Body Shop at 14 James Street

On a recent walk downtown, I discovered this neat building at 14 James Street. I use the term false-front but perhaps square-front because it may lack the lower, peaked roof normally associated with false-fronts. The various light-blue doors and the integration with the adjacent houses really caught my eye. My photo (top) had a truck and dumpster in front that Google Streetview did not:

Several social-media commenters added some additional information on this interesting building:

Vince Dillon

Not sure it could have been a bodyshop years ago

 

Doug McEathron

Is that at the bottom of James near Rideau street. If so than it was a body shop in the early 70’s. I took my 71 Torino there for a paint job. Good work.

Hal Murphy

In the early 70's it was a body shop owned by Don Snowden....I worked for him for a few weeks. He lived on Bath Road in Amherstview and later it was owned by Terry ??? and it was called Modern Collison....Modern collison is on Duff Street now.

Doug McEathron

Yes that was the name of it and I think it was Don who owned it when I got my car painted.

It was also operated by Dwight Cota at one point. Don't know if he owned it or leased it.

 

I sure did my first was white painted it red.. and another one many years later like 1994.Dwight Cota .painted it red too and i did alot of handy work on it . tranny and wiper motor replace seats..vintage 912 ..then blew the motor on the 401! near Oshawa ...whoops.

Bill Wilkinson

I had the body shop right after Snowden with Dwight Cota. Had some great times in there.⁠

Mike McCormick

Delivered gas cylinders to Snowdens there, in late 70's. Then met him on his Amherstview dock,once The View had a new beer store. We came over from Island by boats. 

Union Food Trucks were just up the street too. They ran Gut Trucks all over Kingston. Great Western sandwiches!!

 

Derrick Ethridge

The shop used to be Don Snowden's auto body shop back in the early 1970's. Later Don moved the shop to Elliot Avenue, where a towing yard is now. Don worked with a helper most of the time. He could fit one car in the paint booth and two in the shop.

Aww Martins old place, Cannot spit out his last name at the moment but late 40's early 50's that was Harvey Gardiners body shop for the main garage at Montreal and charles. Yankovick I believe and Red ran it, worked there with Earl and Cliff Bauder before he started his own shop on Woodbine.

 

Mike Wilkinson

My father Terry had a body shop there in the late 80s. Modern Collision Service. Which is now located on Duff. I remember being in there as a young lad.

Now, of course, 14 James Street looks like an excellent candidate for my Hanley Spur layout structure collection!