THUNDER BAY – Folks woke up to a terrible shock on March 11, 1903. Only the day before their town hall had burned to the ground taking with it their telephone system and fire hall as well. Undaunted they quickly built a new hall, many times larger and made of fireproof stone and brick. It also had a tall central tower topped by a flag pole.
It was from this tower that many of the city’s early aerial photos were taken. But the tower, like any other part of the building, required maintenance and that included a periodic painting of the flag pole. This photo, taken on May 1, 1923, captured H.A. Silver (also pictured here) in process of painting the City Hall flag staff.
Photo and text courtesy of the Thunder Bay Museum
