Perth’s Historic Shaws Building Sold

Commerce is returning to the historic Shaw’s building at 1 Gore St. E. after it was sold to a local businessperson.

New owner Peter Blier took possession on Nov. 30, and “my wife and I are really excited. That’s an understatement!” he said during a telephone interview on Wednesday, Dec. 8. “I’m quite passionate with the heritage buildings and their storied past.”

He had sought to buy it in the past, but new plans for the building came to mind more recently.

New Plans

As part of the $1.3 million sale, “we have rights to the ‘Shaw’s of Perth’ name,” he said. He intends to create the “Shaw’s of Perth Collective,” several individual retail spaces replicating the look and feel of an “old, small town department store,” though they will be individually owned and operated, and can be “secured” if need be, with delineated spaces.

He hopes that all of those new businesses operating under the one roof will turn that intersection into “the hub of growth in the downtown core.”

He commended the former owners for their good upkeep of the building, but as it is a heritage building, any changes or repairs “will be up for some discussion.” For example, the old store’s fading motto (“The Store With A Smile”) on the Foster Street side of the building, will not be touched up as the original paint is no longer available, and there are restrictions against painting on stone in the heritage district.

“We are going to leave well enough alone,” he said, and any changes will be “cosmetic,” though work may need to be done on the chimney. There are also plans for a second level luxury apartment.

Heritage Love

Asked why he was so passionate about heritage buildings, he said: “I think I was born in the wrong era!” He explained that he has an “insatiable appetite for the craftsmanship of yesteryear,” that such work was carried out “with what we would call primitive tools,” today. “We need to restore as much of it as possible … when it is gone, it is gone.”

He opened Mex. and Co. 25 years ago this past April, on the Festival of the Maples weekend.

“It seemed to have worked out well for me,” he said, so he would like to see if he can open the newest incarnation of Shaw’s that weekend.

Interested vendors can email shawscollective@gmail.com.

Realtor

Scott Somerville, realtor with Century 21 Explorer Realty, has been working on the sale since August. In a telephone interview the same day, said that for years Shaw’s was the “flagship store in Perth,” and that when it comes to potential renters, “we’d like to arrange sizes to what people need before they go in,” he said. “We can gauge to the size of the store. The two men have been finding memorabilia at the store, and are putting a call out for any artifacts that they can borrow for a possible poster board presentation of the building’s history. If you have any such items to share, contact Somerville at scott.somerville@century21.ca or by phone at 613-390-2450.

History

According to the historic plaque on the side of the building, 1 Gore St. E. was the first site to the Hon. Roderick Matheson’s harness and saddle shop in 1818 until 1840. That year he commissioned the building of the two-storey cut stone and yellow brick structure as part of his commercial and residential complex on Gore and Foster streets.

In 1859, Henry D. Shaw of Smiths Falls married Flora, Matheson’s daughter, and became part of the family run merchandizing operation, according to the plaque. The clothing store he opened later became one of the oldest family-owned and operated stores in Ontario.

The building was recognized as a historic site in 1984, according to historicplaces.ca, and was, for a time, the print office for The Perth Expositor newspaper.