Aug 11 2020
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/
Aug 10 2020
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/
Aug 05 2020
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/
Aug 04 2020
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/
Aug 03 2020
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/
Jul 30 2020
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/
Jul 30 2020
July 2020 The Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) disappeared from the railway landscape 97 years ago, but fortunately, many of the former GTR stations remain standing today; mostly being used for non-railway functions. In Maple, Ontario, just north of Toronto, one of the former GTR stations is still a very busy railway station. Currently owned by …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/memories-of-a-grand-era-the-maple-grand-trunk-railway-station/
Jul 26 2020
July 2020 The Guild Inn, also known simply as The Guild, is a historic former hotel along the Scarborough Bluffs, that now operates as a banquet and special events facility. Originally known as Brickford Manor, this white stucco, Arts and Crafts-style manor house, was built in 1914 by Colonel Harold on his 40 acres property. …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/the-guild-inn-a-treasure-along-the-scarborough-bluffs/
Jul 21 2020
July 2020 The former Canadian National Railway (CNR) station in Orillia is facing an uncertain future after being sold to a developer. Originally built by the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) in 1917, it became part of the CNR inventory when the GTR went bankrupt six years later. It replaced the original station, which was destroyed …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/orillias-former-grand-trunk-railway-station-faces-an-uncertain-future/
Jul 16 2020
July 2020 The Grand Trunk Railway station in Caledonia is one of several restored railway stations that hearken back to the day of Canada’s “golden age” of railway travel, when railway stations had impressive and appealing architectural designs. The Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) built the current station in 1908, the third GTR railway station to …
Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/restored-grand-trunk-railway-station-in-caledonia-a-local-treasure/
