Fates of former armouries

[FJAG]

I wanted to put in a picture of the first armoury I paraded at when I joined the 7th Toronto Regiment back in 1965. They had just moved everyone out of the old University Avenue Armouries and put us into a temporary armoury at 87 Richmond Street East until the Moss Park Armouries were built.

Unfortunately its a car park lot now  :'(

 

[pbi]

If I remember correctly, one of the reasons the Armouries was abandoned was the interior was not up to any sort of modern building standard or fire code, so the building sat empty for many years until the hotel company bought the property, gutted the interior and built the hotel inside the shell.

This is an increasingly common problem with old armouries. There was a surge in armoury construction in the years immediately preceding WWI, with the result that we still have a large stock of buildings that are now 100 years old, or older.

When I was with 38 CBG (2002-2005) we had two armouries in Winnipeg that were seriously showing their age. The FGH armoury in the old North End was actually settling and cracking in half (a common problem for old buildings in Winnipeg as in some places there is no bedrock for nearly 200 feet) and the much larger Minto Armoury in the old West End was developing all sorts of structural and sysetmic problems. AFAIK, both are still in use. (rifleman can confirm this)


What is really amazing is how private purchasers are able to buy these from PW&GSC and actually turn them into functional, useful and safe structures. It must be an expensive undertaking.

 

[WLSC]

This is now & then of different armory FMR got

Marché Bonsecour today.  We where there around 1880.



The current armory brand new, 1910

Today

 

[Rheostatic]

What unit worked there?

The former Amouries in Renfrew, Ontario is now home to the fodo bank and is rental hall and is owned by the local fair board.

 

[Canadian.Trucker]

Speaking of G&SF, their original drill shed in downtown Barrie is now the Regimental Museum after being a farmer's market, youth drop-in centre, and MPP constituency office. 

Again, on streetview http://goo.gl/maps/ac9LI

Sadly the future of the museum is in question, so if anyone is swinging through Barrie please drop in.
Hours of operation:
May through November

Wednesday to Friday 11:00 am to 4:00 pm
Saturday 10:00 am to 3:00 pm

Website - http://thegreyandsimcoeforesters.org/jsite/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=78&Itemid=72

 

[Gorgo]

What unit worked there?

I would suspect "A" Company of the Lanark and Renfrew Scottish Regiment; they were shifted from Renfrew to Pembroke in 1970 according to The Canadian Militia.

 

[pbi]

I wanted to put in a picture of the first armoury I paraded at when I joined the 7th Toronto Regiment back in 1965. They had just moved everyone out of the old University Avenue Armouries and put us into a temporary armoury at 87 Richmond Street East until the Moss Park Armouries were built.

Unfortunately its a car park lot now  :'(

Do you recall the old Falaise Armoury down on Queen's Quay? I think there was an RCA Medium Regt there until very early 70's.

 

[FJAG]

Do you recall the old Falaise Armoury down on Queen's Quay? I think there was an RCA Medium Regt there until very early 70's.

I never paraded there but a number of my fellow gunners had.

The 7th Toronto was an amalgamation of the several units. 29th Fd Regt had been at University Ave Armouries and had moved into Richmond sharing space with the Queen's Own Rifles. 42nd Medium had moved into Falaise where it shared the Armouries with 1st Locating Regt.

Just before I joined in 1965 29th was redesignated 7th Toronto while at the same time 42nd Med and 1 Loc went onto the Sup Order of Battle and their people were merged in with us. I was sent down to Falaise once or twice on a work party to move some gear.

The whole lot of us (as well as the QOR, 48th Highlanders and a Service Bn) moved into Moss Park Armouries when it opened in 1966.

 

[pbi]

What unit worked there?

Originally the militia air-defense artillery unit based in Pembroke, which later became the Lanark and Renfrew Scottish. (I might have that lineage wrong...)

 

[dapaterson]

Originally the militia air-defense artillery unit based in Pembroke, which later became the Lanark and Renfrew Scottish. (I might have that lineage wrong...)

L&R Scots were converted to AD in 1992 - I recall an eager young officer cadet from that unit in Gagetown, returning after a medical RTU the prior summer, being unceremoniously kicked out of the shacks by DS at the Infantry School when the message came in and having to haul all his kit over to the artillery school.

 

[pbi]

Here is a bit more, from Wiki:

On 1 April 1946 the regiment was converted to artillery and redesignated '59th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment (Lanark and Renfrew Scottish), RCA'.8 On 1 December 1959 the regiment was converted to infantry and redesignated 'The Lanark and Renfrew Scottish Regiment'.9 On 10 November 1992 the regiment was converted to artillery and redesignated '1st Air Defence Regiment (Lanark and Renfrew Scottish), RCA'.10

The current Regtl 2IC (who was the RegF CO when it was most recently an AD unit) told me that there were once marks in the drill floor where the outrigger feet of the 40mm Bofors guns rested on it.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

In Pembroke?  I doubt the floor of that Armoury would take the weight of even a 40 mm Bofors.  It is a wooden floored armoury over a crawl space basement...I may have been in that Armoury- once or twice. 

 

[pbi]

Hmmm. I will check and verify. ???

 

[garb811]

Olds, Alberta has a former armoury which housed A Sqn, KO Calg R back in the day.  It's still in use as a recreation center with an Air Cadet Squadron parading there.

 

[FormerHorseGuard]

Renfrew Armouries was home to the L&R Scots, not sure which company, as they had units in Carleton Place, Renfrew, Perth, and Pembroke.
Now just a RCA unit in Pembroke.
As for the floor, they  do park a 105MM gun on the floor for training and there is an Anti-aircraft gun of some sort parked on the floor.
I heard they had to do some re engineering of the floor to support the added weight of the guns.

 

[RHLIDRUMMER]

The Dundas Armouries  is nowhere Recreation Center.It use to be the home of the  102LAA RCA later 11th Field Btty. The Sea Air Cadets still use it.

 

[RHLIDRUMMER]

The Niagara Falls armouries on Victoria Ave. is now the Niagara Falls Mïlitary Museum.It at one time housed the 10thBtty of the 56thFR RCA.

 

[pbi]

There is a sub-unit size armoury in Durham ON (S of Owen Sound). Does anybody know what unit was in there?

 

[Michael OLeary]

Some evolution of this company, which is part of the G&SF heritage:

http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/his/ol-lo/vol-tom-3/par2/gsf-eng.asp

'No. 4 Company (Volunteer Militia Company of Infantry at Durham,6 February 1863)

 

[Vanguard48]

Adding onto Rhlidrummer's comment here is a link to the old Lincoln and Welland Regiment's armoury in Niagara Falls.

Link: http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM15HE_Niagara_Falls_Armoury_D_Coy_of_The_Lincoln_welland_Regt

Presumably it hosted D-Company in the 70's and 80's as I remember talking to a former member about this location and his time spent there. Sadly it is closing down soon I have heard.