The Blong Block

The Blong Block. . , This impressive red and yellow brick block, in the centre of the commercial district was constructed in 1885 by Jonathan Blong. , Mr. Blong purchased the property with its huge three-storey building called the 'Royal Arcade' from local entrepreneur Joseph Bigelow in 1877. Just seven years later, his building along with the rest of the downtown was destroyed by fire in 1884. , Undaunted by the loss, Mr. Blong began construction of this magnificent building, which became known as the Blong Block. At the time, the two-storey block of stores was described as the “most pretentious and extensive business structure in Port Perry”. It was elaborately decorated with red and yellow brick facings and covered a frontage of over 100 feet on Queen St. , Mr. Blong divided the building into a number of units which were leased to local shop keepers, although he kept ownership of the eastern section of the building until 1915. , More recent owners of the block include, George Emmerson, who purchased it in 1954. He ran the Emmerson Motel from the second floor. Ground floor tenants included Emmerson's Insurance and Canadian Tire. In 1975 Mr. Emmerson sold the building to Charlie Santos who three years later sold it to Tom and Daphne Mitchell. The Mitchells restored the building and operated Settlement House Shops at this location until 2007. , The attractive landmark block was purchased in January 2013 by Dean Pandurov.