O’Briens Lane busier days may be well behind it but the route between Queen and Bay streets is still one well travelled. These days you can find it situated between Soo Blaster/Days Inn and the International Parking lot on the north side of Queen East with the Holiday Inn Express to the south along Bay. Named after the proprietor of the Grandview Hotel William “Billy” O’Brien, he was also the namesake to the hotels neighbour to the east built in 1902, The O’Brien Block (L.C.B.O./Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25).
Mr. O’Brien acquired the Grandview from it’s first owner and builder Levi Lambert in 1896 and began building on the property which extended south to Bay St. One such building was the barn built by Billy O’Brien built at the turn of the century using cement bricks he and his horses made on location. He would also have a brick press machine in the barn which would make six bricks at once. Known as a bit of a horse fancier, Mr. O’Brien also had horse-drawn carriages to meet tourists disembarking from the nearby train station and passenger boats from nearby docks. Along with auctioning off horses at the barn he also owned the Oakbine Racetrack in what was then Tarentorus, today the old tracks boundary would fall between Wawanosh, Elmwood, Great Northern Rd, and Oryme Ave.
He also owned a horse of Dan Patch blood. Dan Patch was one of the famous trotters of his day when in 1905 he ran the mile in one minute and 55 ¾ seconds.
Mr. O’Brien passed away in 1930 and left the Grandview to his wife Maud until her passing in 1934. The Brunette’s were the next and final family to operate the hotel until it’s demolition in November 1974 to make additional parking space for the new Empire Motel Hotel. The O’Brien block would stand until 1964 when it was razed for the construction of Woolco.
While the northern portion of the lane was closed to vehicular traffic in 1952 and the old frame houses long gone, the layout of the lane remains much unchanged from the old days. Even today it boasts a manhole cover from 1921 and still sees relatively heavy pedestrian traffic. Though the name O'Briens Lane won't show up on Google Maps or a street sign, chances are you've wandered down it without even knowing.
Info and original photos thanks to the Sault Daily Star, May 29th, 1963 with present day comparison taken by Jo Bumbacco in January 2022.
O’Briens Lane busier days may be well behind it but the route between Queen and Bay streets is still one well travelled. These days you can find it situated between Soo Blaster/Days Inn and the International Parking lot on the north side of Queen East with the Holiday Inn Express to the south along Bay. Named after the proprietor of the Grandview Hotel William “Billy” O’Brien, he was also the namesake to the hotels neighbour to the east built in 1902, The O’Brien Block (L.C.B.O./Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25).
Mr. O’Brien acquired the Grandview from it’s first owner and builder Levi Lambert in 1896 and began building on the property which extended south to Bay St. One such building was the barn built by Billy O’Brien built at the turn of the century using cement bricks he and his horses made on location. He would also have a brick press machine in the barn which would make six bricks at once. Known as a bit of a horse fancier, Mr. O’Brien also had horse-drawn carriages to meet tourists disembarking from the nearby train station and passenger boats from nearby docks. Along with auctioning off horses at the barn he also owned the Oakbine Racetrack in what was then Tarentorus, today the old tracks boundary would fall between Wawanosh, Elmwood, Great Northern Rd, and Oryme Ave.
He also owned a horse of Dan Patch blood. Dan Patch was one of the famous trotters of his day when in 1905 he ran the mile in one minute and 55 ¾ seconds.
Mr. O’Brien passed away in 1930 and left the Grandview to his wife Maud until her passing in 1934. The Brunette’s were the next and final family to operate the hotel until it’s demolition in November 1974 to make additional parking space for the new Empire Motel Hotel. The O’Brien block would stand until 1964 when it was razed for the construction of Woolco.
While the northern portion of the lane was closed to vehicular traffic in 1952 and the old frame houses long gone, the layout of the lane remains much unchanged from the old days. Even today it boasts a manhole cover from 1921 and still sees relatively heavy pedestrian traffic. Though the name O'Briens Lane won't show up on Google Maps or a street sign, chances are you've wandered down it without even knowing.
Info and original photos thanks to the Sault Daily Star, May 29th, 1963 with present day comparison taken by Jo Bumbacco in January 2022.