Abandonment Issues: Knox United Church

Knox Church was constructed on Wolfe Street, between Park and Rubidge, in Peterborough, Ontario, in 1910. Within a few years, the body of the large church was added and this portion of the building became known as Keith Hall, a multi-purpose community centre.









In 2011, one hundred and one years after the church opened, the congregation at Knox United Church had dwindled and shrunk to an unsustainable low, from over four hundred to a mere forty, and the church was shut down by the United Church of Canada.

A potential deal quickly emerged to sell the property to a local community drop-in centre, but the neighborhood went into an uproar about the unsavory characters that would attract, and coincidentally, the deal fell through. The United Church is still hoping to attract a buyer, and as I found out, is currently renting space to several community groups, a catering company and other interested parties. Although it is far from being abandoned, it has lost its intended function, and its future is unknown. With the church actively seeking a buyer, it seemed important to document this magnificent structure in its current state before it is purchased and renovated into god knows what.

Most of the stained glass had been covered with thick plastic on the outside, I noticed, after ringing the doorbell. The gentleman that I had spoken with previously answered the door, with a smile, a handshake and a warmth that stayed with us for almost two hours. He answered all of our questions, discussed our own religious inexperience with no judgment, and best of all, allowed us to meander throughout the church extensively, with his company. He even allowed me to climb up into the old tower that no one had been into for decades, and climb around in the ultra-tight inner workings behind the organ, which was truly awesome. Unfortunately, it was so tight, I regretfully didn't bring the camera into the organ. He allowed us to poke around in back rooms, including the choir rehearsal room, which was now filled with Christmas storage and church memorabilia. He showed us artifacts and memorabilia donated to the church over the century that it served the community, and told us about his efforts to contact the kin of such donors, that have long since left the flock, to return these items. He took us into the locked minister's study and basement, and showed us every marriage certificate in the churches history. As we perused a plethora of historic photographs, he offered an elegant and timely narrative. He even chuckled when I jokingly referred to his beloved church as The Church of Hard Knox.

Upon exiting, we thanked him for his time and graciousness and offered one last series of questions that only time will ever answer...

Have the sheep lost their way, or has the Shepard? Is the flock doomed, or are they finally free?

Welcome to Knox United Church


MISSING: Congregation


the last sermon


the view from here


organic


walking down the aisle


thy will be done


my grace is sufficient for thee


when the music stops


stairway to heaven


ascending


nailed to a cross


ladder to heaven


Goliath


Knox Marriage Register July 1907 - Jan 1920


lead us not into temptation


God grant me the serenity...


Scotch Banquet at Knox (Keith) Hall September 22nd, 1911


Keith Hall August 12, 2010


front and centre


HOLY BIBLE Revised Standard Edition


Ministers Study


no one's arc


burning in hell for eternity


the best seat in the house of god


upper level


Knox hockey team


Knox Church Athletic Assoc.


Fiftieth Anniversary 1910-1960


Are you last to leave the church?


********* UPDATE *********
***February 22nd, 2016 ***

When the sale of the church was announced just over a year ago, I was ecstatic, as it was sold to an independent developer that planned to convert the space into desperately needed low income housing.

Unfortunately I dropped the ball on this one and didn't return until yesterday. The interior demolition has long since been finished and construction looked to be nearing completion.

I was lucky to arrive at the moment I did, because as I introduced myself to the foreman/owner he told me that his wife loves my blog and showed him this post last night. He was a very kind man with a lot of passion for not only this project, but the City of Peterborough. He gave me a guided tour of the entire building and shared specifics on the construction process and materials used.
He informed me that the building will have 42 single occupancy low income units, made up of 1 bedroom and bachelor, as well as 5 specially designed wheelchair units.

The apartments all have a very clean modern feel blended perfectly with the historic elements that make this building so special. Sunlight shines brightly through the tall arched windows in the units and much of the stained glass has been preserved in the hallways. A second floor has been added already and some units have already been spoken for. Occupancy date is scheduled for June 1st, 2016.

Thank you Paul.

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Abandonment Issues: Edgar

The following arial photo was found online, it truly conveys the massive scope of Edgar.



In 1952, under threat of air attacks from the Soviets, RCAF Station Edgar was constructed on one of the highest points in Simcoe County, in Edgar, Ontario. The Radar Base was the southernmost base on the Pinetree Line, and was home to the 31st Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron (later renamed Radar Squadron). RCAF Edgar was a self-contained city, featuring 82 detached and semi-detached dwellings, a school, infirmary, church, vocational work shop building, recreation centre that included an indoor pool and bowling alley, food service building, two office buildings, an auto repair shop, a multi-resident group home, a fire hall, sports fields and three miles of road. In those early days, it also had it's own water treatment and distribution facility.

