Downtown St. Catharines was a lively place in the mid 19^th century, with industries, retail stores, services, and residential neighbourhoods all within steps of one another. And though much has changed here in the last 175 years, one intersection has remained remarkably stable. Sean heads to the meeting of Queen and Church Streets to admire four corners of well-preserved Victorian architecture, each with a story to tell. This is History from Here: a video series presented by the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre.

The four main houses at this intersection were built between about 1850 and 1883. Their ages are noteworthy, but they are also all striking examples of stately Victorian architecture with an impressive roster of historical residents. So, with that, let’s jump right in.

Starting on the southeast corner, we have 64 Queen St., which was built circa 1851 for Chauncey Yale and his family. This house is well preserved and showcases numerous notable architectural features. These include a heavy entablature with a decorated frieze, brackets, and a moulded architrave and cornice. There is also a handsome portico, six-pane windows, and a period iron fence.

Chauncey Yale was an early St. Catharines industrialist, coming here from New York in 1831 and soon buying out his uncle’s tin and sheet iron business. In 1848, he built the Union Foundry steps from here at Ontario Street, where St. Catharines’ first municipal water pipes were later fabricated. Chauncey Yale died at the age of only 57 in 1866. He owned a sizable lot surrounding this house and, the story goes, when he realized his health was failing, he had a charming set of row houses built next door on Church St. to provide a source of income for his wife after he passed. He had a second set built on the Queen Street side but these were later demolished and replaced with the old YMCA building; a story for another day. 64 Queen St. eventually passed to Chauncey’s son Henry Yale who was a well-known lawyer as well as choirmaster at St. George’s Church. After his death in 1912, the home was purchased by prominent St. Catharines doctor, J. Graham Harkness.

Moving across the street to the southwest corner, 59 Queen St. was constructed around the same time as Chauncey Yale’s home. It was, however, significantly altered in the 1870s, so many of its architectural features are more reflective of that decade. The house features an offset entrance with portico and pillars, ornate bay windows, and another beautiful entablature. It has a hipped roof but, unlike its neighbours, this one features a tasteful front gable.

59 Queen St. was built for John Copeland, who worked variously as a sailor, auctioneer, and tax collector. By 1871, the Carlisles had moved in and ordered a major remodel. Henry Carlisle owned a dry goods business on St. Paul Street that specialized in women’s hats. He was a military veteran, having served as a captain in the 1866 Battle of Ridgeway, defending against Fenian Raiders. From 1879 to 1881, he was St. Catharines’ mayor, and his civic legacy is immortalized in nearby Carlisle St. The house stayed in Carlisle family hands until 1929. Since then, 59 Queen Street has been occupied by several residents and businesses, including a period between 1964 and 1999 when it served as the manse for the Baptist Church next door.

As we cross the street to the northwest corner, we can see that the house at 25 Church Street reflects a similar architectural tradition to what we’ve already seen. This property was purchased by William Greenwood in 1858. There was an earlier, single-story home here that was built in the 1840s, but in the late 1860s, William built the house that remains today. It is difficult to determine how much of the original home was incorporated into William Greenwood’s reconstruction, but it is likely that, at the very least, parts of the foundation and basement were maintained. The house that stands today includes an understated roofline entablature, with the wooden brackets having been removed in recent years. There are also shaped lintels with decorative mouldings over the entryway and windows, as well as wooden slip sills, and a belt course. The rear of the house includes a shorter gable-roofed addition built in the 1870s.

William Greenwood was born in England but was in St. Catharines working as a carriagemaker by no later than 1842. Though few details are known about William’s own life or career, he was the patriarch of what would become a very significant family in St. Catharines’ medical history. William Greenwood died in 1879, but this house stayed in the family until 1941.

Our final stop is 27 Church St., on the northeast corner. This house, built in 1883, is the newest of the bunch, and it is visually distinct from the other three. It showcases the Queen Anne style which had become popular in the last quarter of the 19^th century. It features a complex hipped and gable roof dotted with dormers and decorative elements. The house is adorned with intricate brick and woodwork and features an oriel window above the front entrance.

27 Church St. was built for another Greenwood; William’s son Dr. Frederick S. Greenwood. Dr. Greenwood practiced medicine in St. Catharines for decades and was the first in an impressive line of Greenwood physicians. He began his career under Dr. Theophilus Mack, the well-known founder of Springbank Sanatorium, the general hospital on Queenston Street, and the Mack School of Nursing. When Dr. Mack died in 1881, Dr. Greenwood took over his practice. In 1888, he moved that practice to his home here, and the building has served a medical function ever since. Frederick’s sons, Alan H. Greenwood and Cyril Greenwood, and his nephew, William T. Greenwood, were also notable doctors. Alan served as a lieutenant in the First World War, later taking over and maintaining the family practice here until 1959.

In a bustling industrial hub like St. Catharines, change can come quickly and often. Businesses, infrastructure, and people come and go as technologies and economics evolve. With each evolution, buildings are renovated and repurposed or demolished and replaced. The relative stability found at the four corners of Queen and Church Streets is a rare treat for history lovers, and one that contributes immeasurably to the distinct beauty and character of St. Catharines.