THUNDER BAY – Many old-timers will remember when Fort William’s main Post Office was on North May Street between Victoria Avenue and Miles Street, not far from the offices of the Daily Times Journal newspaper. A site for this post office was in place by 1901and plans (incorporating a custom’s house as well) were ready by the following year with tenders opened in July of 1902.
The building itself was operational by the summer of 1904. It remained Fort William’s main post office until 1937 when it was transformed into the Salvation Army Hostel, a function it performed throughout the war. In 1946 (and until 1965), the government took over the building once again, this time for the use of the Unemployment Insurance Corporation.
It was vacant from 1966 to 1970 when the Army and Navy Stores took it over. After 1979 the building languished until 1982 when it was said to be undergoing renovations. Unfortunately, it suddenly burned to the ground leaving a large hole in North May Street’s landscape, which is today filled by a parking lot.
Spend some time re-discovering Thunder Bay’s amazing history, visit the Thunder Bay Museum.
Text by Tory Tronrud, Thunder Bay Museum
Photo courtesy of the Thunder Bay Museum