Then and Now

East-end Barrie park was used for camping beginning in the 1920s and was also once the site of a speedboat regatta in the 1940s

Hints of the mill’s former life can still be seen in the painted-over brickwork at the front of the building, as well as in the old windows and possible loading docks at the back

The first electric blankets made in Canada were produced at the Barrie plant on Bradford Street

This parcel of land had been allocated as a glebe for the Anglican Church in 1836

From furniture to grocery stores, banks to nightclubs, this building has served many purposes over the decades

In the 1890s, there was talk of an electric rail line that would run from Minet's Point around the bay to St. Vincent Park

Businesses that have occupied this downtown Barrie block over the decades include everything from seed stores to printers and hobby shops to billiard halls

The Owen Street church, considered to be rather elaborate in design these days, was thought to be quite plain back in the 1880s

The origins of Barrie's public library can be traced back to 1844 and the Mechanics' Institute

Known as the 'Barrie Bucket' and where five people were executed, the downtown jail closed its doors to prisoners in 2001