‘The distinction between from time to time is dramatic,’ says Barrie Historic Archive curator
This ongoing sequence from Barrie Historic Archive curator Deb Exel exhibits outdated pictures from the gathering and one from the current day, in addition to the story behind them.
Freeway 400 bridges
When ‘the 400’ opened in 1952, it ceaselessly modified the panorama of Barrie and the way folks traversed by means of and across the city.
The part of freeway between Toronto and Lake Simcoe loosely follows the Carrying Place Path, a historic portage route that related Lake Ontario to Lake Simcoe and the northern Nice Lakes.
Earlier than Freeway 400, there have been two routes from Toronto to Barrie: Freeway 11 and Freeway 27. The appearance of a divided, multi-lane freeway to the quite a few recreation areas close to or past Barrie, in addition to entry to the pure assets of the north, was each a reduction and a welcome transportation development.
Though the concept of a divided freeway from Barrie to Toronto was not a brand new one, it wasn’t till after the Second World Struggle that building started. Lastly, in the summertime of 1952, all 4 lanes had been open from Toronto to Freeway 27 in Barrie.
Residents on and close to Sunnidale Highway had a front-row seat to observe as the brand new Freeway 400 minimize by means of woods and farmland, the development occurring proper in their very own neighbourhood. Comparable work was happening not far-off, on Bayfield Road.
4 bridges crossed this freeway, connecting items of the neighborhood severed by Freeway 400: Dunlop Road, Anne Road, Sunnidale Highway and Bayfield Road. (The St. Vincent Road bridge was not constructed till the Sixties.) These edges of city would appear positively rural at this time, however even 50 years in the past, as these unimaginable pictures show, the distinction between from time to time is dramatic. Issues to identify:
Dunlop Road bridge — Continental Inn, Hart Motors and several other factories.
Anne Road bridge — Wellington Road Plaza, the Tannery, Prince of Wales College, and Edgehill Drive.
Sunnidale Highway bridge — Shirley Avenue, Wellington Road, Royal Victoria Hospital, the Dunlop Road Area, and tannery.
Bayfield Road bridge — the Ontario Provincial Police station, Kentucky Fried Rooster, Ponderosa Steakhouse, the Crock & Block restaurant, the A&P grocery retailer and the northern level of the Barrie Nation Membership (now Sunnidale Park).
In the event you lived in Barrie again within the day, have enjoyable analyzing these pictures for locations you recall — you may even spot your home. In the event you’re new to the world, get pleasure from exploring these aerial views of Barrie’s previous.
