Snapshot of the past touched surface of its story
[Welland Tribune, 1997]
Coverage in yesterday’s paper of the Reeta Hotel demolition was well read judging by the number of telephone calls from our readers. Some of the calls were complementary, others were anything but.
The Reeta, as local residents know, was certainly a landmark in its heyday. Much more could have been written about it than was actually reported in the story about the farewell celebration to this once-grand building as demolition work on it started in earnest.
It stood as testament to the often glorious pasts that downtowns in communities like Welland had; those were the days, of course, before evolution of the suburban shopping malls, when downtowns reigned as the centres of commerce and finance. They were the days before their flight to the suburban subdivisions took people, and their business from the downtown cores.
Long-time local residents can recall the men’s and ladies wear stores that were prominent fixtures of the downtown- family owned businesses like Blake’s, David’s, Dave Price and Joyce and Marando; Mitchell’s, Merrick’s, and Reitmans among others. They can recall the shoe stores, places like Holcomb’s, McCaw’s Ernie’s; the F.W. Woolworth Company store with its creaky, hard-wood floors, and soda/lunch counter, the S,S. Kresge store, and of course the Olympia Restaurant.
The Reeta was part of this now treasured lineup, in a time when parking spaces on Main Street were hard to find and shoppers actually caused congestion on downtown sidewalks.
Many a family shopped at the Ross department store at East Main and King, and the downtown Loblaws was a bustling place for so many years.
The Reeta was one of two well-known hotels in that block of East Main from Cross to King streets; the other was just as storied and just as well known-the Dexter. Our coverage in Friday’s paper of the Reeta ceremony touched the surface of its history; the story paid tribute to its past (perhaps not enough tribute) and speculated about the future once the derelict building is gone.
Its removal is seen by some officials as a kind of life-restoring breakthrough for the city’s downtown.
Said Chamber of Commerce manager Dolores Fabiano: “This is step in the right direction for the revitalization of downtown Welland.” Wishful thinking, of course, but whether or not the Reeta’s departure helps bring life back to the downtown remains to be seen.
The Reeta certainly has many stories that could be told about it; how it was a lodging place for so many travelling salesmen and other business people who found themselves in Welland on overnight trips, how so many youngsters vied for high profile shoeshine locations outside its door; how the coffee shop was a meeting place for lawyers, judges, police officers, business people and of course shoppers. The list goes on.
The Reeta’s place in Welland’s downtown of yesteryear is storied, well-known and well documented.
We provided a snapshot of yesteryear’s prominence, not a photo album; and we offered a crystal ball look at the shape of things to come without it.
The Reeta’s legacy is well-preserved.
Removal of prominent landmark will salvage downtown core: mayor
By Brad Moscato
[Welland Tribune, 1997]
Francis Cutuia, 83, who owned the Reeta Hotel from 1955 to 1962 and now lives at the Rose City Seniors Centre, sheds a tear as demolition begins Thursday on the Hellems Street landmark.
“It breaks my heart to see it go.”
An icon of the past had its moment of glory Thursday.
Once a prominent fixture in the city’s downtown core, the former Reeta Hotel was bid an official farewell by about 250 onlookers. The building has stood in the heart of Welland since 1922.
“It breaks my heart to see it go,” said Francis Cutuia, who owned the hotel from 1955-62.
“There was a lot of activity and a lot of action here during those times,” the 83 year old said. “My coffee shop was filled every day.”
Indeed the 75-year old Reeta brought back a lot of memories too many city folks.
Sixty-three–old Ron Lasovich worked as a waiter at the hotel for two years during the 1970s.
It was time, he said, when draft beer was sold for 20 cents and hourly wages for a waiter were a mere $1.35.
“The Reeta was great in its day” Lasovich said. “But things change.”
According to city officials, such change is intended to salvage the downtown core.
Mayor Dick Reuter delivered an unequivocal endorsement of the project to onlookers gathered outside the building.
