1 Blue Goose Street, 1909, Heritage Property plaque, 2022.
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Resource ID
10149
Access
Open
Credit Line
Heritage Toronto
Date of Creation
2021
Historical Themes
Program Category
Rights
Heritage Toronto
Time Period
Caption
1 Blue Goose Street, 1909, Heritage Property plaque, 2022.
Description
For over 125 years, an establishment stood in this spot serving railway passengers and crews, as well as the local community. The building symbolizes the long-standing relationship between the hotel and the railway as Mimico grew from a small railside village into a city. The Windsor Hotel, built in 1892, was the first building on this site. That hotel burned down in 1905 under mysterious circumstances. An illegal temporary bar with no liquor licence was hastily erected by proprietor W. F. Young and was known as the “Mimico Shack.” According to an undercover journalist, although it was advertised as a hotel, the shack had no rooms and served no food. Wind whipped through gaps in the walls and women were served at the bar alongside men, which was considered scandalous at the time. In 1909, Young rebuilt it as the Windsor Public House, where some of the earliest town council meetings were held. The Chemij family purchased the building in 1958 and renamed it the Blue Goose Tavern in 1971. The bar became associated with Mimico’s sports culture. Several NHL players visited with the Stanley Cup, including Brendan Shanahan in 1997 and Dave Bolland in 2013. Operated by the Chemij family for over 50 years, it closed in 2018.
Designated under the Ontario Heritage Act, 2019