Above, we see the 1872 view of the M.H. Spencer establishment at the southwest corner of Elizabeth and John streets.
In 1871, owner Michael Harry Spencer, the merchant, ran against Robert Simpson, the brewer, for mayor of the newly incorporated town of Barrie, in 1871... and lost.
Time passed, Elizabeth Street became Dunlop Street West and John Street became Maple Avenue, and the building at 39 Dunlop St. W., continued to overlook the ever-changing main street of Barrie.
The property belonged to the Lem family for decades – their restaurant was a fixture on this corner and is remembered by many generations.
Now an old fashioned barber shop, the old building still presides on its corner and even retains a few traces of its past life.
Then and Now is a feature coutesy the Barrie Historical Archive that contrasts an image of the past with a present-day photo.
