QUEEN STREET
BUSINESS SECTION
Walk 2
26 25
LAMBTON
DURHAM
27
21
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19 18 17
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24 23 22 20
QUEEN STREET
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14 13 12
16 15
Most of the stores were built in Renaissance Revival style in the 1880’s, replacing
the wooden buildings of the town’s first merchants. There are also many Second
Empire Style structures, a
favourite style of A.J. Evans,
a local architect. Although
most storefronts have been
altered, the upper floors still
show the architectural
elements of 1870-1900,
despite some missing
cornices. Note the many
original inset doorways and
Queen Street looking south, c. 1880
external support columns.
12 719-723 QUEEN STREET
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44°10.527'N / 81°38.182'W
Built in 1907, the building known as the
Kincardine Post Office and Customs House
is typical of the Renaissance Revival Style of
Architecture found in Ontario between 1870
and 1910, featuring balance, harmony and
symmetry. The top two floors were the home
The old Post Off
ice
of the first postmaster of Kincardine, George
D. Morrison. M. J. MacPherson conducted
the customs office located here. Rural mail delivery was established in 1913.
Stage delivery, the old stand-by for many years, came to an end in 1914. In 1977,
the stately old structure was deemed inadequate for the town's expanding
population. Since closing as a Post Office, the building has been the offices for a
variety of local businesses and services.
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QUEEN STREET BUSINESS SECTION
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13 727 QUEEN STREET
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44°10.538'N / 81°38.173'W
The Library, a mix of Classical
and Aesthetic styles, was funded
with $5000 from the Carnegie
Foundation and built on land
donated by the town. It opened
in 1908 with a stock of 255 books
and was furnished by Andrew
Malcolm and Watson and
Coombe Furniture Companies.
The Library
The new section was added in
1990.
Recent research has
attributed the architect of the
original Library to W. Frye Colwell of Guelph, who built other Carnegie Libraries in
the area.
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14 737, 743 and 747 QUEEN STREET
44°10.559'N / 81°38.159'W
This is a typical Romanesque Revival
block of stores. The Oddfellows Lodge
was behind the second floor balcony. 743
was built in the 1880’s for Edward Fox, as
a shop of watches and clocks.
743 Queen Street - Morrison
HERITAGE KINCARDINE WALKING TOURS
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Block (1900)
QUEEN STREET BUSINESS SECTION
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15 750 QUEEN STREET
44°10.574'N / 81°38.160'W
The Bruce Inn, once the Queen’s
Hotel, was built in the 1860’s and
retains much of its original style.
Note the wooden parapets and
the archway, once a carriageway
allowing entrance to the hotel.
The upper levels have been
recently restored.
Queen Street eas
t - The Henry Blo
ck 1873
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16 756 QUEEN STREET
44°10.555'N / 81°38.153'W
The Old Royal was built by
Richard Vanstone in 1883 for
Robert Baird to house a block
of three stores. The style is
Orientalizing or Moorish. Of
special interest are the carved
faces above the windows.
Note the pressed metal arch
supports. Druggist Geo. M.
MacKendrick was the first
vendor in the south store. 286288 Harbour Street is another
example of this style.
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Detail of 756 Queen Stree
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QUEEN STREET BUSINESS SECTION
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17 768 - 776 QUEEN STREET
44°10.601'N / 81°38.141'W
Though this building has lost its third story, its Second Empire style and the
unusual use of slate on a vertical surface make it distinctive.
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18 772 QUEEN STREET
44°10.604'N / 81°38.138'W
Originally built as a gift shop, it has been open as a retail business since 1875.
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19 778 - 788 QUEEN STREET
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44°10.495'N / 81°38.124'W
Interesting brickwork is seen on the upper stories of this large building built in
1881. Note the pressed metal arches above the windows.
West side of Queen Street looking south
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20 789 QUEEN STREET
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44°10.619'N / 81°38.114'W
The beautiful stonework was originally ballast in sailing ships (came here from the
Kingston area) and note the wooden parapets, unlike those of metal on the rest of
the street.
HERITAGE KINCARDINE WALKING TOURS
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QUEEN STREET BUSINESS SECTION
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21 BEHIND QUEEN STREET STORES (EAST SIDE)
This parking lot behind the east side of Queen Street Stores is the site of the Circle
Bar Knitting Co. About 1915 William (Billy) Mitchell took $15,000 of his own
savings to start a knitting
business in small town
Kincardine. He noticed that
as grown daughters left
town for work his merchant
business suffered. To keep
“the girls” in town, he
needed to provide jobs for
them and the knitting mill
seemed to be the perfect
answer. It produced work
r Knitting Mill
socks, dress hose and silk
The Circle Ba
stockings. The factory was
in operation until 1969, and
was demolished in 1973.
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22 791 QUEEN STREET
44°10.624'N / 81°38.111'W
Note the heavy cornices on this stone building.
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23 795 QUEEN STREET
44°10.628'N / 81°38.107'W
Note the Second Empire roof on this building.
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QUEEN STREET BUSINESS SECTION
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24 809 QUEEN STREET
44°10.631'N / 81°38.104'W
Built in the mid 1850s, it is the last wood building remaining on Queen street. This
is a classic Georgian Revival Style building overlaid with ‘pebble dash’ stucco.
Note the ‘ears’ on the windows. It housed druggists and doctors offices, hence the
name Apothecary’s Hall. The Northern Light Masonic Lodge acquired the
building in 1884. Dr. Solomon Secord’s office was here.
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25 828 QUEEN STREET
44°10.663'N / 81°38.095'W
The Bisset Building was built by George Bisset in 1877 for his grocery business.
Note unusual stonework above the upper windows, with the fruit designs on the
keystones.
ing North
West Side of Queen Street look
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26 832 QUEEN STREET
44°10.674'N / 81°38.086'W
This restaurant was originally built in 1950 as the home of the Royal Canadian
Legion branch. The original façade is retained inside the restaurant.
HERITAGE KINCARDINE WALKING TOURS
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QUEEN STREET BUSINESS SECTION
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27 877 QUEEN STREET
44°10.729'N / 81°38.029'W
Built in 1929 in the Art Deco
style, the Bluewater Theatre
(later the Capital and then the
Aztec) was then the most up-todate in the County. The interior
is mostly original, and was built
specifically for film.
The Theatre
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