TopNational Historic Site · 1909–1910Thunder Bay Tourist Pagoda170 Red River RoadPhoto: Curt from Canada · CC BY 2.0 · Commons file
Canadian Car & Foundry · Photo: K. A. Banning · CC BY-SA 4.011historic places on the registers
History of Thunder Bay · Canada’s heritage registers
Before 1961: 39% of the homes in Thunder Bay
Against 18% in the typical town, Thunder Bay has 2.2 times the share. Inside the town the registers count 11 historic places; 5 are top designations. The list takes in 4 Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings, a provincial or municipal listing and a heritage railway station. The oldest dated place, Thunder Bay Tourist Pagoda, goes back to 1909.
Historic places
11
0.9 per 10,000 residents
Highest designations
5
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings
Other federal designations
5
Recognized buildings, railway stations, lighthouses
Provincial and local listings
1
provincial and municipal listings with an encyclopedia article
Oldest building
1909
the first construction date on its record
Homes built before 1961
39%
typical town: 18%
In pictures
Thunder Bay’s most honoured places: 2 of 5 in photos
Of Thunder Bay’s most honoured places, 2 are photographed. There are photos here of 4 of Thunder Bay’s designated places. 2 of Thunder Bay’s places also have old views on their own pages.
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, each credited to its photographer with its licence; names open the place’s page. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Through time
Thunder Bay, 1905 to 1933
Oldest first: 4 old photographs of the town and the oldest views of 2 of its historic places. Swipe along the strip; each picture opens at full size.
c. 1905
c. 1905
1910s
c. 1912
c. 1912
c. 1933Public domain or CC0, made before 1950, from Wikimedia Commons; old views of places can be drawings, prints or maps of their time. Each credit opens the image’s page.
The map
Where Thunder Bay’s history is
Every place on the registers inside the town, by its designation.
Highest designationsOther federal designationsProvincial and local listings
Each dot is a place: point at it for the name, tap it for its page.
The 11, by tier
5 Highest designations5 Other federal designations1 Provincial and local listings
The federal directory kept by Parks Canada supplies most of these places; provincial and municipal lists outside Québec aren’t open data, so only the ones Wikidata documents with an article appear.
Points from Wikidata (Parks Canada’s files carry none) and from Québec’s register, as mapped there. 6 places, placed by their register’s municipality, have no point and aren’t on the map.
Highest designations
5 places in Thunder Bay with the highest designation
Designations came from 1968 to 2023. National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings, Canada’s highest federal recognition. Their dates run from 1909, with Thunder Bay Tourist Pagoda, to 1958. Each one opens its own page.
TopNational Historic Site · 1912–1913Canadian Car & Foundry1001 Montreal StreetPhoto: K. A. Banning · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
National Historic Site · 1958–1959CCGS Alexander HenryPool 6 Marina Park
National Historic SiteCummins Pre-contact Site
National Historic SiteFort Williamcorner of McNaughton and McTavish Streets
Other federal designations
5 other places Canada recognizes in Thunder Bay
Their designations span 1988 to 1997. They are 4 Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings and a heritage railway station. Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings, heritage railway stations and lighthouses. Each one opens its own page.
FedHeritage Railway Station · 1910–1911Union Station, Thunder Bay, Ontario440 Syndicate Syndicate Street SouthPhoto: Wjohnston · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
Recognized Federal Heritage Building · 1913–1914Armoury317 Park Avenue
Recognized Federal Heritage Building · 1913–1916Revenue Canada Building201 May Street North
Recognized Federal Heritage Building · 1934–1937Federal Building130 Syndicate Ave South
Recognized Federal Heritage BuildingOrdnance Store125 Algoma Street
What’s designated
Forts and military buildings and public buildings share the lead in Thunder Bay, 2 each
Its places fall into 5 kinds. The first by rank are Thunder Bay Tourist Pagoda and Canadian Car & Foundry.
Forts and military buildings2
Public buildings2
Mills, shops and works1
Stations, lighthouses and bridges1
Other places5
Grouped by what each register says the place is or was; a converted building counts as what it was built for.
Provincial and local listings
One more place Thunder Bay or its province protects
Provincial and municipal listings that Wikidata records and an encyclopedia describes. Each one opens its own page.
LocalDesignated heritage property (part IV) · 1910Finnish Labour TemplePhoto: Vidioman · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
How old
For Thunder Bay, most dated places belong to the decades after Confederation
Each place by the first construction date on its record.
British North America 1760–18660
After Confederation 1867–19136
Wars and Depression 1914–19451
Since 1946 1946 on1
When designated
Designated in Thunder Bay since 1968
The places by the year of their designation.
1960198020002020
The earliest designation is Fort William’s, from 1968. 2 came in 1991. Only 1 has been added since 2011.
