This ongoing series from Deb Exel at the Barrie Historical Archive shows old photos from the collection and one from the present day.
2 Bayfield Street
Lots of folks will remember the Speedy Bay Car Wash, located at 2 Bayfield St., just across Simcoe Street and the railway tracks.
In our photo from the past, taken about 1972, you can also see the entrance to the Coin Laundry, which is now gone, on Simcoe Street, and the historic Pearson House on Mary Street with its four distinctive double chimneys.
And just peeking over the roof of Delaney’s Boats is the sign for Sargent’s Fuels.
What’s interesting about this photo, and the others linked here, is how they remind us of the downtown waterfront evolution: how close the railway tracks were to the water’s edge before the shoreline was filled in, changes to the government dock area, and the disappearance of businesses along the bay as the lakefront was reclaimed for public use.
