Tudhope Building is a multi-use building with western wing home to
Orillia City Council since 1997
while the eastern wing is used as
condominiums and as a satellite location for
Lakehead University
Lakehead University is a public research university with campuses in Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ontario, Canada. Lakehead University, shortened to 'Lakehead U', is non-denominational and provincially supported. It has undergraduate programs, gradua ...
.
From 1909 to 1990s it was a manufacturing facility. The building is named for
James Brockett Tudhope
James Brockett Tudhope (March 21, 1858 – February 3, 1936) was a Canadian manufacturer and politician.
Tudhope was born in Oro Township, Canada West in 1858, the son of William Tudhope, a carriage manufacturer, and Mary Reid. In 1897, ...
, who founded the Tudhope Motor Company and later served as reeve/mayor of
Orillia
Orillia is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is in Simcoe County between Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. Although it is geographically located within Simcoe County, the city is a single-tier municipality. It is part of the Huronia region of ...
.
Car Plant
The building was formerly home to
Tudhope Carriage and Motor Company built in 1909
and became home to the Tudhope Anderson Company'' from 1910 to 1936.
War Production
The building was a war plant supply military parts during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.
OTACO/Redlaw Industries
Tudhope Anderson Company was renamed as Orillia Tudhope Anderson Company (OTACO) in 1936 and switchted to producing consumer goods, sold to R.M. Barr (later as Bartaco) in 1961 and later sold to Redlaw Industries in 1984 which closed the plant in 1990.
OPP Headquarters
During the early 1990s the building was used as
Ontario Provincial Police Headquarters
Ontario Provincial Police Headquarters (Lincoln M. Alexander Building) is the main administration office for the Ontario Provincial Police. The building is located at 777 Memorial Avenue in Orillia, Ontario. It was completed in 1995 and is the fi ...
until their new building was completed in 1995.
Conversion
Since the 1995 the building has been converted for institutional use. In 2004 while undergoing renovations when parts of the building collapsed.
The western wing houses Orillia City Hall/Council and the eastern wing is used as condominiums and as a satellite location for
Lakehead University
Lakehead University is a public research university with campuses in Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ontario, Canada. Lakehead University, shortened to 'Lakehead U', is non-denominational and provincially supported. It has undergraduate programs, gradua ...
.
References
{{reflist
Buildings and structures in Orillia
City and town halls in Ontario
History of manufacturing in Ontario
Manufacturing plants in Canada