Sunday, October 13, 2013

Former railway properties



The following properties were owned by the CPR. The real estate arm of the CPR, Marathon Realty, was sold to the American conglomerate General Electric and another firm.
Montreal, Quebec
Adirondack Subdivision
Angus Shops
Cremazie
Dorval Station Grounds
Drummond and Laugauchetiere Street - Land and Buildings.
Hochelaga Yard
Jean-Talon Train Station - was sold to the City of Montreal in 1984.
Le Chateau Champlain Hotel
Mile End Yard (Village of Cote St. Louis).
Papineau Yard
Place Viger
Place du Canada and the IBM-Marathon Tower were built on CPR land.
Pointe Claire - Pt. Valois Station.
St. Denis Yard
Wentworth Golf Course - Ville St. Pierre and City of Lachine -
The former Jean-Talon CPR train station in Montreal, Gare Jean-Talon.(Wikipedia photo)
Toronto, Ontario- The Dufferin Mall, a shopping centre, was constructed on CPR land.
 Land North of King Street East and Dufferin Street and south of Queen Street, Mile 1.83 Galt Subdivision.
Bathurst North of Lakeshore.
Cherry Street Yard, fronting Mill Street.
Fez City Yards, Bathurst.
Fronting Yonge Street and Shaftesbury Avenue with Land and Buildings.
Front and Beachell Streets.
Fronting on Front Street and Spadina Avenue.
Mile 4.03 - North Toronto, Shaw Street.
North Toronto Subdivision, fronting Birch Avenue.
Parkdale Yards, fronting King Street.
A parcel of land of irregular feature fronting Marlborough Avenue and Yonge Street - Summerhill Station - Marathon planned to bulldoze the train station and build 700 houses on the site,but they faced bitter opposition from the community. The saga is documented in the 1971 book "Marlborough Marathon - One Street Against a Developer" by Canadian historian J.L Granatstein.
Royal York Hotel.
Union Station - Marathon wanted to knock down Union Station to facilitate the construction of a development called "Metro City." The City of Toronto eventually bought the landmark, and the City is now selectively demolishing the building.
Roy Thomson Hall was built on CPR reversionary land.
West Toronto Yard - Keele and West Toronto.

Staines, Ontario - Scarborough - Fronting Finch Avenue.
Scarborough - Warden Avenue.
Etobicoke - North Queen Street.

Calgary, Alberta - (Telecommunications Building Site) - A parcel of land at the South East corner of 2nd Street S.E. and 9th Avenue S.E. Acreage - 0.69. Book Value - $1 Dollar.
The Husky Tower is a 600 foot observation tower and revolving restaurant, built in 1968.
Palliser Hotel.

Vancouver, British Columbia
Coal Harbour
Fairmont Hotel Vancouver
The Hotel Vancouver in British Columbia. (Wikipedia photo)


Victoria, British Columbia
CPR Steamship Terminal-The Royal London Wax Museum was forced to move a few years ago.
Crystal Garden
Empress Hotel.

Quebec City, Quebec
Le Chateau Frontenac Hotel - The terrace level (basement) is being deconstructed to build a new banquet hall.
Fronting Haldimand Street and Mont Carmel Street. Land - $44, 593.  Building - U.C.C. - $68,571.
Gare du Palais (Palace Station) - is similar in design to the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac Hotel.
Gare du Palais in Quebec City, Quebec.
Winnipeg, Manitoba-The Royal Alexandra Hotel is gone, and the CPR station was sold to the Manitoba provincial government.

Lethbridge, Alberta - The Lethbridge Community Health Centre is located in the former train station, 801 1st. Avenue South. Two of my brothers worked for the CPR in Lethbridge in the early 1970's.

Edmonton, Alberta- Strathcona Station. Decommissioned in 1980.

