My Love of Downtown Belleville

I LOVE everything about Downtown Belleville!  This area was the hub of my childhood years, my teen years, my family-raising years, my empty nest years, and my retirement years. So please join me on a seven-decade journey of this writer’s downtown memories.

The Early Years

When I was 7-years-old, I was hanging around downtown and visiting the mom-and-pop shops, starting with Weese’s Candy Store at 392 Front Street (now home to Dr. Jim’s Computer Repair).

Ralph and Ruth Weese owned and operated their candy store for over 60 years, creating specialties made on the spot, including humbugs, butter kisses, maple creams, log cabins, chocolate fudge, chocolate ginger, and dozens of other candies.

Ralph would use a little hammer to break off a piece of taffy for me to take home. They were a wonderful couple, very kind and funny, with lots of patience for a curious little pigtailed girl who followed their every move.

I could smell the delicious aroma of caramel corn and roasting peanuts wafting out the doorway of The Nut House at 350 Front Street from three doors down. That’s where I purchased my 15¢ bag of buttered popcorn before sneaking into the McCarthy Theatre with it. The guy at the front door would cut a hole in the bottom of the bag if he spotted us bringing our own popcorn to the theatre.

I can still close my eyes and recall the fragrant smells and memories coming from Reddicks Bakery as we walked by.

On Sundays, when the stores were closed, my mom walked us along Front Street after the morning church service at Victoria Avenue Baptist to the Diana Grill for lunch. Mom was a waitress there and we would have lunch with Louie and ‘the girls’.

Stephen Licence at 299 Front Street was a quick stop for my mom and me, with my little brother in tow, to check out the new bikes, puzzles, toys, and model cars.

We would peek in the front windows of Ashley and Woodley Furs to admire the beautiful hats on display, window shop at Bert Lewis, Ronald Keel, and Gerry O’Connor Jewellery stores, and dream of wearing the fabulous dresses from Marianne’s, Milady Shop, Rachael’s, Artistic Ladies’ Wear, and The Sally Shop.

On her day off, my Granny would take me to a little shop she worked at called The Bread Basket Bakery on Front Street where McNabb Towers is now located. She waited patiently while I laboriously chose a sweet treat from the display of day-old baked goods.

Usually the first store on my downtown trip with Granny would be MacIntosh Brothers, where she browsed the undergarment display and then on to Leslies Shoe Store to check out the shoe sales. Singer Sewing was our next stop to view the latest patterns, and we continued to Latimer’s Drug Store for a toasted egg salad sandwich and a tea.

My friends and I played Hide and Seek up and down Front Street, climbed the steel steps to the flat roof of the A&P store on Pinnacle Street, and played Nicky Nicky Nine Doors on all the downtown apartment doors.

We swam in the Moira River by the dam every summer and skated at the Memorial Arena every winter.

The city bus was my favourite way to travel and, for the price of 5¢, I could often tour the city with free transfer passes. My dream job at 9 years old was to become a bus driver because they wore fancy uniforms, cool hats and were always very nice to me.

That was the same year I got a real job as a paper girl with a route on Front Street. I would pick up my papers behind the Intelligencer Building across from City Hall, circle the downtown area, and end up at Ed Thomas Cigar Store for a yummy ice cream cone or a black licorice cigar.

The busy hustle, bustle, honking cars, and crowds of shoppers brought so much excitement and enjoyment to my life.

The Teen Years

I took Piano Lessons from the adorable Connor sisters who lived in the historic brick house on the corner of Pinnacle and Campbell Street, across from where Belleville Library is now located, and tap dancing from Dorothy Dickey School of Dance upstairs at 271 Front Street, the current location of Park Provisioners.

Of course, Roluf’s was the go-to spot for developing black and white film and listening to the latest hot single records in their sound booth.

Corby Library, teen dances at BCI and Nicholson High School, and Saturday movies at the Capitol, Belle and McCarthy Theatres kept us entertained, as well as bowling at The Bowl-O-Drome at 365 Front Street.

After school and on weekends, we gathered at The Penguin Restaurant for french fries, the New Perfect Cafe and the Cosy Grill for fries and gravy and a milkshake. The Paragon, where Susy and Michael Tom greeted us at the door, was a favourite family dining experience.

We stopped at the little shops on Footbridge Alley such as Choy’s, The Family Bakery, Mike’s Fish and Chips, Doug’s Hobbies, and The Very Bottom Cafe. We lived in the west end and walked, biked, or roller-skated downtown nearly every day.

The Family Years

Raising a family in Belleville meant Saturdays crammed with hair-cuts at John the Barber, Skinners, Capri Beauty Salon, Guys and Gals, and The Vogue Hair Salon. In addition, trips to the Farmers’ Market for fresh produce, shopping for the best cuts of meat at Black’s Meat Market at 286 Front Street near the footbridge, and Clarke and Miles Butchers at 184 Front Street, where The Spah is currently located. The kids loved the sawdust on the floors and the free wieners from the friendly butchers!

We bought school supplies at James Texts and O’Neill Stationery on Front and shopped at our favourite 5 and dime stores: Metropolitan, Woolworth’s, Kresge’s, Eaton’s Department Store where Mr. Red, the elevator operator, would whisk us to the 3rd floor, Lipson’s, Zellers, King Sol, and Simpson Sears Catalogue Sales. Scalliwag Toys at 302 Front was also a must-stop store for the kids.

Local banks were visited, including Victoria & Grey Trust, Toronto-Dominion, Imperial Bank of Canada, Royal Bank, Bank of Montreal and Bank of Nova Scotia.

Louis and Mano at the Cosy Grill would always have a chocolate bar or drink ready. The kids loved the Modern Cafe, Belmont Restaurant, The Olympia, and Mr. Zed’s. Next, we stopped at Belleville Utilities to pay our hydro bill and Photo Chalet to drop off film. The Corby Library was our next stop to pick up the newest books and then on to the Bellestar 3 to watch the latest afternoon matinee.

The Empty Nest Years

The family was grown, and Downtown Belleville was thriving. The entertainment scene saw bars and nightclubs bursting at the seams and Front Street was no exception. The historic Hotel Quinte featured entertainment at the Green Door, Tropicana Room, Gatsby’s, and the Pinnacle Room.

Weekends were busy at Lulu’s on the second floor of 224 Front Street as well as Dolan’s Disco at Century Place and Copperfield’s at 230 Front Street, right in the heart of the downtown district. Another busy spot was Sneaky Pete’s on the second level of 199 Front Street, which featured a full-service restaurant, bar, and patio.

The Maze Mall, former location of the old Metropolitan Store at 232 Front Street, started a new trend of boutique shopping with Sam the Record Man, Jerky John’s Jean Joint, and many other shops located under one roof. Evenings were full of entertainment from on going productions at The Pinnacle Playhouse and the epic Empire Theatre as well as sidewalk sales, parades, street dances and performers, artists and so much more.

The Retirement Years

The Downtown District is evolving and changing as many buildings are undergoing facade improvements and interior updates. As we stroll along Front Street, we see glimpses of our historic and colourful past juxtaposed with our modern and present innovative progress.

The heart of our city is pulsing with renewed life and energy and I love seeing the streets full of shoppers, browsers and lively street music on the patios.

Thank you Downtown Belleville for seven decades of memories!

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Photos courtesy of Community Archives and Amanda Hill