March 9, 2010
Bay Street circa 1905-1910
Bay Street circa 1905-1910
Congratulations on the 100th anniversary. It came to my attention through the recent article in the Chronicle which I read online. I wondered if you may be interested in photos which indicate something of what Bay Street looked like in the period just prior to when the Finnish Labour Temple was built.
The three photos attached show portions of buildings along Bay Street, with freight cars of the Canadian Northern Railway visible at the foot of Bay St. in two photos, circa 1905-10. A year ago, I found among family stuff a bundle of negatives which had come from J.M. (Jim) Hansen, including photos taken in Port Arthur in the 1905 - 1910 period. Mr. Hansen arrived in Port Arthur in 1905 from Minnesota, to where he had emigrated from Norway's Lofoten Islands several years prior. We believe he and later his family lived on Secord St. and nearby for a number of years while he pursued his trade as a plasterer (building of the Prince Arthur Hotel) and cabinet maker and was later active in general contracting until retirement about 1950.
Mr. Hansen, my maternal grandfather, appears in two photos as indicated, however we have been unable to identify anyone else in the photos or the exact location of the buildings seen. Unfortunately some negatives which may have shown a broader perspective were out of focus.
John Garner
Toronto
The three photos attached show portions of buildings along Bay Street, with freight cars of the Canadian Northern Railway visible at the foot of Bay St. in two photos, circa 1905-10. A year ago, I found among family stuff a bundle of negatives which had come from J.M. (Jim) Hansen, including photos taken in Port Arthur in the 1905 - 1910 period. Mr. Hansen arrived in Port Arthur in 1905 from Minnesota, to where he had emigrated from Norway's Lofoten Islands several years prior. We believe he and later his family lived on Secord St. and nearby for a number of years while he pursued his trade as a plasterer (building of the Prince Arthur Hotel) and cabinet maker and was later active in general contracting until retirement about 1950.
Mr. Hansen, my maternal grandfather, appears in two photos as indicated, however we have been unable to identify anyone else in the photos or the exact location of the buildings seen. Unfortunately some negatives which may have shown a broader perspective were out of focus.
John Garner
Toronto
(click thumbnail to view)
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