In November 1912, the following rendering appeared in the Evening Record, showing a rendering for a Garage for Mr. George Reid, Kildare Road, Walkerville. The plans were drawn up by Walkerville based architects Smith & Walker.
Smith & Walker also designed the Grier Apartments in Walkerville as well as 917 Chilver that we recently looked at. This plan was never built.
This is one of Walkerville’s first enameled brick front buildings. It is the new three-story garage building on Kildare road, near Assumption street, being erected for George Reid. On the first floor will be the garage, on the second a machine shop, and on the third a dance hall. Smith & Walker are the architects.
Obviously there is some unknown story to go with this building, as a little over a month later in the Evening Record, the above rendering appeared for a Garage for George Reid on Kildare Road, designed by Windsor architects Leybourne & Whitney.
This is a cut of the new up-to-date $18,000 garage being built on Kildare Road, Walkerville, for Mr. George Reid. The excavation for it began on Wednesday. The first floor of this new three story 119×50 building of pressed brick front and buff Bedford stone will be used as a garage, the second as a light machine shop, and the third as a dancing hall. A 10×20 freight elevator will run through all the floors. Leybourne & Whitney, of Windsor, are the architects, and the contractors for the various kinds of work are: masonry, H. Howe; freight elevator, H. Kissane; carpentry, Lambert & Braithwaite; plastering, Reid.
The building still stands today at 420 Kildare Rd. Other than losing its cornice, it looks pretty similar.
There is some nice brickwork on this place, but you can see where the cornice ran as there are different bricks underneath (common brick instead of face brick). It seemed like there was some work going on earlier in the year at the building, so hopefully it has a long future in Walkerville.
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Now THAT is a mixed-use building! You could finish up your day at the machine shop, park your car and go dancing all in one place.
This one is being rehabilitated by Mike Brkovich- the king of Walkerville built-heritage preservation.
Was there ever a building to the north of it? The windows and slightly cleaner brick make it seem like a two-storey building like the one in the first sketch about a third the length once existed.
I walked through this whole building, There is an old frieght elevator in the back. The third floor has a loft area above the floor and there is a large cathedral ceiling over the whole space. I remember walking through with some who mention about turning this place into loft style appartments. This building need work and has some structural problems, but I can see the potental of this place. If I am correct I think each floor has about 4000 sq.ft., but don't hold me to this number..
Andrew, by garages in these days do they mean an actual repair facility or a parking garage?
i'm not even seeing anywhere on the sketch for a garage door. does anyone know if that door on the side is the freight elevator or a bay door? the first floor kinda looks like bricked in bay doors though. maybe the garage portion didn't last more than a couple years. i think you might be right david about the 2 storey building as the first sketch shows one.
Yes David there was a building to the north. The 1919 directory list the Canadian Spark Coil Mfg. Co. as being to the north. The 1923 directory lists it as a vacant building.
Went by this building yesterday after a stop at Taloola. Work is being done on it, and the front has already been re-done. Might be worth a follow-up post? Street-view still shows the front the way it was last year.
A wonderful renovation is being completed by Mike Brkovich. The building will be a three story office building. Kudos to Mike for preserving the building.