The site of the Salvation Army Citadel in Brantford was used for ice skating until 1954. At that time the Salvation Army built their church with a corner stone dated March 27, 1954.
The building was used by the Brantford Academy of Arts as a dance recital hall for children during the building’s final days. The building was demolished to make way for condominiums beginning at $280,000. A few houses behind the building are also being demolished.
Video
The Colin McGregor Justice Building was located in the city of St. Thomas. It contained the St. Thomas Police headquarters as well as the courts. The building was located at 30 St. Catharine Street.
The city council wanted to find an interested party to lease the building but there were no takers for the aging building. Besides the presence of asbestos inside the building, the ground contained contaminates that would require removal.
Video
The Grace Anglican Church was built in July of 1905. The church replaced the original building which was constructed in 1862, at a cost of $1,500.
The church was last used approximately by the Mennonites. The cemetery, located at 6995 Freeborn Street is still owned by the Anglican Church.
The church is slowly being dismantled as Sittler Demolition prepares it for demolition.
This house sits along a quiet back road in Grey County. It’s partially collapsed. There are holes in the floor and care should be taken when walking on it.
Inside, you’ll discover a trove of artist’s paintings, primarily nude art. We rounded up the scattered paintings, which included both men and women. They were scattered in various corners of the house. I wasn’t able to find the artist’s name.
There was very little else to find in the house and it appeared that the house had been vacant for at least a decade.
Last I’d heard, the house was allegedly demolished. The fate of the paintings is… unknown.
This was the home of Major General Clarence Churchill Mann. Mann purchased 16 farms in an area of Ontario known today as Joker’s Hill. Mann was a World War II soldier who had taken part in the Dieppe raid and invasion of Normandy. He along with his wife consolidated the land into a horse farm that included a race track, barns and pasture area.
The property was sold in 1969 to the wealthy Koffler family who owned the popular chain of Shopper’s Drug Mart stores. They retained noted architect Napier Simpson to expand and remodel the estate house, first built by the Manns. Pierre Trudeau has even stayed at this mansion as have Prince Phillip and Princess Margaret
The property was used by the family seasonally until they chose to donate the entire parcel of the University of Toronto in 1995. The property is now used for nature studies. The surrounding land is active, and you should avoid being on it due to the environmental studies that take place. There are cameras and the police will ticket you if you park nearby.
Note: The mansion has since been demolished to keep people from entering this sensitive environmental space.
This Victorian-style building was built in 1897 as a $13,000 private home. At the time the price was six times the cost of nearby homes. The original owner was a man from Berlin named Jacob Kaufman, a successful businessman. Kaufman made his money in lumber and later footwear with the Kaufman Rubber Company.
The home was constructed with stone and hand crafted wood work. The second floor still has a built in desk where Kaufman could keep watch on his rubber factory down the hill. A billiards room on the main floor still has a service bell where drinks could be ordered for guests.
The home was turned into a funeral home on Christmas Day 1949 and operated until December 31, 2015. It was then put up for sale. The property is listed as a heritage property so much of it’s 19th century character will be saved.
The original construction of the house has posed a challenge for heating and cooling, there’s limited disability access and the electrical system is outdated. The attic has been cleaned out but it used to contain files on funerals dating back to the 1940’s.
The parent company that owns the funeral home chose to close operations and transfer the employees to their Westmount location which recently underwent a 9,000 square foot expansion.
There’s still electricity and the surrounding area is undergoing construction. The road in front of the building is torn up and not accessible. Several workers can be found working in the immediate area.
Video
Located along a quiet rural road sits this gorgeous time capsule farm house. You wouldn’t know that there’s anything of interest inside, and would probably pass it by if you saw it along the side of the road.
Inside is a completely untouched rural home with working electricity, and quilts on the made up beds. The man who owns this property lives in Toronto where he works as a jeweler. The land is used for farming potatoes. With even the doors boarded up, it would appear that the owner has no intention on returning any time soon.
A dehumidifier runs in the basement, to keep mold from growing.
This house was originally found by an explorer named Ground State.
A woman named Madelyn Williamson lived in this house where she raised five children. Madelyn’s husband William, passed away in 1982. Since that time Madelyn remained in the house along with one of her adult sons (I believe he was named James). Madelyn passed away in 2013.
At the time the house was discovered, the hydro was still working and there was zero vandalism. A TV table in front of the couch and a bottle of old ketchup adds an eerie look that the house was vacated suddenly. One of the stories told by a neighbour, is that Madelyn left the house one day to walk down the road to a nearby care facility. She never returned.
Towards 2018, the house was seeing vandalism, nothing remains a secret forever in this hobby. A window was smashed and items tossed down the spiral staircase.
In 2020 the house was allegedly destroyed in a controlled burn by the owners.
May 2015 Photos
This was a nursing home for the elderly, located at 22015 Hagerty Road in Newbury. It’s been vacant since at least 2009. There have been extensions built onto the house. There’s stain glass in the older section of the home.
The property has been demolished.
This house is down the road from where the owner works. Rather than risk being caught, we talked over to ask him if we could look around. He agreed that we could. So while one of us was in view of him taking exteriors, the rest of us were taking interiors. Technically we were looking around.
This house would have been beautiful back in it’s prime with its large bay windows, molding and fine staircase.
At times there can be a lot of bee activity here, so do be careful if you take photographs.
