A nomadic beginning eventually led to a majestic building. Barrie’s first library began as a group. It started out in 1844 as a Mechanics’ Institute, a subscription and fee-based organization created for workingmen and mechanics for improvement and development. Although the institute received donations of books from influential people in the community and membership dues were used to buy more books, as a place of intended public instruction, in 1848, the library was still seldom [...]
Iconic bell tower slowly disappearing from the downtown landscape. The Toronto Street address wasn't the first location of the former Central United Church building, but it was its last. Just over 2 years ago, the sanctuary which has stood at the corner of Ross and Toronto Streets, virtually unchanged since it was erected in 1957, was deconsecrated as a church on June 25th 2017. That was the final service for a congregation that has been [...]
One of the original 'dogs with jobs'! You may recall from previous blogs, mention of the Tordiff family - long time contributors to the Barrie Archive, since before it even launched. Whenever the Tordiffs drop off family memorabilia for the Archive, Bob always tells the tale (tail?) of his brother's dog Ted. So without further delay, here's the story of Ted the Wonder dog. "You all have heroes right?" Bob begins. "Well, I do as [...]
Canadian Forces base west of Barrie has been a long-standing part of the community. This past weekend there have been numerous local events to commemorate Remembrance Day. We join with others around the world who are paying honor and remembering the sacrifices made on our behalf. Barrie is one of the unique communities that has a military base, practically next door. Most of us are quite used to seeing men and women in uniform around [...]
A recent site visit provides glimpses into theatre's many glory days. Test, test and test again is how you de-risk an event so everything will run smoothly ... and that's just what we were doing in preparation for our Barrie on the Big Screen night when we were treated to some nostalgic moments at the Uptown Theatre. Since the doors first opened in 1937, this now trendy indie theatre has had a long history and [...]
Archival Investigations features works by third-year students in Georgian College’s School of Design and Visual Arts using images from the Barrie Historical Archive in a fresh, new light. Students reconstructed scenes from the past to create transformative new artworks from a variety of perspectives: memories, nostalgia, civic planning, suburban sprawl, humour and wonder. Whether posing a political critique or portraying a moment in Barrie’s fascinating past, each student interpreted a scene as it appeared to [...]
A CBC Radio Ontario Morning interview with Travis Doucette, brought content donors from London, Ontario with loads of rare images of the Roxy and Capitol theaters, old Barrie and much more. A listener in London was encouraged to reach out to the Barrie Historical Archive after hearing this recent interview on CBC's Ontario Morning. The gentleman's father had been a projectionist at the Roxy theater and had preserved many never-seen-before images and some wonderful artifacts [...]