Sarnia’s Evolving Downtown

2014 by Glenn Ogilvie for The Sarnia Journal THEN  Hundreds of milling residents can be seen surveying the wreckage in this aerial photo, taken May 21, 1953, just hours after a powerful tornado ripped through Sarnia’s downtown. The twister damaged 250 buildings, left dozen of families homeless and caused $5-million [...]

2015-08-21T14:44:57-04:00August 21st, 2015|Comments Off on Sarnia’s Evolving Downtown

Former Grand Hotel Undergoes Renewal

by Brian Bolt for the Sarnia (2001) In its glory days in the late 1800s, the former Belchamber Hotel building was a downtown Sarnia landmark reputed to be one of the finest hotels in Ontario. Today, while the historic four-storey building at 178 Front St. N. isn’t about to revisit [...]

2015-08-21T14:38:58-04:00August 21st, 2015|Comments Off on Former Grand Hotel Undergoes Renewal

The Belchamber on Front Street

By Jean Elford for the Sarnia Gazette (1961) Everyone familiar with downtown Sarnia refers to building number 176 on the east side of Front Street south of Lochiel as the Belchamber. It has been called that ever since James Belchamber had it built as a hotel in 1866. The name [...]

2015-08-23T01:22:08-04:00August 21st, 2015|Comments Off on The Belchamber on Front Street
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