By John Rhodes
Special to The Chatham Voice
What was there before is there no more.
I think the above comment is an accurate description of the now open green space which runs westerly, from William Street, along the north side of King Street, to a point about opposite the old Market Square. The lengthy lot, deemed unsuitable for new construction, is now the Zonta Park.
The buildings, left to right, are the Rutherford Block (two floors), the Scane Block (three floors), the Tyrrell Block (three floors) and the Nathaniel Murray Block (three floors).
All of these buildings were removed in 1968 by order of the LTVCA as they had become badly damaged by flood waters penetrating their foundations from McGregor Creek.
The building at distant left was the Rutherford Block which was the property of Dr. J.P. Rutherford who was a local physician and former mayor of the town. It was actually three different buildings tied together and was a general use structure featuring ground floor retail with second floor apartments and office space.
Next right was the substantial Scane Block which was one of the largest buildings in the core area. It was built in 1875 at a cost of $8,000 and featured eight store fronts, a large second floor meeting hall and 31 apartments. The builder was Ebenezer Welbury Scane who was a lawyer and two time mayor of Chatham. Scane also owned the Grand Opera House, part of which still stands at 161 King St. W.
Next was the three-floor Tyrrell Block. I am not sure of the build date or builder, but I know that it was the longtime home of Levi Tyrrell, jeweller, who was born in Ridgetown in 1883 and died at Chatham in 1934.
Another long-term tenant of the Tyrrell Block was the Diamond Hall Jewellers.
Lastly, on the right, was the Nathaniel Murray Block which was constructed in 1890. Nathaniel was a skilled plasterer and brick mason and built much of the structure himself. Like other buildings in the area, it was a multi-use facility.
Nathaniel was prominent in the Black community and operated the retail space as a kitchen wares store until he chose to sublet it and return to his trades activity.
Many of our seasoned readers will remember the Murray Block as the longtime home of Herman Seltzer’s Town And Country Men’s and Boys’ clothing store.
As stated above, the LTVCA condemned all of these structures in the late 1960s with the Murray block suffering the additional indignity of being set on fire not long before it was to be removed.
