Postcard Memories is a bi-weekly series of historic views and photos of Bradford West Gwillimbury, a trip down memory lane every other Saturday morning.
This 1957 photo of the Gala Days Parade is more than a record of Bradford's Centennial celebration.
It’s also one of the final views of several businesses on the north side of Holland St. West. Just two years later on a chilly day in February 1959, fire broke out.
By the time firefighters arrived, smoke was billowing into the street. Local fire crews were joined by firefighters from four other fire departments. Before the blaze was extinguished, Evans Men’s & Boys Wear, Model Bakery, Bradford 5 Cents to 1.00 Store, Breen Refrigeration Service and Harry’s Meat Market had been destroyed.
Fire crews concentrated on saving the two buildings at each end of the conflagration – Evans & Evans Law offices to the west, and the Bank of Commerce (now Coffee Culture Café) at the east.
At one point, they feared the law offices might be lost – but the wind suddenly veered, “making the fight to save the Bank of Commerce more desperate,” according to an account in the Bradford Witness.
When the water supply began to run low, firefighters pumped water from the North Canal. They were able to save the bank, but between the two buildings “the loss is complete,” wrote the newspaper. Damages were later estimated at up to $500,000.
A note from the newspaper: “Very early in the fire, the explosions of ammunition in Evans Men’s & Boys Wear store, added to the excitement.”
Details from the Archives at the BWG Public Library, and The Bradford Witness.
