Sep 14 2020
September 2020 In a time before power was supplied by electrical grids, grist mills were responsible for generating their own hydro to operate the mills. Sheave towers were an economical way to generate power from rivers by use of a water turbine underneath the tower. The last remaining wooden sheave tower in Ontario can be …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-blair-sheave-tower-ontarios-last-remaining-wooden-water-powered-hydro-generator-tower/
Sep 09 2020
September 2020 Of the many historic buildings in Hamilton, Ontario, Dundurn Castle is one of the best known. Dundurn Castle is an 18,000-square-foot, forty room Italianate-style villa, built over a three-year period and completed in 1835, as the home of Sir Allan Napier MacNab, 1st Baronet. MacNab was a lawyer, land owner, businessman, militia officer …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/dundurn-castle-hamiltons-own-historic-castle/
Sep 08 2020
September 2020 Motorsports has been a very popular attraction in North America and worldwide. Since the invention of automobile, people have wanted to race them at ever increasing speeds, along dedicated tracks and public roadways. The first recorded motor vehicle race, dubbed a “speed trial,” occurred in 1900, with racers travelling along a forty-mile long …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-motor-car-speedways-in-simcoe-county/
Sep 05 2020
September 2020 The northern Ontario city of North Bay has a long railroad history. In fact, it was the extension of the Canadian Pacific Railway lines into the north bay on Lake Nippising that led to incorporation of North Bay as a town in 1891. To celebrate this heritage, a railway heritage park was established, …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/heritage-trains-and-carousels-entertain-visitors-on-the-north-bay-waterfront/
Sep 02 2020
September 2020 The Niagara region of southern Ontario has many popular tourist attractions. For those interested in urban exploration, a popular attraction in the area is the “Blue Ghost” tunnel. Built beginning in 1875 by the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR), the 713 foot long tunnel was constructed to run underneath the then-new Welland Canal (now …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-merritton-blue-ghost-tunnel-a-relic-of-the-grand-trunk-railway/
Aug 28 2020
August 2020 The giant movie screen stands silent, white panels falling off the steel truss frame; a white monolith and monument to an industry that has seen many ups and downs over the past century. While some drive-inn theatres have survived to this day, the screen at the Elmvale Drive-in no longer displays the moving …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-end-of-the-show-is-the-elmvale-drive-in-an-image-of-the-past/
Aug 22 2020
August 2020 The grounds are eerily quiet. There is no longer the laughter and commotion of children and adults, splashing about in one of the four pools and a splash pad for the younger ones. The only water in the pools is rainwater, partially submerging old deck chairs and other debris, and the cracked pool …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/splash-canyon-the-crumbling-remains-of-an-abandoned-water-park/
Aug 18 2020
August 2020 When the government of Ontario Premier John Robarts announced the creation of Ontario Place in August 1968, he envisioned a facility on the shore of Lake Ontario in Toronto, that would serve as a showcase to promote the Province of Ontario through exhibits and entertainment. Over the years, Ontario Place would become more …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/three-decommissioned-lake-freighters-now-provide-shelter-for-ontario-place-and-its-marina/
Aug 13 2020
August 2020 The Preston Springs Hotel, an abandoned luxury hotel in Cambridge, Ontario, has been an iconic landmark in the area for 137 years. Opened in 1888 as the Del Monte Hotel Walder by Robert Walder, in what was then called the Village of Preston, an area populated by German-speaking Mennonites from Pennsylvania. Standing at …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/preston-springs-hotel-a-grim-future-for-a-historic-hotel/
Aug 12 2020
August 2020 Lighthouses have served as essential navigational aids for shipping for centuries. Although its light was extinguished long ago, the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse on Toronto Island is the oldest lighthouse still standing on the shore of the Great Lakes, and one of the oldest buildings in Toronto. Built in 1808 using stone quarried in …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/gibraltar-point-lighthouse-the-historic-lighthouse-on-toronto-island/
