Historical Buildings of Carleton Place

Mostly by request, I have photographed a few downtown buildings recently. I have quite a bit of information on the first, but I'll just give a passing nod to the rest for now. I also will show both colour and mono versions of the first two buildings.

I have known this building as the Heritage Inn in my 12 years in Carleton Place, but it is better known for it's long history as the Mississippi Hotel, and at this point, you may recall that the Ontario version of the Mississippi River runs through Carleton Place.

It has had two owners, or at least renters, in my time, who for the most part operated a pub/restaurant mainly on the adjunct to the building that you see on the far right — the part of the building that doesn't seem to belong with the rest. They once tried to operate a Sunday brunch in the dining room of the hotel itself, but they didn't seem quite up to the task.

It has a long a colourful past after being opened in 1872, inlcuding a fire in the 1950s that caused the hotel to lose its top floor. In the 1970s it was known for featuring country music but later it is said to have become a home for rock bands, strippers and motorcycle gangs.

Well, it is now being refurbished, and I have a hope of getting inside for a few photos before it is re-opened through a connection of mine. I hope that this venerable old hotel enjoys a new and prosperous rebirth.

The information in this post was obtained from the Romancing the Mississippi Hotel post on Linda Seccaspina's blog here where you can read more information.

Below are the two versions of Abner Nichols' fine house. He was an important man in the early lumber industry in the area. It is now a bridal shop.

I took those photos (above) last Saturday and wanted to take a few more shots on our main street, but for the others on my list. I decided to come back very early on Sunday morning when I hoped that the streets would be empty of parked cars. Well, they weren't quite empty, and the nice clouds of the above photos were replaced by blank skies.

In the end, after some hemming and hawing, I decided to add some fake skies. Even though they don't work perfectly, I prefer them to white. blank skies.

Following is the former Post Office and Customs building. Even at 6:54 on a Sunday morning, there was a car parked out front, so I shot upwards. I may try for a full shot again someday.

Then, there is St Andrews Presbyterian church. Declining attendance caused the congregation to offer it for sale. They offered it to the town, but the expense of refurbishing and upkeep kept the town from accepting the offer. In the end, another congregation bought it and will let the remaining St Andrews faithful also use it to continue their congregation for the time being. Once again, I added the skies, and once again, the result is not perfect, but I prefer it over the blank look.

Finally, a diptych of the Masonic Temple, also downtown. I assumed that the masons once used the whole building, but the downstairs is now retail space.

I may photograph some of these buildings again sometime, and I'm sure there are others that I could shoot as well, but except for the church, these were all by request.