The Pugh Speciality Co., Toronto, Ontario. Belvidere Hotel

A solid view of Belvidere, taken from a boat in the channel heading south into Parry Sound harbour. It does a good job highlighting the Hotel’s dominant position looking out on to the North Channel.  The long walkway in the middle of the photos is the path guests would take from the Hotel down to the beach. At various points this stairway was created stone, concrete and wood and the tops of the hand railings can occasionally be seen in Postcards of the beach.

The beach is located to the left (north) of the small red building in the centre of the image.

  • the water seems high in this image with a little of the beach front visible
  • we’ve caught glimpses on the red roofed building, with white barnboard before but we can now see its supported on stilts in a very small depression between two rock out crops
  • in an enhanced version of the photo we can more clearly see what looks like a small bridge leading to this building
  • no buildings are visible on the beach
  • there is no train track visible immediately behind the beach
  • there are several white poles with support that look like they may be for electrical service

We have two cards with this image

  • One sent to Ed(win) and Hannah Rolfe in Milo, Maine, Dated June 12 and Postmarked June 12, 1912, with a cancelled 1cent George V stamp. This card was printed in England but distributed by the Pugh Speciality company out of Toronto. Our author, Marm, mentions that she can see this (the hotel i think) from the back.

  • The second card is date Sept 17 (not clear whether its the day or the month) card is addressed to Mrs Wm (William) Tennant (a good Parry Sound name) with a Parry Sound J Unit address. The note is from her sister L. . The card has no stamp or postcard mark. Perhaps it was not sent through the mail and dropped off at Unit J.

Geo. Moore, Parry Sound, Belvidere Hotel

An even closer view of Belvidere, this time from more firmly in the South Channel. Many features are similar. The most significant change for these cards is the absence of the red roofed building at the south end of the beach up the rocky road to current Sail Parry Sound area.

  • both of these cards are postmarked a little earlier than the first cards in this series. One in 1913 in 1908 and another in 1917.

  • Ella, writing to Mrs Jonllo in Toronto has taken a bright double room on the ground floor of the Belivedere Hotel. Her travelling companion Fred left by CPR at 2am for Rigwood (?).  This card has a  George V, 1 cent postage stamp.

  • Fred Jury from Michigan received a card with no message on it.  It does have a 1908 Cartier & Champlain Centenary of Quebec stamp as its only other message.

  • postcard by published by George Moore, from Parry Sound Ontario.

1252 George More & Bro., Parry Sound

A view from the north looking south onto what would become the Coast Guard Base and pier. The card is postmarked back and front September 7, 1905. There is no postage stamp.

  • we can see a small part of the beach framed between  grey building on the right hand side of the card and the outline of the stairs coming down from Belvidere above those building
  • by squinting we can see green vegetation and the yellow/green ouline of something that may be a dock or raft pulled up to the south side of the beach.

Mom is writing to K Stewart in Toronto and apparently is having a good time but is looking at coming home some sweet day. They are heading off to Dunchurch tomorrow.