Historical Photos IV: Blind River

These photos show Blind River as it was. Most of the buildings shown here have changed. Businesses have closed, and others have opened. Some buildings no longer exist.

CPR track, view eastward in 1977. All the buildings visible here have been torn down.

Domtar's slash burner and sawdust hopper in 1978.

16 Woodward Avenue in 2012 and in 1979. Haggers (next door) has received a new front as well.It's now a drygoods store.

Haggers closed down in 2022.

Part of the McFadden/Domtar lumber mill in 1978, at which time it was derelict. I have no idea what this building was for. At the time one of the commercial fishers was using it for storage. It's long gone.

The remains of the dock at Blind River in 1978. For many decades, ships arrived here carrying people, goods, and later on cars. Neither tree nor trailer exist any more. The dock pilings were cut away one winter as a make-work project.

The Lincoln Hotel, Blind River, notorious for its rowdiness, good food, and live entertainment. It burned down in in the early 1980s.
Actually in 1991, my error

Braithwaite's Hardware warehouse shed on the Blind River was a landmark for many years. With its painted walls, it reminded the viewer of an earlier era, when small businesses were the core of the local economy. This area of the waterfront is now a parking lot and a park.

Carlo's Snack Bar looked like this in 1979. It offered cheap and hearty food, and had many regular customers. It offered the classic Canadian breakfast of eggs any style, bacon, and home fries, with toast and coffee, all for around $2.50, depending on what the customer added to the basic menu.

By the 1990s, Carlo's had morphed into a Restaurant. The owners renovated the original structure, and added a new building at the back to accommodate larger parties and special events. The St Joseph's Hospital Auxiliary celebrated its 40th anniversary there. The food was still good, cheap, and plentiful. It changed hands and name a few years ago. I'll post a picture of its present-day appearance in a few days.

Another defunct business, Woodward Housewares in October, 1979.

 The Palace Theatre of fond memory. It eventually succumbed to VHS competition, but I enjoyed many good movies there. This is how it looked in 1979.

And this is how the Palace Theatre looked in 1998. Soon after, it was torn down, and an office building replaced it. Update 2013: It has been revived as a weekends only movie show at the Alain Bray Auditorium, located at Ecole Secondaire Jeunesse Nord.

 Murray Street in 1985. The drugstore has been renovated, and the Golden Bakery no longer exists. The building has been used for several business, at present there's a real estate office in it.
Update 9 March 2015: Since summer 2014, the Golden Bakery building houses doctor's office.

 

 

 

 

 

 Road hockey in the snow, about 1974. I can't identify the street. Please comment if you know where this was. Or if you are one of the people  playing hockey.

Two scenes of road hockey on Indiana St in 1978.

 
The Algoma Hotel burning in 1972. It stood opposite Young's Auto-Body shop. The hotel had a reputation as a strip joint.

Palace Theatre entrance in 1980.

 The Harmonic Hotel as it was in 1976. It changed hands several times, and a subsequent owner renamed it the Iron Horse Inn. In the 1970s and 80s, it had live music and the bar was sometimes quite lively. For a while it was the Greyhound Bus Stop.

It's much more sedate now, offering good food in its Cafe and dining room.

The Iron Horse Inn in 2003.

The breakwater defining the channel at Carlson's Dock, in 1979. So it's a historic picture, even though the breakwater is still there.

1988.  It was about -20F, with a bitter wind. I decided to post it today (2015-12-24) because it's warm, there's no frost in the ground, and it will likely rain before the day is over. The car is long gone, several of the buildings on Carlson's dock have been taken down, too.

 Several pictures of the 17 Restaurant. It's been a fixture at the corner of Causley St  (highway 17) and Woodward Ave. for a long, long time. The first two are from 1978 and 1981. You'll notice that the adjoining store has had several names and uses.

The next two are from summer 2003.

And this is how it looked in 2010. I'll post a current picture soon. ;-)