#35 - 37 Market Place: Meets Future - 20
The Market Square, the Town, and the Planet
Published in the Stratford Gazette, 12 September 2013.
In one of the buildings on the south side of the Market Square, past meets future, pointing a direction for revitalizing not only the Square’s open space but also the buildings around it. This building is 35-37 Market Place, now occupied by Revel Caffè and (upstairs) by The Space Within. The building’s history is a example of what the Market Square was in livelier times and what it could be again.
The building dates from 1899. The first occupant of #37 was W.R. Marshall. By the time he moved into these premises, he had been in Stratford for some time, having arrived in 1857. He operated a dry-goods and general merchandise business, hiring German- and Gaelic-speaking employees to serve customers whose English was less-than-fluent. He imported field and garden seeds from England, France, Germany, and the U.S., selling them wholesale as well as retail, and was the largest seed dealer in Perth County. He carried cheese-makers’ supplies, and he exported apples, butter, and poultry, chiefly to England and the U.S. He died in 1924 at age 96.
In 1907 Marshall rented 37 Market Place to Daniel Brickman, a miller and merchant. In 1910 another merchant, A.A. Miller, rented it for a year and then, in 1911, the premises passed to O.H. Killer who, like Marshall, was a seed merchant. In 1915 it was occupied by Robert Thistle, Seeds, and then by H.S. Morrow, yet another seed merchant, until 1923, when it became E. G. Budd, Flour and Seed. Many readers will remember the E. G. Budd & Son Pet & Garden store, which also sold toys. Under the Budd name it changed hands and management several times until it closed in 1999. It was owned by Othello’s and used as a warehouse until Bert Notebomer bought it.
Bert and his family came from Holland three years ago. Because he considers the Square to have great potential, Bert bought this building on the Square in 2012. He pictures a Market Square that will be a magnet for local residents and visitors, with outside seating at coffee shops and restaurants. It should attract not only theatre-goers but also people who visit Stratford for the day.
Bert Notebomer’s urgent message for the City is that since there can be only one “shot” at this, it has to be done well. If done well, the revitalized Market Square will encourage other property owners to spruce up their buildings, and everyone will benefit.
Anne Campion, owner and operator of Revel Caffè, is also a great booster of the plan to revitalize the Market Square. She chose to move her business to its present location because she wanted to be part of the renewal and to give life to a lost, unattended space. In fact, she refers to the whole Market Square as “a forgotten area.”
She also sees the future Market Square as a “people” place. Being familiar with Montréal, Québec, and European cities, she’s seen how alive such places can be and how the surrounding businesses flourish as a result of the pedestrian traffic. Her experience bears out the research that says that when a space like our Market Square is revitalized, vandalism is reduced. What’s needed is for the community to show that it cares about it. Right now, she said, we (the Stratford community) don’t care about it; it’s dirty, there are buses standing there idling, and the area is not environmentally friendly. She visualizes an outdoor theatre space for the Square, and a mix of cafés, art shops, and boutiques.
Anne and Dave Campion value the building’s heritage. They used joists from the old floor to make the stairs to the basement and to construct the communal table where Revel customers work on their laptops, do their knitting, and drink their coffee. They and Bert saved the painting on the old brick wall, which is an advertisement for J. Wright, Butcher, the first owner of the store next door. They plan to work into the décor the weigh-bar from the old Budd’s scale, which Bert gave them.
Anne tells us that people come into the café with stories about the building’s history, so Revel is a living link with the past.
The upper floor of the building was occupied in 1900 by two bookbinders and after that, successively, by the Beulah Mission, the City Mission, and the Christian Science Society. It’s now the home of The Space Within, a community of therapists, counselors, and coaches offering wellness services and practices. It’s important to them to be in the heart of Stratford, and they too have kept the brick wall with its painted-on billboard as an indication of the building’s heritage.
Here, then, we have a biography of a building and at least the names of some of the people who cared and still care for it. Their interest and commitment goes beyond that one building to include the whole Square. The story of 35-37 Market Place is like a taproot into the Market Square’s past, and the renovation and present uses indicate the direction in which other buildings around the Square could go.
My thanks to Carole and Rick Huband for their help with the research.
