Enjoy a scenic walking tour through Owen Sound’s historic downtown area.  See 11 downtown sites . . . 6 of which are designated under the Ontario Heritage Act).

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During his preliminary survey of Lake Huron in 1815, Captain William Fitzwilliam Owen named the bay for his brother, Admiral Sir Edward William Campbell Rich Owen.  What is now the city of Owen Sound was originally known as Sydenham when it was first settled in 1841.

Second Avenue and Eighth Street East mark the first intersection of the village of Sydenham.  Eighth Street East was the first street to be cut through the bush, away from the settlement by the river.  Look up as you walk, the upper storeys are more representative of the original architecture than today’s modernized store fronts.

1. Legate Building – 790 Second Avenue East
   

   This structure was built for William Legate in 1906, with shops below and apartments above.  Legate established the Owen Sound Furniture House in 1914.  Renovated in the 1930s, marble inserts below massive display windows, wooden signage and awning complement the original style.  The second floor windows are now recessed, with stone sills.

2. Waterworks/Market Building – 110-114 Eighth Street East
   

   The Market Building was built in 1868 as a private waterworks, and taken over by the town in 1890.  The building became a farmers’ market in 1935.  The surrounding site has been in continual use as a market for over 150 years.  The symmetry of this vernacular building’s utilitarian design is emphasized by the centre gable with its bull’s-eye vent. (designated under the Ontario Heritage Act)

3. Coulson British Hotel – 801 Second Avenue East
   

   Two years after his arrival in 1854, J. P. Coulson opened Coulson’s British Hotel, the village’s first major hotel, with 80 rooms, stables, dining rooms, a bar, and a women’s parlour.  Its utilitarian design has lost its front balcony, and gable-end pitched roof.  It’s rumoured that there was a secret room, once a stop on the Underground Railroad.

4. Parker’s Drugstore – 854-856 Second Avenue East
   

   Originally the home of Owen Sound’s first telegraph and telephone exchange, this building later became Parker’s Drugstore, part of Ontario’s first drugstore chain.  The words “Parker’s” and “Toiletries” are still visible above the entrance doorway.  This commercial terrace features intricate brickwork in contrasting colours.

5. Fulford Hardware – 874 Second Avenue East
   

   Edgar Allan Fulford was born in Sydenham Township.  He opened his first hardware store across from City Hall, and moved to this location in 1941.  Original floors and fixtures help maintain this store’s old-fashioned atmosphere.  The first floor façade at the main entrance, door, posts, windows and leaded glass over the doorway, are original.

6. Coates & Best Building – 883 Second Avenue East
   

   Built in 1902, this building has always been a stationery and bookstore.  Its façade is continuous with that of the adjoining building.  Repetitive window patterns lend visual significance.  The upper windows are surrounded by recessed masonry arches.  A moulded cornice separates the lower storefront from the upper facade. (designated under the Ontario Heritage Act)

7. Whole Foods Store – 941 Second Avenue East
   

   This commercial building is distinguished by unusual glazing in the upper store front, a pattern suggestive of the Art Deco style.  The architectural importance of the building is contextual, part of the overall visual integrity of the downtown. (designated under the Ontario Heritage Act)

8. McKay Bros. Ltd. Store – 942 Second Avenue East
   

   This building, with its prominent brick pilasters, window arches, ornate cornice, frieze of classical swags, original sign and large windows, is a major design feature in the downtown.  Note the painted sign on the upper south wall.  Built in 1905, this three-storey Beaux-Arts-influenced building was McKay Bros. dry goods store from 1924 until 1989. (designated under the Ontario Heritage Act)

9. Commercial Terrace & Commercial Building – 958/966 & 992 Second Avenue East
   

   These heritage buildings are typical of 19th century small town Ontario main streets.  The nine arcaded windows above the two stores at 958/966 are separated by brick pilasters and echoed by nine vents above emphasized by polychromatic brickwork.  The architectural features at 992 are the finely detailed window ornamentation and cornice work. (designated under the Ontario Heritage Act)

10. Superior Block – 1002 Second Avenue East
    

    Built around 1880, this three-storey, six-sided building was originally named the “Superior Block.” It was later named the “Griffith Block” for John Charles Griffith, who came to Owen Sound in 1875 and established a tannery and a harness shop.  Patterned brickwork emphasizes the building’s round-headed windows and corners.

11. Seldon House – 1005 Second Avenue East
    

    Built in 1887 as a hotel with 44 rooms, three parlours, bar, dining room and commercial sample rooms, from 1904 to 1937, it was a temperance hotel operated by daughters of Mrs. R. J. Doyle – a founder of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.  A key element of the downtown streetscape, the exterior of the building was restored in the 1980s. (designated under the Ontario Heritage Act)

Enhance your experience by downloading the following tools from the City of Owen Sound web site.

• Historic Dowwntown Owen Sound Walking Tour Map
• MP3 Audio Guide (4.7MB)