Downtown Fort William, also known as Downtown Thunder Bay South or the South Core, is the urban core of the former city of Fort William, the southern half of

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. It is centred on Victoriaville Civic Centre, an indoor

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

and

civic centre A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, the ...

built as part of an

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

project in the 1980s.Tronrud, Thorold J; Epp, Ernest A.; and others. (1995).
Thunder Bay: From Rivalry to Unity
''.

Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society The Thunder Bay Museum is located in Thunder Bay, Ontario. It is operated by the Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society, incorporated in 1972 as the successor to the Thunder Bay Historical Society. The Museum is affiliated with the Canadian Museums ...

, pp 234. . It is separated from the

Kaministiquia River The Kaministiquia River is a river which flows into western Lake Superior at the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario. ''Kaministiquia'' (''Gaa-ministigweyaa'') is an Ojibwe word meaning "where a stream flows in island" due to two large islands (McKellar ...

by the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

line, and its topography is relatively flat. Downtown Fort William is the location of Thunder Bay City Hall, and numerous other government offices.

History

Downtown Fort William is one of the three nodes around which urban growth began in the Lakehead area. In 1883 the

Canadian government The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-in ...

transferred responsibility for the

Transcontinental railway A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage, that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single ...

to the private

, which subsequently relocated the Lake Superior terminus from the Fort William Town Plot (West Fort William) to the lower Kaministiquia River, seven kilometres downstream from Westfort. Growth began at the intersection of Victoria Avenue and Simpson Street, because the McVicar family had negotiated an agreement with the CPR to place the railway station on the McVicar patent, and because the CPR had erected its second and third Thunder Bay grain elevators (CPR Elevators A & B) at the foot of Victoria Avenue in 1884/85 and 1888. In 1891 the Municipality of Neebing acquired land from the McKellar family and began construction of a town hall on Donald Street which, when Fort William was incorporated in 1892, became the town hall of Fort William.Tronrud, Thorold J; Epp, Ernest A.; and others. (1995).
Thunder Bay: From Rivalry to Unity
''.

, pp 57. . Due to Port Arthur's lack of a city hall, it became the location of Thunder Bay City Hall after the

amalgamation Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal **Pan am ...

of the two cities in 1970. Victoriaville Civic Centre was completed in 1980 and replaced the intersection of Victoria and Syndicate Avenues. However, due to the age of the structure and the loss of $500,000 per year on the mall, it is set to be demolished sometime in 2022, and will include reopening Victoria Avenue between Brodie and McKellar Streets, and construction of a new plaza along the Syndicate Avenue alignment between Victoria and Justice Avenues.

Demographics

The downtown area has a population of approximately 1,000 and a median age of approximately 47 years. The south core has a larger aboriginal population than much of the rest of the city, and the lowest average income in Thunder Bay.

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

. Profile of Census Tract 5950006.00, Thunder Bay, Ontario.

2006 Census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 92-597-XWE. Ottawa. Released December 4, 2007. Retrieved March 1, 2008.Income statistics
Shopping in Thunder Bay
, pp. 5. Retrieved March 1. 2008. Statistics Canada income data for 2006 will be released on May 1, 2008. The south core is the location of several apartment buildings aimed to low income individuals and seniors. It also has a relatively large homeless contingent and is the location of the Rotary Shelter House.Shelter House Thunder Bay
The

John Howard Society The John Howard Society of Canada is a Canadian non-profit organization that seeks to develop understanding and effective responses to the problem of crime and prison reform. It is named after John Howard, a philanthropist and early English priso ...

, an organization dedicated to assist people who have come into conflict with the law, is located in the old

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

building.John Howard Society of Thunder Bay
Crime is recognized to be a problem in the south core, especially near the Brodie Street

bus terminal A bus station or a bus interchange is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. While the term bus depot can also be used to refer to a bus station, it generally refers to a bus garage. A bus station is l ...

Thunder Bay Police Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

operates the McKellar Neighbourhood Policing Office across the street from the bus terminal and has cruisers drive by on a regular basis.

Thunder Bay Police Service Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

Neighbourhood Policing
.

Economy

Neither of Thunder Bay's downtown cores overshadowed the other, and both are today less important economically than the Intercity area. However, the South Core continues to be an employment centre. Several thousand people work in the core every day. The largest employers in the area include the

city government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

of Thunder Bay, the StarTek

Call Centre A call centre ( Commonwealth spelling) or call center (American spelling; see spelling differences) is a managed capability that can be centralised or remote that is used for receiving or transmitting a large volume of enquiries by telephone. ...

, and various businesses in the Victoriaville Civic Centre.Major Employer List 2007
The core is home to branches of four of Canada's five major banks, and several

credit union A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including depo ...

s. Several industrial businesses are located in the neighbourhood, primarily on the eastern side of the neighbourhood, and the Canadian Pacific

Train Station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing suc ...

is located in the southernmost part of the neighbourhood.

Arts and culture

Downtown Fort William is the location of many

cultural institutions A cultural institution or cultural organization is an organization within a culture/subculture that works for the preservation or promotion of culture. The term is especially used of public and charitable organizations, but its range of meaning can ...