More Ontario properties that Marathon acquired during the years 1966 and 1967.
Belleville - Mile 112.6 - Between Division and Ontario.
Belleville Station.
Bowmanville - Liberty Street.
Brockville - South side of Louis Street, Land and Buildings. Concession Road.
Carelton Place - Highway 29.
Chatham - Prince Street; Adelaide and King; Centre and Park.
Cobourg - Mile 136.5 and Mile 136.6 Fronting Old Lakeshore Road.
Durham - Lambton Street.
Guelph - Fronting on Speedvale Avenue.
Kingston - Mile 102, Fronting Patrick Street.
London - Talbot and Oxford; Spanner Street; Waterloo and Kenneth.
North Bay - Timmins Street.
Ottawa - Mile 84.6 - Fronting St. Laurent Boulevard.
Parry Sound - Armstrong Street.
Perth - Harvey Street.
Port Hope - Mile 141.3 - King Street.
Smiths Falls - Land fronting William and Victoria.
Sudbury - Lorne, Elm and Brady.
Whitby - Station Grounds.

Lands - Canadian Niagara Falls.


During the mid-1970's I studied journalism at Mount Royal College in Calgary, Alberta.
 The Calgary Albertan newspaper printed MRC's weekly journal. My classmates and I visited the Albertan printing plant, a building located on CPR land. Marathon Realty Assistant General Manager Rod Sykes raised the rent on the printing plant, from $900 dollars a year to $20,000 dollars a year. Rod Sykes later became mayor of Calgary. (From:"Canadian Pacific-A Portrait of Power" by Susan Goldenberg, page 14.)

Duff Roblin planned to redevelop a CPR property in downtown Ottawa, Ontario that was eventually sold to the Westin Hotel corporation. ("Canadian Pacific-A Portrait of Power" Page 134.)





More CPR properties that Marathon Realty owned in 1966:
Alberta
Calgary - Laggan Subdivision - Section 15 and 5 and a half, and NW Section 16, Twp. 24, Rge. 1, W 5th M. - 39.42 acres. $1 dollar.
Olds - Mile 56.3 Red Deer Subdivision - 13.58 acres, $1,127 dollars and 10 cents.
Didsbury - Mile 48.4, Red Deer Subdivision - 12.98 acres. $1,190 dollars and 20 cents.
Carstairs - Mile 39.4, Red Deer Subdivision - 9.73 acres. $700 dollars and 92 cents.
Calgary (Turner Siding) Mile 5.0, Macleod Subdivision - NE Section 21, Twp. 23, Rge. 1, W 5th M. 7.19 acres. $388 dollars and 26 cents.
Innisfail - Mile 75.25, Red Deer Subdivision - 2.80 acres. $219 dollars and 24 cents.
Crossfield - Mile 28.9 Red Deer Subdivision - 8.9 acres, $689 dollars and 87 cents.
Cochrane - Mile 22.86, Laggan Subdivision  27.73, $11 dollars and 45 cents.
Canmore - Mile 673, Laggan Subdivision  49.14 acres, $1 dollar.

Ontario 
Toronto, Ontario - A parcel of land of irregular figure, City of Toronto, County of York, fronting on Millard and Parliament Streets. $1,940 dollars.
Toronto - Galt Subdivision - City of Toronto, County of York, fronting on Cariboo and Osler Avenue - $2,028 dollars. The Ontario provincial government's Go Transit operates on Galt Subdivision railway tracks.
Sudbury - Mileage 78.12 - Cartier Subdivision - $99 dollars.
London - Mileage 0.04 - Windsor Subdivision - A parcel of land of irregular feature, City of London, County of Middlesex, fronting on Richmond and Pall Mall Streets - Book Value - $175 dollars.
Windsor - City of Windsor, County of Essex, fronting on Tecumseh Road. $3,351.00

Quebec
Montreal - Lot 4720, Parish of Montreal, Westmount Subdivision - Property Section L63B - $4,575 dollars.
Montreal West - Mileage 0.1 Winchester Subdivision $13,924 dollars.
Sherbrooke - $38.00.
Sherbrooke - $47.00
Iberville - Adirondack Subdivision - $171.00.
Magog - A parcel of land of irregular feature, forming Pt. Lot 1678, Town of Magog, fronting St. Patrick and Millette Streets.$28 dollars.
Magog - Town of Magog, fronting on Main Street. $25.00 dollars.