Monday Mural

  I'm linking up at Monday Mural

June 2022 - London ON

The final murals from our couple of days in London ON.

183 King Street is an impressive building; however, the years have not been kind. It was built in 1892 in front of the Marcus Holmes House (c. 1850). It was first known as the St. James Hotel, changing its name to the Fraser House Hotel & Tavern in 1895. According to the city directory, it became the Royal Alex Hotel by 1953 until 1975 and Kelly’s Hotel opened in 1977. In the 1990s, the owners divided the building into offices, commercial spaces, and apartments in the upper levels.

Eight Ball on King, the billiard club advertised sign, called 183 King Street home from 2001-2003. 

After Eight Ball on King closed, the building continued to be home to several bars and nightclubs, including Salt Lounge, Club Noir, and Rehab. 183 King Street currently sits vacant. The rear portion of the building and its neighbour, 181 King Street, have both been demolished. The owner has been trying to demolish the building’s remaining portion to build condominiums; however, City Council denied a request for demolition.

Painted by T. Denomme who dies in 2005.  

Bud Gowan passed away in 2015.
He became a clothing store owner in the early 1950’s, when he opened a store on Dundas St.
That store was closed in 1970, when the land it was on was expropriated in order for the Bell building to be constructed.
In the mid-1970’s, he opened Bud Gowan Formal Wear, where generations of high school students rented tuxedos for prom and grooms were fitted for the clothes they would wear on their wedding day.
He turned the business over to his son Paul in 1985, before opening an antiques store a few years later.

Morrissey House is a pub with this massive Fuller's ESB mural.

George Gardner held his first auction in London, Ontario in 1922. One of his early sales was selling horses for the City of London when they switched from horse-drawn to gas-powered trucks. Some of his major auctions include Tecumseh House, at one time the largest hotel in the British Commonwealth, as well the contents of many of London's finest homes in the 1930's, during The Great Depression.
Shortly after serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II, George’s son, Jason, became his partner in the business. When George Gardner passed away unexpectedly in 1952, Jason carried on as an auctioneer and appraiser. He purchased his first permanent auction house at 2 Langarth Street West, London in 1960. He also sold for Fyfe's of Edinburgh throughout Canada and made international headlines, including Time Magazine, when he was hired by a Toronto syndicate to auction antiques from Castro's Cuba in the mid 1960's. Jason purchased 186 York Street in 1971, an historic building located in the heart of downtown London directly across from the Via Rail Station.

Grant Gardner, Jason's son, joined in 1975 and changed the direction of the business from a general auction company to one specializing in estate furnishings, namely antiques and fine art. Some of Grant's major sales include the contents of Castle Kilbride in Baden, Ontario and the Dr. Alan Law estate of Toronto whose antique furniture collection realized over a million dollars.

Originally built in 1908 by James Granger & A.T. McMahen as their warehouse. It is a unique building due to its terra cotta facade & the fact it hasn't been altered much inside or outside since it was built 108 years ago.
 

Located near the Banting House.