From beer mugs to pool cues — and perhaps the occasional fisticuffs — to the handiwork of local artists, much has changed for one of the city’s many historic buildings.
Located at the corner of Dunlop Street East and Mulcaster Street, what used to be known as the Clarkson House, the Clarkson Hotel and Tiff’s (it also had another moniker at at least one other point), has been a mainstay in the village, town and city of Barrie for the last 150 years.
The completely renovated structure is now a combination of retail space and executive suites.
The Clarkson House was built in 1871 and opened on Aug. 16 — porches were added in 1872 over the Dunlop Street sidewalk — and Joshua Clarkson was the proprietor, according to Su Murdoch, a heritage consultant based in Barrie.
“When opened, he advertised ‘Travellers and Commercial Agents will find this House most comfortable and convenient. Terms Moderate’. Like most hotels/inns, the purpose was to provide accommodation upstairs with a dining room and bar on the main floor,” she says. “Compared to the ‘high-end’ Barrie Hotel (now known as The Queen's) and The (original) Queen's (lost to fire) this was an affordable establishment.”
It was soon known as the Clarkson Hotel.
Murdoch believes the frame structure has a brick veneer over-clad in roughcast plaster later and redone over the years.
“It survived the worst of the 1870s fires along Dunlop Street and is typical for commercial architecture along a main street in this period,” she says. “The original form is still evident, although components such as window openings, entrances, etc., have been changed.”
Barrie has had inns, taverns and hotels since its founding in the 1830s, Murdoch says, adding it was on the commute route between Toronto and the Upper Great Lakes and Muskoka.
“The earliest inns and taverns were located based on the distance a horse could travel in one day between destinations and or communities,” she says. “They often founded a community location. The maximum was about 30 miles, but this depended on the weather and the weight of goods being carried or pulled.”
Once the railway arrived, accommodation was available for those who needed to make next day connections to a steamer or train.
“So one train arriving would bring enough passengers to keep several hotels busy renting rooms and providing meals and drinks,” Murdoch says. “Commercial travelling was common with salesmen staying in a hotel that offered a room to display goods and conduct business.
“Tourism existed in the 19th century, but the boom started with the automobile in the early 20th century. Then the distance was related to when a car needed gas or service.”
In 1923, it was advertised as Clarkson Hotel Garage: ‘Private garages to rent by day or week. Tourist Trade accommodated. Open day and night’.
“This was the dawn of automotive travel and ownership, so access to a parking garage became significant,” Murdoch says.
There are no parking bays these days, however.
Now, one of the rooms originally home to beer and pickled eggs in the Clarkson Hotel tavern is home to The Artisan Boutique, which showcases one-of-a-kind, handcrafted items by local artists and artisans.
“When we were looking for the perfect location to open up a store, we really liked the history of the downtown and we liked the small-town feel,” says shop owner Laura Davis.
“To find a building that represents the history of Barrie — and the current Barrie — seemed like a perfect fit,” she says. “I get people coming in here all the time saying ‘The last time I was in here, it was the Clarkson’. It brings back memories for them from days gone by.”
Davis says while her shop takes up part of the main floor of the building, the second and third storeys have also been updated and renovated.
“The landlord has tried to keep the old charm of the building when he got it while renovating the inside,” she says.
Downtown condo resident Marge Proulx and her friend were peering into Davis’s shop windows earlier this week.
