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/
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/
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/
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/
August 2020 Carousels, or merry-go-rounds, have been popular amusement park attractions for around two centuries. These circular rides commonly feature wooden horses, but may also feature an assortment of other wooden animals like pigs, zebras, lions, tigers, mythological creatures like dragons or unicorns, bench seats, aeroplanes or cars. While the ride is in motion, the …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-jewel-of-centreville-the-centreville-antique-carousel/
August 2020 The quaint, colourful, lakefront cottage community of Grimsby Park in Grimsby, Ontario, Grimsby Park has its beginnings in 1846, when John Bowslaugh, a Methodist, offered up his lakeside property to host large Temperance gatherings; events that soon became quite popular with over 2000 people regularly attending. These gatherings were not just religious gatherings, …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/grimsby-park-a-colourfully-beautiful-historic-cottage-community/
August 2020 The Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) is long gone, but many of the architecturally significant stations built to serve this one grand Canadian railway company endure to this day. Built in 1903 and originally standing at the corner of Station Street (now Galt Street) and Grand Trunk Street, the Whitby Junction Station replaced an …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/former-whitby-junction-station-lives-on-as-an-art-gallery/
August 2020 On a hill, overlooking the Muskoka River in Bracebridge, Ontario, sits the historic octagon house built in 1882 by wool manufacturer Henry J. Bird. Known both as Woodchester Villa and The Bird House, the house has 16 inch-thick walls, each section of which alternates between 14 feet 8 inches and 16 feet 5 …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/woodcester-villa-bracebridges-historic-octagonal-home/
August 2020 A sad reality as the years march by is that some of the buildings and structures in our communities are demolished and replaced by new buildings; sometimes even historic buildings. It’s called progress. Even some that aren’t purposely demolished are left abandoned and allowed to deteriorate to the point that it’s too expensive …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/restoring-the-past-the-canadian-national-railway-station-in-jarvis/
July 2020 Hamilton, Ontario, is a proud, working-class city that is best known for its steel production, leading to its nick-name, “The Steel City.” Hamilton was also home to a Studebaker automobile factory, established in 1947, in the former WWII Otis-Fenson anti-aircraft gun plant on Victoria Street North, built in 1907. Studebaker was originally founded …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/gone-but-not-forgotten-the-hamilton-studebaker-plant/
