North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario about 330 kilometers
(210 miles) north of Toronto. It differs in geography from Southern Ontario
because North Bay is situated on the Canadian Shield which results in a more
rugged landscape. North Bay straddles both the Ottawa River watershed to the
east and the Great Lakes Basin to the west. The city’s urban core is located
between Lake Nipissing and the smaller Trout Lake.
In 1882, John Ferguson decided that the
north bay of Lake Nipissing was a promising spot for settlement. Apart from
Indigenous people, voyageurs and surveyors, there was little activity in the
Lake Nipissing area until the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in
1882. North Bay was selected as the southern terminus of the Temiskaming and
Northern Ontario Railway (T&NO) in 1902 when the Ross government took the
bold move to establish a development road to serve the Haileybury settlement.
During construction of the T&NO, silver was discovered at Cobalt and
started a mining frenzy in the northern part of the province that continued for
many years. The Canadian Northern Railway was built to North Bay in 1913.
North Bay grew through a strong lumbering
sector, mining and the three railways in the early days.
Born in France about 1598, Jean Nicolet, explorer, fur trader, and
interpreter came to Canada in 1618. Under orders from Samuel de Champlain, he
spent the following two years with the Algonquins of Allumette Island. He was
then sent to the Nipissing Indians of this area and dwelt among them for at
least eight years, learning their language, adopting their customs, and
strengthening their alliance with the French. Nicolet is credited with the
discovery of Lake Michigan which he explored as far south as the head of Green
Bay in 1634. He later settled in Trois Rivieres. He drowned in the St. Lawrence
in 1642.
The rivers and lakes of northern Ontario have been highways for travel
and commerce for hundreds of years. First nations and European explorers used
Lake Nipissing for transporting their furs. When the railroad reached the area
in the 1880s, settlers and timber were transported across the lake.
374 Fraser Street – Angus Block – 1914 – This building is noted for its parapet at the roof line and for its highly distinctive white stone window surrounds consisting of stepped lintels, quoined jambs and flat sills. Other notable features include the toothed heading of the in-stepped brick facing and bracketed canopy over the third-floor paired openings. The date stone indicates that H.W. Angus, an early architect in North Bay, was responsible for its design and erection.100 Ferguson Street – former Canadian Pacific Railway Station – 1903 – Entry of British Columbia into Confederation in 1871 led to the establishment of the CPR as the initial continental railway linking the country’s east and west coasts, completed in 1885. In 1881 the railway located their divisional services and regional headquarters on the shore of Lake Nipissing, where the City of North Bay subsequently sprang up. The stone masonry is of a variegated light beige color of split-faced finish, laid in a random-coursed pattern. The corner and intermittent piers and window surrounds are of a uniform darker brown tone of flat-faced finish, laid in a level course pattern. Most openings at ground floor level are of the Romanesque round-head arched style. A wide bracketed canopy projects on all sides at the second-floor level, offering protection from the weather to passengers, their luggage, and accompanying freight. The Canadian Pacific Railway reached North Bay in 1882 and the area became a crucial junction point between east and west rail traffic. In 1901, the CPR made North Bay the District Divisional headquarters; repair shops began to dominate the North Bay waterfront. The site eventually housed an eighteen-stall engine house, freight and flour sheds, carpenter and car repair shops, ice houses, a yard office, railway stores, and the engineer booking office. There was also a vast locomotive shop used to repair steam engines. At its peak, the yard could hold two hundred railroad cars and it contained twenty-five miles of track. During the 1940s, four transcontinental trains a day came through the yards. To the west of the main depot was a well-maintained grassy park with numerous flower gardens and trees.200 First Avenue West – Former Normal School/Teacher’s College opened in 1909 with an enrollment of 25 students and continued in operation until 1972. This design is exemplary of the architectural influence of the Edwardian style. The observatory-like dome, the elaborate cornices and the formal entrance are three main characteristics of the building.135-137 First Avenue West – 2½-storey bays with Tudor timbering in gables, diamond window panes183 First Avenue West – North Bay Masonic Temple was built in 1928 and was first used as a meeting and dance hall. During the Second World War it served as a center for medical examinations of those local residents contemplating military service. The building is Neo-Classical in style with a symmetrical front façade. The outstanding architectural features of this building include the engaged piers and stepped parapet carried by the entablature. The grand stone entranceway expresses the major function of this structure as an assembly hall.406 McIntyre Street West – two-storey bay with octagonal capped roof, dormer590 McIntyre Street West – Browning Residence – Constructed in 1902, it was originally occupied by Crown Prosecutor A.G. Browning and his family. It is set on a large corner lot at Murray Street, among mature trees. A strong symmetry of the main façade was originally developed in a three-bay roofed front porch at ground floor level leading to the main entry, above which is a second-floor bay window whose structure extends through the main roof eave to form a unique mini-balcony centered on a third-floor windowed gable. This symmetry is offset by a three-story gabled wing on one side, and the wrap-around porch terminating at a corner bay on the Murray Street side.658 McIntyre Street West – The Bourke Residence was built in 1907. The structural, yet decorative columns and the boxed-in triangular pediment over the porch area are strong elements of the design. The two-story bay windows and the wraparound porch are also distinctive. Symmetry is established, centered on the main entrance, in the access stair, the pediment enhanced porch, and the second-floor balcony. The windowed gable at the attic level is centered independently on the main front wing of the L-shaped structure. The home was once the residence of the first Mayor of the City of North Bay, John Bourke.768 McIntyre Street West – The Beamish Residence was constructed in 1907. The two-story front porch is large and has Ionic columns. It has a hipped roof with wave-form dormer windows. A strong symmetry is centered on the two-story wood porch between matched masonry bays. The fanned steps of the main entry are very generous in scale, and thus appropriately related to the proportions of the entire front façade. The front entrance is the only item that is off center. A well-preserved home of majestic stature, it was once the original residence of a local merchant, Mr. Beamish. Mr. Jack Shaw, former North Bay Mayor, also resided here. Mr. Arthur Cavanaugh, former manager of Ontario Northland Railway, lived in this house from 1940-1950.610 Copeland Avenue – The Milne Residence is an impressive home located on an unusually large lot. It was built for William Milne Sr. in the early 1900s. Milne was the owner of Wm. Milne & Sons Lumber Company which was located at the present site of the Ministry of Natural Resources on Trout Lake Road from the early 1900s to 1944. Milne was also a former alderman and Mayor of North Bay in 1909 and 1910. The house is set back on the property. The large side yard housed a tennis court during the first two decades of the house. The exterior is simple, but the structure is reminiscent of the local history of the lumber and crafts industry. The exterior walls are sheathed with shiplap-type wood siding. The roof is sheathed in wood shingles. The veranda, which wraps around the front and side of the home, once extended to the rear of the home as well, but it was later removed.North Bay Heritage Carousel – Of course, I had to have a ride on it while I was there!
