The Old Canada Hair Cloth Company is located just South of St. Paul St. St. Catharines. The present building stands as a figure of how influential manufacturing was in the Niagara Region. The building is made up of red brick and white trimmed windows. The factory made fabric for train seats, parachute silk and men's suit linings over the course of its 123 year history.
The complex will house Brock's Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (SEPA) and a new Niagara Centre for the Arts (NCFA).
From Toronto:
From QEW West
Take Exit 49 for for 406 towards Thorold/Welland/Port Colbourne
Merge onto Kings highway 406
Westchester avenue exit and merge onto Westchester crescent
Turn right at St Paul Street and destination will be on the right
From Buffalo:
Take Peace Bridge to Canada
Take exit 9 for Peace Bridge toward Fort Erie Canada
Continue onto Peace Bridge(toll road) and continue onto QEW
Take exit 44 for County Rd-48/Niagara Street toward Service Road
Merge onto Dieppe Road
Turn left at Welland Avenue
Slight right at Niagara Street
Slight right at Church Street
Slight right at King Street
Turn left at Helliwell's Ln
Turn left at St. Paul Street and destination will be on your right
Brock Univeristy intends to refurbish the factory as a home for its school of fine and performing arts. If the $97-million plan comes to fruition, a 900 seat concert hall, a dance venue, a studio theatre, cinema and cabaret hall would all join the school in an arts district for a city of just 132,000 people.
In 1990, Canada Hair Cloth was bought by a French company and later failed because of overseas competion. Today, St. Catharines wants the building to become an example of economic renewal and historical value.
The building is nestled between Highway 406 and St. Paul Street. The Centre for Performing Arts will use some buildings on St. Paul Street that are vacant to construct more theatres to accomodate their development.
Levitt Goodman Architects, Martin Vinik Planning for the Arts LLC, Urban Strategies Inc
This page was prepared by Rob Munro and Ken Ho in December 2009
Canada Hair Cloth Company
198 St. Paul Street
St. Catharines, Ontario
L2R 3M2
Latitude: | 43.157864 |
Longitude: | -79.2441294 |
UTM easting: | 642753 |
UTM northing: | 4779842 |