Thursday, August 8, 2024

Court Street North runs north and south, paralleling the shoreline of an ancient beach. I confess that I missed a lot of Kim’s, our guide’s, monologue, but I trust I am not forgetting the most important stuff.

Gesturing westward, up the hill, Kim pointed out the old Court House, fronted by a grand lawn that cascades down to Court Street. She told a delightful story of how the basement was devoted to storing the coal needed to heat all three floors of this building. Of course the storage bins had to be regularly replenished, which suggests coal was transported by rail or by water to heat many a building in Port Arthur. Behind this now new hotel is St. Joseph’s Hospital, facing Algoma Street.

5. Port Arthur District Court House, 1924

277 Camelot Street. This architecturally unique structure provided a grand view of Lake Superior. The enormous heating plant was fed by 450 tons of coal. After 2014, the city sold the building to private interests who undertook major renovations while preserving significant historical features. The Courthouse Hotel is a boutique facility with 40 rooms. The main courtroom is now a grand ballroom for special events.

Walking north on Court Street, we passed a fenced-in green area and saw military-style vehicles parked. The HMCS Griffon property is not designated an historical site. The building itself, screened by branches, was once the home of Port Arthur’s leading citizen, the mayor. We shall encounter this building later in our walk.

Looking west at the HCMS Griffon property.

This property, far from the shore of Lake Superior, is dubbed a “stone frigate”. HMCS Griffon is a land-based naval establishment. Its history is not our concern today.

Kim, our guide, was very pleased to show us the McGibbin House, a heritage property. It is owned by an architectural firm and not open to the public. You may heard it called the Victoria McVicar Mansion. Victoria herself, born in the late 1830s, never lived in that house; her family inherited the land when her father died in 1864. Her father was Robert McVicar. She came to live on property in Fort William, where she lent her name to Victoria Avenue.

6. McKibbin House, 1910

131 Court Street North. In 1859, Robert McVicar bought an enormous tract of land that included a creek. This happened before there was a Prince Arthur’s Landing let alone a Port Arthur. McVicar subsequently relinquished the property to a Crown agency, but later Robert’s daughters appealed the decision and won possession. The lot on McVicar Creek was acquired by the McKibbin family, who built the house from scratch. It was a quaint Victorian residence which included rock quarried on Simpson Island in Nipigon Bay.

A few steps farther north on Court Street, we crossed McVicar Street and came to McVicar Creek. The stream flows under the bridge and disappears in the vegetation, diving into culverts and tunnels on its way to the big lake. On the west side of the street is a garden-like park that runs all the way to Algoma Street North. It is in the vicinity of a park once called King’s Garden, after its founder, Joseph G. King. King operated the Lakehead’s first terminal grain elevator (yes, that one just north of the CNoR station).

There is a paved path between Court and Algoma, but think twice about strolling it. First, you are greeted by a porta-potty. Behind it you are likely to encounter mounds of garbage. The park has an encampment for the homeless. Residents frequently complain about its presence.

7. McVicar Creek

Created in prehistoric times. In 1859, Robert McVicar bought 600 acres (at 20 cents an acre) as a homestead straddling the creek. He built a house, now lost to time.  Once upon a time the creek ran pure and pristine. One of Port Arthur’s early breweries was established on it. In 1883, a drama unfolded near the mouth of the creek. William Cornelius Van Horne wanted to build the CPR station near it. Victoria McVicar proved a tough negotiator. She got her terms, including a rumoured $90,000.

Perhaps someone can tell us why the City of Thunder Bay has not designated McVicar’s Creek a heritage waterway.

8. Maudslay Court, 1914

151 Court Street North. This was Port Arthur’s first apartment building. Built in a relatively rural setting, it was an easy walk to downtown.  It is a five-storey structure; the basement is at ground level. Apparently it has marble floors. Very little information about it is available online.

9. McVicar Manor, 1905

146 Court Street North. The city’s Heritage Advisory Committee has a 2011 report, still unpublished, on this property. Otherwise, there is little public information about this mansion. The Manor is privately owned and there is heavy advertising about its bed &breakfast business. A sidebar: In 1992, new owners took over the McKibbin House and restored it to qualify it for heritage designation. They planned to call it the McVicar Manor, but the owners of the building across the street used that name to advertise their B & B business.

We crossed the street to the west side to Ray Court. It is a narrow, one-way street, lined on the north side with homes reminiscent of mid-20th-century Port Arthur. On tenant said she believed the homes were 100 years old. Reaching the bend, we observed a mansion or two, and one large rural-like property with its back to the creek.

We emerged on Algoma Street North.

[Continued in Part 3, the conclusion]