New construction reveals glimpse of the past
Sign from old stationary store uncovered as building being converted into yoga studio
A renovation in uptown Waterloo revealed a glimpse of the past.
The teardown of black panelling at 120 King St. S. revealed a tile mosaic facade of a business from the past — Schendel Stationery Ltd.
The facade, which is being renovated for a new business, a yoga studio called Hustle and Flow, will be rebuilt in the near future, but for now, it’s a sign of older times in the uptown core.
Schendel Stationery Ltd, which was started by Allan Schendel at 43 King St. S. in 1940, was in business until 1993 when it was sold to Beattie’s Basics, which is still in business.
In 1962, Schendel Stationery moved to 120 King St. S. — the location of the now-exposed facade. In 1974, a local businessperson named Bruce Burns bought the company, eventually opening a second location at 640 Davenport Rd. in 1989. In 1993, the uptown Waterloo store was closed and merged with the store on Davenport Road, before the company was sold to Basics.
Kae Elgie, former president of the local branch of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario, said Schendel is not alone when it comes to historical facades that have been covered up. She said over the years, as different businesses move in and out of spaces along King Street, the former facades are covered up to make way for new signage.
“I quite like it — it allows us to reuse the buildings,” said Elgie, adding that new facade improvement grants in downtown cores are helping with that transformation.
On Sunday, Elgie hosted a Jane’s Walk, essentially a local history walking tour, that went by the newly-exposed sign.
“We were walking down and people were saying how happy they are to see that and how much of a landmark it was,” said Elgie.
Under the Ontario Heritage Act, Elgie said, it is possible to designate signage as historically significant part of a building, but for most of uptown Waterloo, it’s much too late.
One of the buildings in uptown Elgie hopes will be designated is the first office of Ontario Mutual Life Assurance Company, at the northeast corner of the intersection of King Street North and Erb Street. She said the building shows the architectural style of its time, which was 1890. The building also holds historical significance - considering insurance goliath Mutual Life became Sun Life Financial. Moses Springer, who helped found Mutual Life, was the first reeve of the village of Waterloo and when it was incorporated as a town in 1876, he was the first mayor.