced in the empty parking lot.

The Medical Arts Building lays on Cumberland Street next to the Shoreline Motor Hotel. The building sports this wonderful metal sign with an art deco font. The letters that make up the sign have seen better days as they no longer line up with each other in a straight line.

Although this McDonald's is a thoroughly modern structure (built in the mid-80s) I included it for two reasons:
The first is the intended design of the building itself. When it was newly completed there was a rumour that it had been built backwards, as its large windowed dining room faces the parking lot rather than the lake. Although it is probably incorrect the rumour is lent strength by the existence of a public entrance on the lake ward side of the restaurant that opens only onto the drive-thru.

The second reason is that the large street side signs still are of the old style, with the numbers slot next to the Billion Served. All the current signs now just say Billions and Billions served. The signs are a holdover from an earlier era of fast food consumption, albeit not too early.

Another original structure along Cumberland street is the Bole's Feeds Ltd. Building. Featuring a classic 'barn' style roof the store itself has been relegated from its former storefront position to a small side door. The front of the store later housed a grocery store before becoming Stan's Pizzeria and Spaghetti House, a Thunder Bay institution for decades.
Bole's Feeds no longer supplies area farmers with all their planting needs but has morphed into a garden centre that serves the neighbourhood quite well. Doors on the rear and side of the building offer a glimpse into the history of the building and its former glory.

Update - Fall 2008 - The brick front of Stan's was recently replaced due to an accident involving a car driving through the front window.

Many of the office buildings in downtown Port Arthur show some signs of their previous owners or tenants. In the cases of some buildings, however, all that remains is the name on the building's front door.

Update - Summer 2008 - There is an addition housing an elevator and handicap accesibility built onto the back of this building

Further north along Cumberland lies a unique building. Its previous incarnation as the Powell Equipment Company is somewhat evident in the sign which, although mostly obscured, is still somewhat visible on the side of one of the buildings. The storefront of the south most portion of the building has been extensively modified but the original entrance is still quite visible. The building's former life as an equipment company have lent themselves very handily to its current life as a movie theatre. All the former mechanic bay doors at the rear have been bricked over, and the dock area subdivided into 3 separate theatres.

Although the theatre is no longer called the Ciniplex 5, the former name and logo are in evidence around the building.

Howe Street is one of the shortest streets in all of Thunder Bay. Howe Street is named for Joseph Howe, a former premier of Nova Scotia, Federal MP, and Secretary of State for the Provinces. Howe Street is not named for C.D. Howe, a prominent federal MP who hailed from the Port Arthur riding and served the government for many years.

Villa Square began its existence on as a Canadian Tire store.
Although extensive work has been done to the facade of the building the entrances to its former garage area are still evident as the paving has never been removed.

Freedom of Expression is alive and well in Thunder Bay.

The owner of this house and vehicle on McVicar's Street have decided to use them as a canvas through which he might share his views of reality with the rest of the city.

Bendell Street was formerly called River Street South. It was renamed in honour of George Bendell, a Port Arthur alderman for over 25 years.

Nugent Street is named for a friend of the Wiley family - Frank S. Nugent of Winnipeg.

At the corner of Nugent and McVicar Streets is an old home which lies obscured from the road by great bushes. The age of the house is readily apparent from the house design as well as the buildings also found on the same lot. It was built in 1905. The stone garage seen below may have originally been a horse shed.

At the corner of Villa and Nugent streets lies Villa-House, a building that combines Victorian style architecture with many modern enhancements designed to improve both building safety and quality of life. It is all the vision of one man, Wolfgang Schoor. To learn more about his vision click here...

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The McVicar Family Farm