Objects Record
Images
Additional Images [13]
Metadata
Catalogue Number |
2017.19.2.13 |
Object Name |
Cupboard |
Title |
Desk, 371 Waterloo Ave., Bus and Street Car Maintenance Building, 1895-1910 |
Year Range from |
1895 |
Year Range to |
1910 |
Description |
Cubpboard manufactured by Office Specialty Manufacturing Company Limited, Toronto, used at the 371 Waterloo Avenue streetcar and bus maintenance facilities, 1895-1910 The cupboard separates into three pieces, (.1) Cupboard top (.2) Compartment with three open cubbies, (.3) Bottom compartment with nine cubbies for drawers, and (.4-.13) A small metal plate attached to the top reads "The Office Specialty Mfg. Co. Ltd., Toronto, Canada". Six of the drawers are open on the back and sides and when pulled out house a clipboard that is attached to the bottom (three of these drawers still have the original cardboard backing to the clipboard with the company information in it). This desk/cupboard was at the 371 Waterloo Avenue "barn" possibly from around the start of the streetcar system in 1895 through the closure of the building in the 1970s. Streetcar, and later bus drivers, checked in at the facility before each shift to grab their cash float and tickets for the day. Recollections of the maintenance barn describe the interior as "old and gloomy," and "dark and dingy." Following the Guelph Transit Commision's vacancy of the building, 371 Waterloo Avenue became a shop for Butch Sutton's Sutton Auto Collision in the early 1970s. Sutton continued his business there until the early 2000s. The building is now used for housing owned by the city of Guelph |
Notes |
Historic Context: Guelph Railway Company The Guelph Railway Company began operations in 1895. George Sleeman started the company with two streetcar lines aiming to serve employees of his Silvercreek brewery. One line through downtown along Woolwich Street and Dundas Road. The other connected Sleeman's brewery on Waterloo Avenue and the Grand Trunk and Canadian Pacific Railway stations. Opening alongside the railway was a maintenance facility on 371 Waterloo Avenue, which is now an apartment complex owned by the City of Guelph. Due to significant ridership demand, the railway added and extended lines from opening to the early 1910s. Sleeman sold the railway company in 1902 to the Bank of Montreal and the Trader's Bank who quickly changed the railway's name to Guelph Radial Railway. In 1906, the City of Guelph bought the company, later selling to Ontario Hydro in 1921. Continued suburban sprawl and governmental prioritization of automotive culture led to ridership decline. The passenger streetcar system ended in 1937 in favour of more flexible but less permanent buses operated by the City of Guelph. The facility at 371 Waterloo Avenue transitioned from streetcar to bus maintenance at this time and continued serving Guelph Transit Commission until it closed in the 1970s. Updated 2024 |
Artist |
Office Speciality Manufacturing Company |
People |
Sutton, Butch |
Search Terms |
Bus Barns Sutton Steering and Collision Limited Guelph Radial Railway Company |
Subjects |
FURNITURE TRANSPORTATION - BUSES |
Dimensions |
H-73 W-45 L-84 cm |
Collection |
Artifacts |