Whitby Walk

A little different walk this time, to a metropolitan behemoth just east of Toronto - Whitby! Not ALL of Whitby of course, just a very small part of the downtown.

Whitby, Ontario was incorporated as a town in 1855. First known as Perry's Corners after Peter Perry, an early settler. It was also known as Windsor but was renamed Whitby in 1848 (after a seaside town in Yorkshire, England).

Starting at the Pearson Pub - home to some fun parties and, of course, The Knucklebabies for musical entertainment. I then walked south on Brock Street. (Click on any picture to get a larger version)

The Chronicle Building.
The Whitby Chronicle was a local newspaper founded in 1856. The Chronicle Building, headquarters for the newspaper, was built in 1862 and later bought in 1910 by J.H. Perrin who transformed the building into a movie theatre. The Royal Theatre was in business until 1938 when it was again transformed back into a commercial business center by John Taylor.

The Hotel Royal - built in 1872 (after the original Royal Hotel - built in 1862 - was destroyed by fire in 1872). Now a peeler bar.

Nice coffee place - possibly barely visible in the window are a Torontonian and a Whitbyite that I met up with later.

Originally the Ontario Bank Building (1867/1868), then became a telegraph and ticket office around 1890. Then apartments.

Yet another neat looking older building. Originally built as the 'Gerrie and Yule blocks' for a druggist (James Gerrie) and a Telegraph office (George Yule) circa 1873.

So THAT'S why these buildings are so new 😀. At least on this block - Brock Street south of Dundas and south of the previous pictures.

Brock Street Brewing Company. Looks old, but actually built around 2018 and opened in 2019!

I then walked west and saw some very nice mansions! So many in this area - will have to research them one day! In the meantime, you can see if your favourite buildings are in: https://www.whitby.ca/en/play/resources/Heritage/Werden%27s-Plan_District-Description-of-the-Heritage-Attributes-of-Individual-Properties.pdf

Nice Mansion #1

The Hatch House - now a Montessori School.

Nice variety of colours (and a tree that looks a bit like it's walking)

Neat roofline. Reminds me of a few houses in our neighbourhood (and a bit of the old Joy Gas Stations)

Serbian Orthodox Church

Mansion #2 - and it (was) for sale when I walked by 😀. https://vitacollections.ca/whitbynews/details.asp?ID=1629948

Mansion #3. Now Phit Physiotherapy

Centennial Building - originally the Ontario County Courthouse, built 1852-1854 and possible home to paranormal activity? (Check it out on Google). Also a YouTube video (skip to about the 1:10 mark to start at this building) https://youtu.be/Tpj8IkST3Zc

I liked the way that All Saints Church is visible as you look down Centre Street.

All Saints Church. The clock and tower reminded me a bit of the 'Back to the Future' town hall that was hit by 1.21 Gigawatts from a lightning strike.

Sure enough, this church was hit too! Wonder if anyone captured it in the Flux Capacitor?

Some typical commercial buildings as I headed back to Brock Street.

Jamaican food truck in the parking lot of the coffee place I ended up at.

ps Not sure what is at this location now. Was under construction as I walked by (on Brock at Dundas or perhaps a bit south)

pps Also saw this 'County Registry' building beside the Centennial Building. It was very 'Art Deco 1960's style' inside.