Jan 10 2022
January 2022 Talisman Mountain Resort is a name that many in the ski and snowboarding community in Ontario remember fondly. Opened on Christmas Eve in 1963, it quickly became a popular winter destination. Two years later, a golf course and tennis courts were added, with Talisman becoming an all-season resort. Located in the Beaver Valley …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-fate-of-the-defunct-talisman-mountain-resort-remains-in-question-a-decade-later/
Jan 09 2022
January 2022 The historic Fryfogel’s Tavern in Perth East, Ontario, is one of a declining number of pre-Confederation buildings remaining in Canada, and is the only structure of its kind within the former Huron Tract. Built in 1844-45, it’s an example of an Upper Canadian building in the Neoclassic-style. Fryfogel’s Tavern was a stagecoach stop …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/last-of-its-kind-fryfogels-tavern-dates-back-to-the-early-days-of-perth-county/
Dec 31 2021
December 2021 Carousels have been a popular amusement ride since the early 1800s, when John Joseph Merlin created a carousel in his Mechanical Museum in London in 1803. Originally serving as entertainment for London gentry and nobility, by the mid-1800s, they were a popular feature at fairs and carnivals. The inspiration for Merlin’s creation was …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/fantasy-fair-amusement-park-has-one-of-only-two-looff-carousels-still-in-operation-in-ontario/
Dec 30 2021
December 2021 Ancaster, Ontario, is a historic town in the Golden Horseshoe area of southern Ontario; a town that dates back to the early years of British North America. Founded in 1793, just two years after the establishment of the Province of Upper Canada, now the Province of Ontario, Ancaster was given its name by …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-barracks-inn-just-one-of-the-many-historic-buildings-found-in-ancaster/
Dec 25 2021
December 2021 Anyone from the Ontario cottage-country town of Orillia will know the notorious Atherley Arms Hotel. Also known as The First, it has the Tudor-style building has served many functions in the century it has stood at the corner of Highway 12 and Creighton Street. From a hotel for weary travelers and workers in …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-ruins-of-the-notorious-atherley-arms-hotel/
Dec 16 2021
December 2021 Although the Barrie Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) closed in November 2020, when it moved into a new building in Orillia, the demolition of the old building a year later really punctuates the end of an era. The OPP came to Barrie in 1946, when the Town of Barrie found the …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-official-end-of-an-era-for-the-opp-in-barrie/
Dec 13 2021
December 2021 All older towns and cities have buildings that have changed uses over the years, sometimes multiple times, particularly in the older parts of town. An unassuming, two-story building on Collier Street in Barrie, Ontario, one that currently houses a dental clinic and a bistro, looks like any other retail/residential building common to any …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/unassuming-building-once-served-as-a-bus-terminal/
Nov 23 2021
November 2021 In an era when a horse and buggy was the primary mode of daily transportation for the majority of residents, travelling even relatively short distances took hours. Travelling long distances to school was out of the question for most children living in rural areas. For that reason, one-room schoolhouses were strategically scattered throughout …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/former-one-room-knock-school-s-s-15-still-serving-the-community-into-its-third-century/
Nov 10 2021
November 2021 In Toronto’s Don Valley, sit three large, white sculptures that look either like the lower half of an elephant or giant teeth. These sculptures are known as the Elevated Wetlands Sculpture, a functional art display, installed in the summer of 1998, that brings together the plastics industry, the artistic community, and environmental stewardship. …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/don-valley-elevated-wetland-structures-a-mix-of-art-and-the-environment/
Nov 09 2021
November 2021 A small non-descript building on Owen Street in Barrie, Ontario, surrounded by modest pre-war and post-war family homes, has the unique distinction of once being the smallest stand-alone variety store in the city. Opened around 1949 by Henry Bauldry, the store, appropriately named Bauldry’s, sold just about everything that you would expect from …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-building-that-was-once-barries-smallest-stand-alone-variety-store/
