Old building at 142 Dundas St. in London is giving up its secrets
View larger version in photo gallery They found a fashion magazine from 1884 above the bathroom.
They found a box of old promissory notes -- including one from the "Free Press" dated Nov. 6, 1867 and apparently signed by publisher Josiah Blackburn -- in a wooden box above the second-floor ceiling.
And they found a bag of love letters -- which somebody had torn into teeny, tiny bits -- jammed beneath a floor board.
Slowly, the old building at 142 Dundas St. in London is giving up its secrets.
"Every time we do some more renovation, we find something new," says Sharon Hassan. "It's like the history of London on a smaller scale."
Hassan is helping to co-ordinate a $1-million renovation of the nearly 150-year-old building on Dundas St., just a few doors east of the Kingsmills store. Bought by Hassan Law Offices last year for $150,000, the local law firm plans to move its offices (now located at 195 Dufferin Ave.) into the downtown space by next spring.
Hassan admits she used to drive down Dundas and wonder why somebody didn't tear down some of the old, decrepit buildings dotting the street like rotten teeth. But now, she sees things differently.
"Lives were lived here and stories were told," she says. "And you can't just tear that down."
As documented in the book Downtown London: Layers of Time, edited by Michael Baker, the building was built during the 1860s by dry goods merchant Andrew Chisholm, who sold a wide range of items including clothing, caps, bonnets and parasols. In 1867 he added a clock, which now sits in the collection of Museum London, to the storefront's third floor.
Following Chisholm's retirement in 1877, the store was taken over by retailing icon Timothy Eaton's brother, James. Then in 1884 it was bought by dry goods merchant R.J. Young, who remained at the site (and in the adjoining store) until 1962.
According to information provided by Hassan's realtor, the property housed the Alexanian and Sons carpet store during the 1970s and early '80s and Grandma Lee's Bakery and Eating Place from 1985 to 1990. It's been vacant for about the past 20 years.
Clearly captivated by the history of the building, Hassan has collected an array of artifacts found within its walls, including old wooden spools, bottles, a shoe and several wire frames once used to display dresses.
One of the more fascinating finds was a bag of what appear to be torn-up love letters. Although no one has yet pieced the puzzle together, an examination of the handwritten fragments reveals words such as "hugs,"
"lips," "my darling" and "longing." Several scraps bear 1930 postmarks from Buffalo, N.Y. and Sarasota, Fla., while one shred indicates the letter was sent to a "Mrs. Helen" (the surname is missing) at an address on Dundas St.
"You can almost picture the life going on in this building," says Hassan, adding she plans to display many of the artifacts in the renovated office's reception area. "It's magical."
Hassan says that during the recent Car Free Sunday event downtown, hundreds of pedestrians trooped into the building and marvelled at what they saw.
"They just loved the building, they loved the history and they loved the story," she says. "I think people just need an opportunity to see Dundas (street) in a different light."
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