Homes by age
Thunder Bay added few homes from 2016 to 2021: 1.9%, where most towns have 4.1%
Few of Thunder Bay’s homes date from 2001 to 2015: 6.8%, the norm 15%. Thunder Bay has an unusual share of homes built from 1961 to 1980: 34%, where most towns have 27%. More than half of Thunder Bay’s housing predates 1981.
39%
Before 1961
34%
1961–80
18%
1981–2000
6.8%
2001–15
1.9%
2016–21
Thunder BayTypical town
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
Born here
Thunder Bay’s 28 natives of the years before 1914
At 96, Maurice Russell Brown outlived the rest, dying in 2008. The federal list of national historic persons names Elizabeth Lawrie Smellie. Best known is Jack Adams, with articles in 15 Wikipedia languages. Maurice Russell Brown closes the list, born in 1912. The 20 best known are on the timeline.
William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 7th Earl Fitzwilliam
Joseph Tweed Shaw
Elizabeth Lawrie Smellie
Smokey Harris
Jack Adams
Phat Wilson
Michelle Latimer
Frederick Oliver Robinson
Jimmy Ward
Donald Carrick
James Jarvis
Tom Cook
Catherine Seppala
Frank Daley
Bob Lymburne
Maxwell Deacon
Red Spooner
Charlie Sands
Bora Laskin
Ken Stewart
18501875190019251950
Jack Adams1894–1968 · Canadian professional hockey player
MD
Maxwell Deacon1910–1970 · Canadian ice hockey player
Michelle Latimer1901– · Canadian actress
JJ
James Jarvis1907–1983 · Canadian ice hockey player
BL
Bora Laskin1912–1984 · 14th Chief Justice of Canada
Smokey Harris1890–1974 · Canadian ice hockey player
JW
Jimmy Ward1906–1990 · Canadian ice hockey player
Bob Lymburne1909– · Canadian ski jumper
Everyone born in Thunder Bay → Born before 1914. Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against Wikipedia; national historic persons from Parks Canada’s Directory of Federal Heritage Designations, matched by name and life years.
Towns its size
Thunder Bay has the 2nd most of 16 towns its size
Towns of 106,800 to 128,700 residents, by places on the registers.
Thunder Bay11
Ahead of it: St. John's. The middle one has 5. 2 of them have nothing on the registers.
Neighbours
Thunder Bay and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunder Bay | 117,671 | 11 | 5 | 1909 |
| Fort William 52 | 1,038 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Oliver Paipoonge | 6,524 | 0 | 0 | — |
In brief
Thunder Bay in brief
Counted by age, 39% of Thunder Bay’s homes predate 1961, against 18% in the typical town. The lists come to 11 historic places, 5 with the highest designation, including Thunder Bay Tourist Pagoda. Per head, that is more historic places than 79% of Canadian towns of 2,500 or more have.
Just one town of its size, out of 16, has more historic places. Of the 8 with a date, 6 come from the decades after Confederation. Of its people of the past, the best known are Jack Adams (1894), Maxwell Deacon (1910) and Michelle Latimer (1901).
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The federal register. The federal list is complete and open: Parks Canada’s directory for the designations, the Canadian Register of Historic Places for what each one is and why it matters.
- The tiers. The highest designations are National Historic Sites, Classified Federal Heritage Buildings and Québec’s classements; then come the other federal designations; then provincial and local listings.
- People and events. National historic persons carry no place in the open file. They appear on a town’s page when born there (same name, same birth and death years) or when a historic place inside it carries their name and its record names them with their dates; national historic events don’t appear.
- Protection. National historic designation honours a place but binds only federal owners; a private building’s protection depends on its province or municipality.
- The grade. This page gives no grade; history doesn’t count toward a Canadian town’s letter.
- Map points. Federal places get their map points from Wikidata, since Parks Canada’s files carry none; they are as mapped there.
- Provincial and municipal lists. Provincial and municipal listings here come from Wikidata alone, since the provinces’ own registers can’t be reused; a listing needs an encyclopedia article to get a page.
Questions about Thunder Bay’s history
How old are the homes in Thunder Bay?
The 2021 Census dates 39% of its homes before 1961 (18% in the typical town).
Which places in Thunder Bay have the highest designation?
They are Thunder Bay Tourist Pagoda, Canadian Car & Foundry, CCGS Alexander Henry, Cummins Pre-contact Site and Fort William.
What is the oldest building in Thunder Bay?
By its record, Thunder Bay Tourist Pagoda, from 1909 (National Historic Site).
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada (Parks Canada).
Sources: Parks Canada, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations · Canadian Register of Historic Places (federal extract) · Wikidata (CC0) for map points, other names and articles · Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (homes by period of construction). Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).