. The Thunder Bay Historical Museum occupies the renovated Fort William

police station A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, al ...

on Donald Street, one of the core's many historical landmarks. It is operated by the century-old Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society and has three floors of galleries, including a

jail cell A prison cell (also known as a jail cell) is a small room in a prison or police station where a prisoner is held. Cells greatly vary by their furnishings, hygienic services, and cleanliness, both across countries and based on the level of punishm ...

and recreation of a Fort William street from the early 20th century.Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society
/ref> Also located off Donald Street is the Brodie Street Art Gallery, which showcases local artists and offers watercolour lessons by local painter Peter Humeniuk.Big Brush.com
website for the Brodie Street Art Gallery. Brodie Resource Library is located on Brodie Street beside city hall. It was opened in 1912 as Fort William's Carnegie Library.History of the Thunder Bay Public Library
The CBC's Thunder Bay studio is located on Miles Street on the former site of St Joseph's Convent. facing the former St Stanislaus school. It is the broadcasting centre for CBQ and CBQT. A

webcam A webcam is a video camera which is designed to record or stream to a computer or computer network. They are primarily used in videotelephony, livestreaming and social media, and security. Webcams can be built-in computer hardware or peripheral d ...

is mounted on top of its broadcasting antenna, and looks out over the Simpson-Ogden neighbourhood.

Places of worship

Several churches are located in the core, the most prominent being St. Andrews

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

, located at the corner of Brodie and Donald Streets. A city-designated heritage property, it was designed in 1909 by Stinson and Hood architects in the

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

. It features a covered entrance supported by granite columns with floral capitals, a unique feature in Thunder Bay, and its

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

dominates the area's skyline.Blumenson, John J. G. (1990). ''Ontario Architecture: A Guide to Styles and Building Terms (1874–1984)''. Fitzhenry & Whiteside, pp. 46 .St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church
at

Emporis Emporis GmbH was a real estate data mining company that was headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. The company collected data and photographs of buildings worldwide, which were published in an online database from 2000 to September 2022. On 12 Sept ...

.com St Patrick's Cathedral, the episcopal seat of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Thunder Bay The Roman Catholic Diocese of Thunder Bay ( la, Dioecesis Sinus Tonitralis) is a Latin suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto, Archdiocese of Toronto, in Ontario, Canada. Its cathedral e ...

, was built in 1963 at the corner of Donald and Archibald streets.St. Patrick's Cathedral
/ref>Thunder Bay Walking Tours - St. Patrick's Cathedral
Other prominent churches include St. Paul's

Anglican Church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

at the corner of Ridgeway and Archibald, St. Andrew's Church, and Wesley United Church at the corner of Brodie and Miles streets, across from the Brodie Street bus terminal and Paterson Park.St. Paul's Anglican Church
Wesley United Church
at Profile Canada

Sports and recreation

The

Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame The Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, established in 1978 in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, is dedicated to the people of Northwestern Ontario who have achieved greatness in sport. It is located on 219 South May Street in Downtown Fort W ...

is located in the south core on May Street, beside city hall.Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame
/ref> The

Fort William Gardens The Fort William Gardens is a multi-purpose arena, in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. It opened in 1951. History The Gardens opened on March 6, 1951. The Fort William Canadians defeated the Westfort Hurricanes, Fort William Hurricanes by a 4–2 ...

is located at the corner of Vickers and Miles streets, and is a 4,700 seat arena.Fort William Gardens website

Parks

There are many parks and parkettes in the south core, the most notable is Paterson Park, located on the former site of the Fort William Central School on May Street between Miles and Leith streets. The park was named after Norman M. Paterson, a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and founder of Paterson GlobalFoods. The park features a fountain and benches on an artificial hill.Tronrud, Thorold J. & Nicholson, David (2005).
Thunder Bay Quiz Book: 101 Fascinating Questions about our History
''.

, pps. 13 (question) and 42 (answer) . Located along the Kaministiquia River is the Kaministiquia River Heritage Park, which features a

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...

train display, a restored

Tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

, a boardwalk, and a

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

sculpture titled "Animikie", which is

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

for " thunder bird".Kaministiquia River Heritage Park Website

Education

Many schools were located in the downtown area, but as the population aged and the number of families decreased, most were closed. The only school operating in the core today is McKellar Park Central School, which has classes from

Kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

to grade 8 and was ranked by the Frasier Institute as the worst in Thunder Bay in 2008.School boards respond to Fraser Institute ranking
, TBSource. (February 19, 2008) Retrieved on 2 March 2008. St. Stanislaus School was a

Catholic school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

located at the corner of Miles and North streets. It is now an office building.Thunder Bay Walking Tours - Saint Stanislaus School
Fort William Central School (built 1895) was located at the corner of Miles and May streets, and was demolished in the late 1950s for Paterson Park. Fort William

Collegiate Institute A collegiate institute is an institution that provides either secondary or post-secondary education, dependent on where the term is used. In Canada, the term is used to describe an institutions that provide secondary education, while the word is us ...

was a

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

located just south of the core which closed in 2005. Plans are underway to convert the building to residential uses.Public willing to buy into condo plan proposed for FWCI
TBSource. (January 15, 2008) Retrieved March 2, 2008. A branch of the Sylvan Learning Centre is located on Victoria Avenue.