In 1964, March, only twelve years later, RCAF Station Edgar was deemed unnecessary, due to advancements that allowed other Pinetree Line bases to cover it's area of responsibility. By the end of that month, it was shut down and the RCAF flag was lowered, one last time. Later that year, Edgar was sold to the provincial government for $218,225.

In 1966, Adult Occupational Centre Edgar became home to people with mental and physical disabilities. People would live on site in the former barracks, in the the self-contained city. Treatment, recreational activities, church services, schooling and employment were all available to the residents. Supported employment was a key factor in the rehabilitation treatment offered at Edgar, designed to give a sense of purpose to the individual. Many Toronto businesses sent their parts or products to Edgar for assembly and/or packaging. Recently, my father in law reminisced on his days in the warehouse at Bic pen in Toronto in his early twenties, when the van would come from Edgar to pick up shipments of pens that were to be sorted by colour and packaged into plastic sleeves. He recalled a young man that accompanied the driver, full of exuberance and excitement about his duties.

In 1999, as part of the governments de-institutionalization plan, Adult Occupational Centre Edgar was completely shut down.

Between 1999 and 2011, the only inhabitants of this twice bustling community were the security guards that patrolled the grounds 24/7, and the police and military units that occasionally used it for training purposes. Oh, and the urban explorers, of course.

Last month, when i got word that Edgar was to be demolished, it climbed up my list of must see spots and a camping trip was planned around this and other locations in the vicinity. As we trekked through the forest towards the unknown in early September, we were all too well aware that security was tight here, and stealth must be used to effectively experience all that Edgar has to offer. For example, a prolific Barrie-based explorer that has made several trips to Edgar told me that "Security there are fucking Nazi's...".

Honestly, that just makes it more fun.

A military like stealth approach through the forest. Creeping quietly flanking the tree line, urgently dashing through the wide open spaces, tip-toeing into the safety of cover. Ascending to a safer height and surveying the landscape, plotting a route.

In that first building, yellow plastic bags full of asbestos lined the dark shell of a hallway, a scene that would repeat itself. Thumping bass was thundering up the hill at us, too close for comfort, covering up the other noises that would have let us know what we were up against. Between buildings, we felt exposed, we fluttered and hopped. We ran at full speed.

Inside again, the bass was seemingly louder, which meant we were getting closer to the source. A subtle beeping noise faded in and out in the distance.

Again, we fluttered, and then we jogged, and then we ran. Building to building, we zipped to and fro like hummingbirds from foxglove to morning glory. Inside the food services and cafeteria building, something became glaringly obvious to us. The beeping was getting closer and closer, and was accompanied by several loud voices. We were now surrounded, not by security, but a full-scale demolition crew that was a quarter of the way through demolishing the entire complex. Dump trucks and backhoes were suddenly passing us by, we were surrounded on all sides, and so we waited. For several minutes, we remained hidden like escaped P.O.W.s on enemy turf. We continued to sneak quietly throughout the building and photographed, careful not to step on the carpet of broken glass fragments that littered the floor. Watching the windows, waiting, and when our moment came, we took it.

Behind what must have been an office building, we hunkered down under a canopy of Sumac trees to catch our breath. The source of the bass was a pick-up truck parked near the garages in the southeast corner of the complex, blaring Black Eyed Pieces of Shitty Music, so we steered clear. We then descended the hill through a dense batch of Sumacs, using them as cover and exited onto the main road inside from the front entrance, where we spotted a security guard beside his truck chatting with members of the demo crew. Back into the cover of the Sumacs we went, west to the overgrown chapel, which was sealed tight.

Beyond the chapel, the residential subdivision once stood, but unfortunately, the majority of the homes had already been demolished. Concrete staircases rose from the ground above hollowed basements, amongst piles of salvageable metals. Cloud cover came and went repeatedly. Weaving back through the complex, it must have been luck, as they were seemingly everywhere, yet we avoided them all with a grace that seemed natural. As soon as we'd get out of sight, they would round a corner. We dove into the thick roadside brush at all the right moments, playing possum to perfection.

Once off the property undetected, we meandered back through the forest at a slow jaunt, glowing with the satisfaction that comes with a successful mission. As we poked through the tree line onto the road and opened the doors to the car, two uniformed O.P.P. officers drove up in unmarked SUV's and slowed down, only to wave at us, and continue on their way.















































































By the end of September, 2011, all of the buildings at Edgar had been demolished. There are now plans in place for a private developer to build 82 homes on the site.

click here to check out all of jerm & ninja IX's ABANDONMENT ISSUES