The Magic Door – 100 River St
The most recent building constructed here was finished in 1892 as shown by the stone engraving at the top front of the Magic Door Art Gallery. The Insurance maps from 1910 show that there was a hardware store here. At one time there was a barber shop and tailor store run by Art Brether. He had moved in 1918 from his store next to the stop 4 across the street to this location. Art lived from 1870 to 1949 and was a barber for about 35 years in Sunderland. When Art retired, Lionel Gervais ran the barbershop, and he had a pool hall in the back. Next, Ralph Pinkham had about four apartments in this building and Mary Giroux and her husband Barry O’ Neill lived here.
In 1972, Bill Urima bought the building from Ralph Pinkham. The front of the building was restored to the original condition, and the art gallery was created from the front apartment. When tenants moved out of the back apartments, the gallery was expanded to the rear of the building.
The Magic Door Art Gallery and Studio was a Stage established in 2001 and has 1,400 square feet of display space for a variety of impressive collections. One of the most outstanding collections was the work of Lewis Parker. It contained 36 pictures and murals showing the daily lives of Native Americans from the Huron nation. During that display, the artist also donated his painting of St Mary’s Anglican Church to the Sunderland Historical Society.
2. Saint Andrews United Church – 10 Church St N
3. Sunderland Town Hall – 120 River St
4. Dr. Joseph Henry Oliver Home – 128 River St
5. St. Mary’s Anglican Church – 134 River St
6. Dr. James McDermott Home – 160 River St
7. The Fogg House – 198 River St
8. The Blacksmith Shop – 135 River St
9. The Nipissing House Hotel – 123 River St
10. Stop 4 Variety – 111 River St
11. The Old Drug Store – 108 River St
12. The Gigantic Hand Saw, Guardian Pharmacy – 103 River St
13. Flindell’s Fresh Mart – 97 River St
14. The Beall Block – 93 River St
15. The Harness Shop – 89 River St
16. Taylor’s Store – 85 River St
17. The William Doble Home – 32 Albert St
18. The Sunderland Presbyterian Church – 5 Albert St
19. Doyle’s General Store – 3 Albert St
20. The McDermott Block – 1 Albert Street S
21. The Sunderland Telephone Company. – 63 River St
22. James Doble Home – 3 Cedar St S
23. William Nassau Doble Home – 12 River St
24. Thomas Welsh Home – 20 River St
25. Robert Doble Home – 48 River St
26. The Bank – River Street (CIBC) – 74 River St
27. The Brock House Hotel – 82 River St
28. The Hardware Store – 92 River St
29. The Early Undertaker – 96 River St
30. The Printing Shop – 98 River St
31. The Magic Door – 100 River St
32. The Sunderland Legion – 104 River St
33. 108 River Street – 108 River Street
34. Freeze Creamery – 5 Church St N
35. The Sunderland Memorial Arena 1948-2009 – 20 Park St