This week’s featured photograph of the July 12, 1912 Orange Parade shows a familiar view of Hurontario Street; however, there is one building that may be unfamiliar.
The light-coloured, three-storey building near the photograph’s centre no longer exists in its entirety. Instead, one-third remains as 83 Hurontario Street, housing Coriander.
According to the Huron Institute, this building was originally opened in 1876 as the Central Hotel by Thomas Collins.
By 1895 its name was changed to the Grand Central Hotel. An impressive photograph of the Grand Central appears in Photograph 2.
On February 7, 1895, the Collingwood Bulletin reported the following…
“Mr. Thos. Collins is determined to have the most modern hotel in Northern Ontario. This week he has added a fully equipped bath-room, and in the kitchen he has put in a St. Louis wrought iron range. The range is the largest in town and has every improvement which aids in the preparing of food. In connection with it there is a large tank for boiling water and a steam heater, also a boiler.
In the spring and before the summer business begins, Mr. Collins intends to improve the exterior of the building by a coat of paint of an artistic color. He will also make some changes in the interior of the building.”
The majority of the building was torn down in April 1918 for the construction of the Merchants Bank of Canada. This later became the Bank of Montreal.
Today this location is home to Prime Seven Nine at 79 Hurontario Street.
If you have a story to share about today’s featured photographs, please contact museum staff at [email protected].
Remember This is a weekly series of historic photographs submitted by the Collingwood Museum to CollingwoodToday.ca. These photographs were originally collected and documented by the Huron Institute in an historical catalogue entitled Huron Institute Paper and Records: Volume III. Much of Collingwood’s early history has been preserved due to the dedication and foresight of the early museum’s founders, namely its secretary-curator David Williams, upon its establishment in 1904.
