THUNDER BAY — A unique heritage building used for decades as the residence of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Thunder Bay has been sold.
The 115-year-old property on Ridgeway Street in the Hyde Park neighbourhood has 12 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, and four fireplaces.
"It's a beautiful house," said Mario Tegola, a broker and owner at RE/MAX First Choice Realty.
"It's the character of it, ok? I've been doing this a long time, and I walk in a lot of character homes, but they've painted this and painted that. This is all original. It's all original woodwork, and the location, the structure, turn-of-the-century. It was built in 1910."
The asking price for the property, which was added to the city's heritage registry in 2010, was just under $900,000.
According to information posted on the City of Thunder Bay's website, the building was constructed by contractor Michael H. Braden with sandstone from a quarry on Simpson Island, at the entrance to Nipigon Bay.
"This two-and-a-half storey European-style home has many unique architectural characteristics," the writeup states. "These include the prominent red tiling found on the high-pitched gable roof as well as the light-grey squared rubble that was used in the construction."
Braden also built St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church and the former police headquarters and courthouse on Donald Street which currently houses the Thunder Bay Museum.
Research conducted for the City of Thunder Bay's Heritage Advisory Committee shows that he and his family were the original occupants of the home, followed by the family of grain merchant Albert Sellers and by H.P. Klinestiver of Marathon Paper Mills.
It was acquired in the 1950s as the residence for E.Q Jennings, the first bishop of the diocese of Fort William.
In 2012, it was one of the properties made available for tours as part of the Doors Open Thunder Bay event.
The reason for selling has not been disclosed by the diocese.
Newswatch reached out for comment from the office of the bishop of Thunder Bay, whose jurisdiction includes Catholic churches in much of Northwestern Ontario, but did not receive a response.
Alan Campeau was installed as the new bishop in February of this year.
