Watertower Neg 8 Annotated

1895 -present, 648 Talbot Street. The Health Pantry was owned by Gertrude Palmer and operated during the 70s, newspaper articles in 1973 and 1978, I cannot find the exact dates she started and stoped. Mrs. Palmer was a very nice, jolly person to deal with. The building had, upstairs, one of the most unusual apartments on Talbot Street. Two skylights, two fireplaces (decommissioned), a beautiful bathroom and.....a balcony. To my knowledge it was the only apartment with a balcony on Talbot Street. We used to go out on the balcony and watch the Shivaree Parade back in the day. John Blake and the late Jim Medlyn both lived there, and it was the scene of many wonderful masquerade parties for Halloween, etc. In October 1980 it would be occupied by Ansell's, owned and operated by Keith Hunt, and later Gill Hunt, who beautifully restored the facade, see my post on Ansell's. 648 had been built by Dr. W. E. Smith who partnered with Dr. James D. Curtis in 1963.
[photo is of the Health Pantry ca 1974]

1911 - 2000. Elgin Handles was one of the longest continuing running businesses in St. Thomas when it closed in 2000. The yellow brick building dates from 1888 and was built by John Heard and Co. Millworks. In 1915 Elgin Handles was formed and later assumed operation of the Heard plant. Among other things, they made handles for shovels, axes, etc., mainly out of ash, products were shipped everywhere. This company kept a lot of people fed during the Depression, and it was one of the places you could "always get a job." RIP, you served your community well.
[note L & PS St. Thomas Freight Office/Depot across the tracks in the photo]

early - 1970s, on Station Street. London and Port Stanley Railway Freight Office. Photo dates from 1919, but it was constructed long before that. The station house on the left was abandoned and soon demolished following the construction of a new L & PS St. Thomas station at Talbot Street in 1920-1921. The freight office on the right remained in use and survived into the 1970s. [see aerial photo with Elgin Handles]

1880 - present, 51 St. Catherine Street. Dixie Dairy Bar, one of the longest running businesses in St. Thomas. Food has been served from this location since the 1880s, cornerstone on the building says 1880. Used to serve light lunches, soda. Every child's happy memory. Nice people, always has been.

I had to include this photo. The image speaks for itself: Dixie Dairy Bar, in one form or another, has been operating from the time of streetcars. Circa 1905.

1913 - 1993, 606 - 610 Talbot Street. Built 1913 for the Noble Manufacturing Co. Ltd., biscuit makers, then was Nobility Chocolates Ltd. Vacant 1923 to 1926. In 1927 was Ross Leaf Tobacco Co. Ltd., then finally late 1927 the Sutherland Press Ltd. From 1928 to 1955, Sutherland Press shared with St. Thomas Box Co. Ltd. and in 1929 only with the Lenox Manufacturing Co. Ltd., makers of overalls. From 1957 to 1983 Sutherland Press Ltd. was sole occupant, from 1985 to 1993 went by Loder-Sutherland, printing and advertising. Closed 1993, vacant 1994 to 1999. In 1998 conversion to condos renovations began, and to make a very long story short, whole thing was a flop, everybody ran out of money and patience, and in 2017 the building was demolished. [photo is from 1950]
The Sutherland Press employed a lot of people over the decades and gave them their start in the trade. RIP.

1945 - present, 614 Talbot Street. The history is complicated. Private companies have provided a variety of transportation services to the City since the introduction of horse-drawn street railways in 1879, which were subsequently electrified and ultimately replaced by buses about 1927. Although the City assumed responsibility for transit in the mid-1960s, these bus services have always been privately operated. From 1879 to 1902--St. Thomas Street Railway, from 1902 to 1926--St. Thomas Municipal Railway. In 1926 electric streetcars were shut down, given to private enterprise buses. After this I just have to throw the spaghetti to the wall with a bunch of names: Metropolitan Bus Lines, United Lines, St. Thomas Transit, Richards Coach Lines, Bluebird Coach Lines, St. Thomas Coach Lines, St. Thomas Transit again, Skinner Bus Lines, Charterways, Lewis Bus Lines, Aboutown, Voyageur Transportation Services, Voyago. And finally, in 2021, everything rebranded as Local Motion - Railway City Transit.
Nobody can make any money at this. Anyway, in 1975 the terminal was a busy place.
[photo is new fibreglass facia on the building upgrade completed December 1975]

1949 - ?, 624 Talbot Street. I mention Sanderson's Pro Hardware because it was part of the "everything within walking distance" convenience that existed downtown at that time. Grocery stores, drug stores, all of it. It worked.

1967 - present, County Road 29 near Dalewood Drive. The Ontario Water Resources Commission installed a 195 foot water tower with a capacity of 200,000 gallons. It was completed 1967 to help facilitate the new St. Thomas Ford Assembly Plant, also built in 1967.

1980 - 2022, 648 Talbot Street. After the Health Pantry closed, Keith Hunt opened Ansell's Trophies. His wife Doreen was already operating the successful card shop Love Story at the Elgin Mall, and Keith was handing the engraving of charm bracelets and other items requiring personalization. Keith, who passed in 2017, was a great guy who really worked his business, and when he retired his daughter Gill Martin took it over. As was popular in the 70s, Keith had covered the facade of the building [as in the St. Thomas Transit photo]. Anyway, in 2016-17 Gill undertook a complete restoration of the facade setting the benchmark for what can be achieved through restoration, and was awarded the 2017 Architectural Conservancy of Ontario Heritage Award. And, as a bonus, Talbot Street got its balcony back. [see photo above]