There is a photo of City Hall in the picture albums. Is this the same building and location as Verdun City Hall in 1950?
THANKS for stopping by, I do my best to acknowledge when someone leaves a comment,you do not have to be a member here & everyone is welcome. Ps: This site is monitored but not actively posting on a regular basis. Mostly these are stories & some photos saved from a defunct site known as Verdun Connections which was on MSN Groups initially then on a social network called Multiply.
9 comments:
Hi Edmi2310,.......Not sure if this is the photo you are referring to,but it is of the old Verdun City Hall on Church Avenue,and I do believe the time frame to be around 1950ish, "Have Fun & Remember Verdun"
Les_F, We have old photos of the old city hall at the SHGV. I will check them out on saturday and post them on my return. Guy
I remember this building well. In the front you see the doors for the fire department. The police were around the back of the building on the right side as you face it. The left side of the building was for the offices and if entered the main door and went straight down the hall you went into Mayor Edward Wilson's office which was usually open to everyone. At one time they decided have a race to see if the fire truck from Church ave could reach Crawford Park (which was mostly picnic grounds then) before the horse and wagons from Osborne and Verdun. It was scheduled to be a Verdun day with races and games. A tragedy happened early starting with the race, when the truck hit a place where the pavement ended and at least one man was killed. Many were badly hurt and an old man told me they sat in silence for a while and then picked up their lunches and went silently home. Ed
Old Verdun City Hall Nice photo Les ! Thank you Ed for that piece of Verdun history. Mayor Edward Wilson was in office from 1939 to 1960, a record ! He lived in Crawford Park. JM
Hello and thanks Les_F. I can't decide if this is the same building as I referred in my original letter. The photo I asked about is in the album "Just Verdun" and posted by MaggieMck on 01/02/2003. I am delighted, however, with your photo because I recognize it immediately. I remember walking past most days, although I had forgotten what street it was on. I enjoyed Edbro68's fascinating history too. edmi2310
Hi JM, The Mayor that lived in Crawford Park on Foch Street was George O'Rielly. Wilson lived on Woodland (between dawson Boys Club and Bannantyne) during his tenure and moved to Crawford in retirement. I visited him on Fayolle Street annd asked him to be guest speaker at our Scouts Father and son banquet. He said he was 80 and retired and quite sure noone would want to hear anything he had to say. Mrs. Wilson who was in a wheelchair said, "Dear the man has asked you to go. You have never refused to serve before. You muat go and have a good time." He did. He talked for twenty minutes about the early days of Verdun. The boys were fascinated and asked questions. They had a ball with him and I could see that he was enjoying it immensely. He used to walk from home (Woodland) to the office on Church. Same at lunch and supper. During the war years he was followed as he walked by a Verdun Police car. I don't know why. He was in the poultry business and had a store on the Main. Ed
I remember seing him walking on the boardwalk in the late 40s early 50s. Guy
Les_F, Here are 3 pictures of the Old Verdun City Hall that I took today. As you can see, it was completely renovated.The building to the right is an addition and notice the architecture matches the original section. Guy
Here is an excellant picture of Verdun dignitaries at the inaugral ceremony of the construction of the new City Hall on the 28th of January 1957. Notice mayor Edward Wilson's in the center and his own business card on the upper left hand cornner. From the Soci챕t챕 d'Histoire et de G챕n챕alaogie de Verdun Archives. Guy
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