Infrastructure

The street layout in Downtown Fort William is based on a grid, which is interrupted at several points by Victoriaville Mall, Paterson Park and the former McKellar General Hospital.

Thunder Bay Transit Thunder Bay Transit is the public transit operator in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. It was formed in 1970, after the amalgamation (politics), amalgamation of the cities of Port Arthur, Ontario, Port Arthur and Fort William, Ontario, Fort William ...

operates a bus terminal in the core. Routes that use the terminal include 1 Mainline, 2 Crosstown, 3 Memorial, 4 Neebing, 8 James, and 12 East End. During

peak hours A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice every weekday: on ...

, bus frequency in the core is every 15 minutes.Thunder Bay Transi
Route Map
ap 2006. Retrieved on 17 June 2007. Medical facilities in the core include St. Joseph's Care Group in Victoriaville Civic Centre, the Ridgeway Clinic,Ridgeway Clinic
at Profile Canada the Fort William Clinic,Fort William Clinic
at Profile Canada and the Spence Clinic.Spence Clinic
at Profile Canada The

Mayo Clinic The Mayo Clinic () is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research. It employs over 4,500 physicians and scientists, along with another 58,400 administrative and allied health staff, ...

has an office in Spence Clinic where local residents can receive information about the Mayo Clinic and schedule appointments.Mayo Clinic - Canadian Contact information

Photo gallery

Image:Federal Building May Street Thunder Bay.jpg,

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

offices at the corner of May and Leith, an example of

Beaux-Arts Classicism Beaux Arts, Beaux arts, or Beaux-Arts is a French term corresponding to fine arts in English. Capitalized, it may refer to: * Académie des Beaux-Arts, a French arts institution (not a school) * Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts, a Belgian arts scho ...

.Blumenson, John J. G. (1990). ''Ontario Architecture: A Guide to Styles and Building Terms (1874–1984)''. Fitzhenry & Whiteside, pp. 129 . Constructed in 1913 of limestone, its architectural elements have been reduced to their bare essentials, representing a movement toward modern classicism.Ontario Architecture
Beaux Arts. Retrieved on March 1, 2008. Image:Royal Edward Arms Thunder Bay.jpg, Built in 1928 as the Royal Edward Hotel, the eight-storey Royal Edward Arms is the oldest "highrise" in Fort William and was designed by Dorr & Dorr architects of Minneapolis.Ontario Architecture
Art Deco. Retrieved on March 1, 2008. The upper reaches of the building is decorated with an Art Deco stylization of Gothic ornamentation.Blumenson, John J. G. (1990). ''Ontario Architecture: A Guide to Styles and Building Terms (1874–1984)''. Fitzhenry & Whiteside, pp. 196 . Today the building is used for low income housing,Emporis.com
Royal Edward Arms, Thunder Bay. Retrieved March 1, 2008. but during its heyday hosted many famous individuals, including Her Majesty

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

.Thunder Bay Street Tours - Royal Edward Arms
Image:Independent Living Centre.jpg, Independent Living Resource Centre Thunder Bay at 130 South Brodie Street.Independent Living Resource Centre Thunder Bay
Retrieved March 1, 2008. ILRC Thunder Bay is located in the core of downtown Fort William. Originally built as a Holiday Inn hotel, today this building houses the ILRC, a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

that delivers programs and services to all persons with disabilities and the community, as well as several condominium units. Image:Roy Building Thunder Bay.jpg, The Roy Building, designed for John King by Stinson and Hood architects and built in 1908 on Victoria Avenue, was once a

Zellers Zellers was a Canadian discount department retail chain and is currently a brand name owned by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). Founded in 1931 in London, Ontario, in later decades it was based in Brampton, Ontario. Zellers was acquired by HBC ...

department store. It was recently restored in 2015.Thunder Bay Street Tours - Roy Building
Image:Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce.jpg, This building at the corner of Syndicate and Donald streets is home to the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce, among other businesses.Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce
, Contact page. Retrieved March 1, 2008. Image:Federal Building Syndicate Avenue Thunder Bay.jpg, The

Canada Revenue Agency The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA; ; ) is the revenue service of the Canadian federal government, and most provincial and territorial governments. The CRA collects taxes, administers tax law and policy, and delivers benefit programs and tax cre ...

offices at 130 South Syndicate Avenue, across from the Victoriaville

parkade A multistorey car park (British and Singapore English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistory, parking building, parking structure, parkade (mainly Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck or indoor parking, is a build ...

. Designed by T. W. Fuller and built in 1935 this building served as Fort Williams second post office.Thunder Bay Street Tours - Federal Building

References

External links

Fort William Neighbourhood Renewal Plan
{{coord, 48, 22, 56, N, 89, 14, 46, W, display=title, region:CA-ON Neighbourhoods in Thunder Bay Fort William