CLC's Office Building

The Canadian Locomotive Company (CLC) office building at the north-west corner of Ontario and William Streets was an attractive brick building with arched windows. Built in 1928 of steel and brick construction at a cost of $80,000, it was deemed fireproof. Construction on the exterior was nearly complete in January, with interior construction taking place into the remaining winter and spring months. Office furniture and supplies were moved in by August of that year. A street view from July, 1955 (top photo). It replaced an earlier circa-1920 limestone office on the opposite side of Ontario Street.

The CLC office building was located just west of a bottling works (Horne's 1910-1940's) and tenements on Ontario Street. Circa 1949 aerial view showing the office, store, and tenements (above) and a 1950's aerial view, with arrow showing the office across Ontario Street from the plant buildings:

A cast lintel plaque above the double front doors depicted CNR 6100 numbered '1928' to show the year of the building's completion. Peeking around the Inner Station in 1970:

The office building was sold to Empire Life Insurance in the early 1960's, as the office staff had moved into the works office on the William Street end of the plant buildings, by 1955. Plant operations ceased on July 1, 1969, and the plant buildings were demolished in 1971.

Marc Shaw kindly shared his photo of the CLC office building in its death throes, with Doornekamp doing what it did. The office disappeared, becoming just a memory on the current Empire Life Insurance parking lot after 1994.

(Unless otherwise indicated, photos in this post are from Queen's University Archives)