80
Escarpment Magazine Fall 2012
Of course shipbuilding wasn’t unique to
Collingwood, but the dock was equipped with
a Colby crane that could launch ships up to
736’
in length. Also, ships were side-launched
at Collingwood and that, in part, made it an
attractive facility. It was the only shipyard in
the country to launch ships in this fashion and
the launches drew great crowds fromCanada
and the United States. From Collingwood was
launched Huronic in 1901, the first steel-hulled
ship launched in Canada, as well as
Hochelaga in 1949, the largest ship built in
this country at the time. A mural dedicated to
Collingwood’s shipbuilding heritage greets
visitors on their way into town. Painted on the
east wall of the now closed Mountain View
Hotel, the mural, titled “The Side Launch” is
sited close to the launch basin and captures
the spectacle and excitement of a side launch.
“
The Side Launch” is one of five downtown mu-
rals depicting Collingwood’s history. The mu-
rals were created through the efforts of the
MillenniumMural Committee, an organization
formed in 1998 by the Blue Mountain Foun-
dation for the Arts and the town of Colling-
wood.
The opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in
1963
helped spell the end of Collingwood’s
port economy. The shipyards closed in 1986
and the town suffered for it, but Collingwood
had, over the years, become a small centre for
industry, and the economy stabilized. A num-
ber of those plants have since closed, but the
town has recovered in a new direction: as a re-
tirement community. Skiers from southern On-
tario who grew up skiing the Blue Mountains
in the ‘60s were now approaching retirement.
Steadily since the mid-90s the town has hosted
a retirement community that is actively in-
volved in the outdoors.
Part of Collingwood’s charm and appeal is its
outdoor lifestyle. Being so close to BlueMoun-
tain has certainly aided the town’s growth as
a skiing and tourist destination. Skiing in the
Blue Mountains began in the 1930s but it was
the arrival of Jozo Weider from Czechoslova-
kia in the ‘40s that resulted in the area’s tourist
and sport-based economic growth. Jozo
founded Blue Mountain in 1941 and in 1959
Jozo installed the province’s first chairlift. The
lift’s last tower and unloading station are still
on the mountain, just north of the Southern
Comfort chair. The Ski Barn was the moun-
tain’s early base lodge and accommodated
overnight guests. Tourist and skier facilities and
accommodations expanded in 1963 with the
construction of a 20 room inn, and again in
1969
with the addition of the Central Base
Lodge. Although Jozo did much to make Blue
Mountain a destination for southern Ontario
skiers, Collingwood didn’t benefit from the
mountain’s expansion until the 1960s. When
the Ski Barn was demolished and condos built
at the end of the ‘70s, BlueMountain was well
established as a ski resort.
In 1999, Blue Mountain sold half its shares to
Intrawest, a Vancouver-based investment com-
pany that specialized in ski resorts. The deal
was that Intrawest would develop the moun-
tain’s base, and Blue would continue to run
mountain operations. In the past thirteen years,
the village and the mountain have transformed
into a year-round destination resort that caters
to both day trippers and overnight guests.
While Blue Mountain’s impact on Colling-
wood was negligible back in the ‘40s and
‘50
s, the resort has since become a beneficial
adjunct to the town.
Similarly beneficial to the town’s tourism indus-
try is the Collingwood Elvis Festival. Elvis Fest
first began as a small tribute festival in 1995.
That first year the festival hosted 35 tribute
artists and was such a success it was turned
into an annual event. In 1996, the festival was
officially licensed by Elvis Presley Enterprises.
Year by year the festival grew, attracting artists
and fans from further and further away.
The event was incorporated in 1997, and
Collingwood took over ownership in 2003.
Today the festival is the largest Elvis fest in the
world and serves as a preliminary round of
competition for the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist
Contest held each year in Memphis, Ten-
nessee.
Quite apart from foreign influences on Colling-
wood’s economy, is the town’s own heritage.
Canada, as a country, takes pride in its her-
itage, be it built, social, or artistic in nature. Be-
cause Collingwood pre-dates Confederation
(
and despite numerous fires over the years),
the town is home to a number of designated
heritage properties. Collingwood’s architec-
tural heritage is so rich that it was the first mu-
nicipality to have its heritage district included
on Canada’s list of Historic Places. The her-
itage district was first defined in 1978, but it
took many years and a lot of hard work for the
townspeople to become conscious and proud
of Collingwood’s historic character. Beginning
in 1980, the town has invested in its downtown
core, restoring and preserving the historic
buildings that line Hurontario Street. In addi-
tion to the late 19th and early 20th century
storefronts, Hurontario is “unique in maintain-
ing the angled parking designed to accommo-
date the first automobiles in the town.”
A walk through downtown Collingwood will
take visitors past restored clapboard, Gothic
Revival, and Queen Anne Revival houses,
most of which have won conservation awards.
Among the town’s more striking buildings is the
marble-faced federal building, known locally
as the Post Office. The Beaux Arts edifice, com-
pleted in 1915, was modeled after the Gov-
ernment House in Havana Cuba and was
officially designated a Heritage Building by
the Canadian Government in 1983.
For a small town, Collingwood has a long and
storied history. Once a bleak landscape,
Collingwood underwent numerous transfor-
mations: from a rowdy railway terminus and
port town, to a centre for emigration, shipping
and shipbuilding, to an outdoor lifestyle desti-
nation. Over the years Collingwood has
worked hard to maintain its history and her-
itage, preserving its small town charm. The
town’s population has grown steadily over the
years, and although Collingwood has under-
gone a kind of demographic reversal in recent
years, the town continues to thrive, celebrating
its history and taking change in stride.
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FEATURE
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‘
a drear y waste’ - a brief histor y of collingwood
Hurontario Street C.1890
Hurontario Street C.1870