Brandis has lived in Stratford since 1996 and is a full-time writer. She is the author of a number of books – visit Marianne's website
Published in the Stratford Gazette, 12 September 2013.
In one of the buildings on the south side of the Market Square, past meets future, pointing a direction for revitalizing not only the Square’s open space but also the buildings around it. This building is 35-37 Market Place, now occupied by Revel Caffè and (upstairs) by The Space Within. The building’s history is a example of what the Market Square was in livelier times and what it could be again.
The building dates from 1899. The first occupant of #37 was W.R. Marshall. By the time he moved into these premises, he had been in Stratford for some time, having arrived in 1857. He operated a dry-goods and general merchandise business, hiring German- and Gaelic-speaking employees to serve customers whose English was less-than-fluent. He imported field and garden seeds from England, France, Germany, and the U.S., selling them wholesale as well as retail, and was the largest seed dealer in Perth County. He carried cheese-makers’ supplies, and he exported apples, butter, and poultry, chiefly to England and the U.S. He died in 1924 at age 96.
In 1907 Marshall rented 37 Market Place to Daniel Brickman, a miller and merchant. In 1910 another merchant, A.A. Miller, rented it for a year and then, in 1911, the premises passed to O.H. Killer who, like Marshall, was a seed merchant. In 1915 it was occupied by Robert Thistle, Seeds, and then by H.S. Morrow, yet another seed merchant, until 1923, when it became E. G. Budd, Flour and Seed. Many readers will remember the E. G. Budd & Son Pet & Garden store, which also sold toys. Under the Budd name it changed hands and management several times until it closed in 1999. It was owned by Othello’s and used as a warehouse until Bert Notebomer bought it.
Bert and his family came from Holland three years ago. Because he considers the Square to have great potential, Bert bought this building on the Square in 2012. He pictures a Market Square that will be a magnet for local residents and visitors, with outside seating at coffee shops and restaurants. It should attract not only theatre-goers but also people who visit Stratford for the day.
Bert Notebomer’s urgent message for the City is that since there can be only one “shot” at this, it has to be done well. If done well, the revitalized Market Square will encourage other property owners to spruce up their buildings, and everyone will benefit.
Anne Campion, owner and operator of Revel Caffè, is also a great booster of the plan to revitalize the Market Square. She chose to move her business to its present location because she wanted to be part of the renewal and to give life to a lost, unattended space. In fact, she refers to the whole Market Square as “a forgotten area.”
She also sees the future Market Square as a “people” place. Being familiar with Montréal, Québec, and European cities, she’s seen how alive such places can be and how the surrounding businesses flourish as a result of the pedestrian traffic. Her experience bears out the research that says that when a space like our Market Square is revitalized, vandalism is reduced. What’s needed is for the community to show that it cares about it. Right now, she said, we (the Stratford community) don’t care about it; it’s dirty, there are buses standing there idling, and the area is not environmentally friendly. She visualizes an outdoor theatre space for the Square, and a mix of cafés, art shops, and boutiques.
Anne and Dave Campion value the building’s heritage. They used joists from the old floor to make the stairs to the basement and to construct the communal table where Revel customers work on their laptops, do their knitting, and drink their coffee. They and Bert saved the painting on the old brick wall, which is an advertisement for J. Wright, Butcher, the first owner of the store next door. They plan to work into the décor the weigh-bar from the old Budd’s scale, which Bert gave them.
Anne tells us that people come into the café with stories about the building’s history, so Revel is a living link with the past.
The upper floor of the building was occupied in 1900 by two bookbinders and after that, successively, by the Beulah Mission, the City Mission, and the Christian Science Society. It’s now the home of The Space Within, a community of therapists, counselors, and coaches offering wellness services and practices. It’s important to them to be in the heart of Stratford, and they too have kept the brick wall with its painted-on billboard as an indication of the building’s heritage.
Here, then, we have a biography of a building and at least the names of some of the people who cared and still care for it. Their interest and commitment goes beyond that one building to include the whole Square. The story of 35-37 Market Place is like a taproot into the Market Square’s past, and the renovation and present uses indicate the direction in which other buildings around the Square could go.
My thanks to Carole and Rick Huband for their help with the research.
Brandis has lived in Stratford since 1996 and is a full-time writer. She is the author of a number of books – visit Marianne's website