144 Queen St. W., 1980s

Description

Media Type

Image

Item Type

Photographs

Description

This picture shows the house located at 144 Queen Street West as it looked in the early to mid 1980s. This house is still standing today and is an historically designated structure. The house was built c. 1865 for early settler James McKay. It was constructed with limestone and contains many stylistic elements commonly seen in the mid-19th century. The structure features elegantly twisting bargeboard along the central dormer and side gables. A large decorative pendant can be seen hanging from the peak of the central dormer with a finial above. A transom window and side panels surround the front door. A
stately wooden portico with square columns, stone bases and wooden mouldings stands at the entrance. A balcony is above the portico. This verandah was added to the house in the 1880s.

James McKay was a notable St. Marys resident. He worked alongside Lauriston Cruttenden as an early postmaster and mail carrier for the settlement of St. Marys from 1841 to 1844. He eventually operated a store in the centre block on Queen Street N. between Water and Wellington Streets. He also opened the Empire Hotel in 1855, which he later sold in 1865. When the Grand Trunk Rail Line arrived to town, McKay ran a taxi service from the station to downtown. At one time there was a large stable located behind his house that was used as the drive shed for the Union Line "busses".

In the winter and early spring of 1982-1983, Randall Speller, a colleague of Larry Pfaff from the Art Gallery of Ontario, took a series of black and white photographs of houses of architectural significance in St. Marys. Larry Pfaff and several local friends who shared this interest in architecture took some additional photographs in a subsequent summer. This photograph is one of this series.

*To see additional photographs related to this image click on the "detail" link under the image.

Notes

Condition: Excellent - Image is very clear. No signs of damage to the negative.

Dimensions

Width: 3.6 cm
Height: 2.3 cm

Image Dimensions

Image Width: 3.6cm
Image Height: 2.3cm

Subject(s)

Architecture
Dwellings
Historical Houses

Personal Name(s)

McKay, James ; McKay, Hannah.

Corporate Name(s)

Empire Hotel.

Local identifier

LP144QueenW_a

Collection

St. Marys Museum Photo Collection

Language of Item

English

Geographic Coverage

St. Marys

Ontario, Canada

Latitude: 43.25009 Longitude: -81.13304

Donor

Larry Pfaff - on behalf of LACAC.

Copyright Statement

Copyright status unknown. Responsibility for determining the copyright status and any use rests exclusively with the user.

Recommended Citation

"144 Queen St. W., 1980s", St. Marys Museum, LP144QueenW_a.

Location of Original

R. Lorne Eedy Archives

Terms of Use

Reproduction of digital objects is restricted to fair use for personal research or study; any other use must be done with permission of copyright holder.

Reproduction Notes