Queen's Square is a landmark Cambridge location that some might not know used to look significantly different than it does today.
The buildings that are collectively known as Hume's Block are some of the oldest in the city and are among the last original group of buildings remaining from the original Queen's Square.
The square once featured Scott's Opera House and the Queen's Arms Hotel, located on the site of the former YMCA on Melville Street where the Chartwell retirement residence stands today.
Central Presbyterian Church, of course still stands proudly in place on the banks of the Grand, directly across from 14-16 and 18-22 Queen's Square
Both properties were designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act in 1982 by City of Cambridge and are significant because of their design and historical value.
The corrner property where Grand Cafe is today, is a three storey Georgian style limestone and granite residential and commercial structure built in 1837 by Richard Irwin.
"Irwin was the man who successfully broke Absalom Shade's early monopoly of the mercantile store business in the Township of Dumfries," reads the Old Galt Historical Walking Tour, produced in 1988 by Heritage Cambridge.
The building was later purchased by Gavin Hume, a prominent Galt hardware and grocery merchant.
The walking tour calls Hume an "Irish pedlar."
But former Cambridge archivist Jim Quantrell wrote in Cambridge Mosaic that Hume was born in Irving, Ayrshire, Scotland on October 18, 1818, came to Galt in 1848 and soon found employment in the hardware business of Bob Gillespie. He later also worked with Peter Cook.
"In 1851 Mr. Hume purchased a grocery store on the west bank of the Grand River, formerly owned by Richard Irwin."
In 1856 he hired James Fraser to build an adjoining hardware store and operated the two stores until 1893 when he sold the grocery store to McPherson and Shiel.
He sold the hardware store to J. R. Clunis in 1894, Quantrell wrote.
"Mr. Hume was also the proprietor for a number of years in the Dumfries Mills. He was a member of Galt's town council in 1858-1859, 1861-1866, serving as deputy reeve in 1864 and 1866."
The former grocery store became a drugstore in 1905 and in 1925, Spencer Dalton took over. Dalton's Pharmacy was a fixture at Queen's Square for decades.
In May of this year, the city's heritage advisory committee gave the owner of the connected building, 14-16 Queen's Square, up to $5,000 under the Designated Heritage Property Grants Program. The grant will help with a $70,000 project to repoint the exterior granite walls and chimneys of the old Hume hardware store.
But it's what's missing beside Hume's Block that evokes some of the strongest memories for the generation of residents that lived through the '60s and '70s.
That's when Pepi's Pizza operated out of the central unit of a two-storey, split level retail and apartment building next door.
The Galt Pepi's location was one of three operated by Wally "Spud" Bush.
Wayne Conrad Serbu recalls it as a "great place to spend some time chatting and having one of his famous subs."
The building was also home to George Brown Cycle and Sports and the Queen Square Restaurant.
The view above and below shows the building a few months before it was demolished circa. 1980.
The property was repurposed by the City of Cambridge for a parkette serving the neighbouring cafes and school of architecture.
The name Dalton Court pays homage to Spencer Dalton who ran his pharmacy out of the adjacent building.
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Landmarks is an occasional feature of CambridgeToday, using Juxtapose to display old and new photos to help tell the story of Cambridge; a city that will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2023. Old photo submissions are welcome at [email protected].
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