The Kam Power Company Limited(Kam is short for Kaministiquia - The Local River which drains into Lake Superior). Kam Power was acquired by the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario in 1949. In this first picture you can just make out the Kam Power sign on the building at 1101 S. Syndicate Ave in Fort William Ontario. Also, you can just make out a local rail streetcar just in front of the building.
After Kam Power the building was left vacant for some time, then purchased by Dresswell Laundry and Drive-in Cleaners who used the building for quite a number of years. The urban deterioration is noted in the following photos.
Another note on Kam Power - In 1949 as mentioned above the business and assets of the Kaministiquia Power Company was purchased from the parent Abitibi Power and Paper Company in Toronto by Hydro. The assets were purchased at a price of $5 Million. This included the Kakabeka Falls generating station as well as the storage dams and other associated facilities in the vicinity of the plant. Hydro later amalgamated all the power resources of the northwestern part of Ontario into one system and the Commission was able to guarantee better electrical service.
The poor old building was left to hoards of pigeons. They had a difficult time finding new quarters after the building was leveled.
This first scan was taken from a 1958 phone book and the second was was from a 1961 phone book....note the MA and DI. MA stood for Mayfair which is 62 on the telephone and DI was for Diamond which is 34 on the telephone. The 62 and 34 exchange is still used today but MA and DI only lasted about a year and a half.
One last photo of Dresswell and the last photo is of the empty property. This building along with a huge number of other buildings around the Thunder Bay area were destroyed this year.
Thanks to Roger Rickards for the old Kam Power photo.
Click on pictures to enlarge!
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