This sends a message that we are doing something with the downtown area”, said Reuter. “We want to encourage businesses to come back into the community.”
But Reuter didn’t forget to mention the important role the hotel played in the community for years.
“It was a fine establishment,” he said. “A lot of people are going to miss it.”
Options for the hotel’s replacement are being examined but officials suggest a parkette stands out as the best choice.
“Certainly downtown is vital to the community. We’re trying to make it alive and well,” said Dolores Fabiano, manager of the city’s Chamber of Commerce.
Although the mood at the event was mostly celebratory, with banks playing in the background and free food and drinks being served, the decision grew considerable criticism.
One man, who asked not to be identified, conveyed disappointment about the building being torn down.
“Whoever made this decision should be shamed,” he said. “This is part of Welland’s history.”
And he threw cold water on city officials’ rosy predictions of steamy growth for the downtown core.
Fabiano’s response was that the the building needed to be put out of its misery” and predicts its removal will be a key driver in the change of attitude in business downtown.
“Change is a good thing,” she said. “This is a step in the right direction for the revitalization of downtown Welland.”
In any case it was the old Reeta’s day. One hundred of the structure’s bricks were being sold to raise money for the downtown and some had the chance to spray paint slogans on the side of the building.
Messages ranged from “So long old girl” to “My cousin was made here” and “Finally gone” to Farewell.”
[Welland Tribune, 1 February 1997]
TAKE NOTICE THAT the Council of the Corporation of the City of Welland intends to designate the property known as “The Bridgetender’s House” and located municipally as 44 Merritt Street as a property of historical interest under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act
REASONS FOR THE PROPOSED DESIGNATION:
This house was built circa 1855-56 by William Page on a lot that was originally part of the pioneer Shotwell farm. The Shotwells were Irish Americans who settled along the Welland River about 1800. William Page was a member of a United Empire Loyalist family from Vermont who settled in the Quaker Road area, also during the early 19th century. Page was a book-keeper and later a nurseryman who served Welland as a Councillor in 1877 and 1878. In November 1856 Page sold the house to Rebecca F. Winters. During her ownership it was rented to (among others) Benjamin Diffin, a member of a United Empire Loyalist family and cooper by trade who operated a tavern at the north-east corner of West Main and Fraser Streets and served as a Welland Village Councillor in 1869. The property passed back into the Shotwell family when Elijah Shotwell purchased it from the Winters’ estate in 1875. Mr. Shotwell’s second wife, Eunice, continued to live there after his death in 1899. In 1905 she married Thomas Lord Box. Mr. Box was born in Bedford, England and came to Canada in 1842 .During the 1860s’ he served as Welland’s Bridgetender, and later worked as a pattern maker for M. Beatty and Sons. In 1915 the house passed into the hands of Addie Hill. Later owners were Oliver and Florence Gordon and Gerald E. Nash, owner of a Ford dealership on East Main and later Niagara Streets. Among the tenants of the house during the 1930s and 40s was Howard A. Snelling, a well-respected educator who was the principal for Welland High School for 21 years.
This small, one and one-half storey house built of Hooker brick was one of the earliest brick houses built in Welland. It exhibits an eclectic mixture of mid-nineteenth century detail including a Greek Revival type gable front arrangement, Neoclassical or Adam style windows of six over six panes and two sets of Regency style French doors of sixteen panes each on the south and east sides, all of which have much of their original glass and hardware. The interior of the main section of the house retains much of its original mid-nineteenth century wood trim, doors and hardware on both floors, including Classical Revival style “eared jambs” typical of the 1850s in the first floor front hall and living room.
Notice of objection to the proposed designation may be filed with the Clerk of the Corporation of the City of Welland not later than the 3rd day of March, 1997.
Dated at the City of Welland this 1st of February 1997.
CRAIG A. STIRTZINGER, City Clerk
City Hall, 411 East Main Street
Welland, Ontario, L3B 3X4.
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