Mackey House

Mackey House. . , Stepping off a passenger train at the Canadian Pacific Railway Station, visitors to North Bay in the early 1900s saw a very different town than exists today. There was a large park on one side of the station, and across the street, known first as Railway Street, then Front Street, and now Oak Street, there was the Mackey House Hotel. , Constructed in 1886 by George Fee and J.J. Mackey, the Mackey House was a large two storey white frame building, extending from Oak Street to Main Street, siding on Ferguson. Although the hotel portion of the building had its entrance on Oak Street, the side facing Main Street had a number of businesses and storefronts. The American Fair was one of the first establishments to set up shop in the Mackey House. T.L. Cosgrove, barber, F. DeMarco Co., and Corner Cigar Store were a few of the many establishments housed in the Mackey House in the early part of the century. According to Anson Gard, by 1896 the Mackey House had one of the "finest collections of stuffed animals in the country. It took first honors at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893." , Both George Fee and J.J. Mackey worked for the railway, Fee as an engineer and Mackey in the construction of the CPR Railway west. Both men became involved in municipal politics and Fee was named the first Reeve of Widdifield Township in 1885 while Mackey was a city councilor for the Ferguson Ward for several years. The Worthington Street rink was established with the support of Fee and Mackey in the 1890s. The rink was covered, and was greatly needed in order to form North Bay's first hockey league. , Both men also helped pay for the grading of Ferguson Street to Oak Street in 1906. By that time, the men in keeping with their entrepreneurial spirit, had decided to start a brewery in Sudbury with their brother in law, J.J. Doran: the Sudbury Brewing and Malting Co. Ltd. , The Mackey House burned to the ground, Saturday February 19th, 1945. The fire started around 11 at night in one of the upstairs bedrooms, and by morning it had enveloped the whole building; it was finally extinguished by Sunday afternoon. It was the largest fire in the city's history to that date, and the third major fire in the city since the beginning of 1945. The North Bay Nugget reported that one Mackey House employee died, and another man and woman were seriously injured in the blaze. At the time, there were a number of varied businesses operating out of the Mackey House location, including a pool room, a barber shop, a dry cleaners and a hot dog stand, "representing the energy of early North Bay entrepreneurs." , The Mackey House was a longtime North Bay landmark, serving as both an hotel and a business centre for over a half century. , [photo captions] , . Inside the Mackey House in 1900. , . A look at the Mackey House in 1887. , . Main Street looking west past the Mackey House. , . Views of the Mackey House from Front Street.