Timmins adds H.R. Bielek Building and Transit Terminal to municipal heritage register

The City of Timmins says it has added the H.R. Bielek Building and the Timmins Transit Terminal to the city’s municipal heritage register as properties of “cultural heritage value or interest,” according to a May 20 news release.

The listings identify the buildings as part of Timmins’ local history and can affect how they are documented and considered in future decisions. Both buildings also continue to be used by the public today.

The city said the H.R. Bielek Building was constructed in 1930 as a purpose-built sound motion picture theatre. It described the building as an early example of that type of theatre in Northern Ontario, and pointed to interior plasterwork and decorative detailing.

The city also said the property is historically associated with Leo Mascioli and the Timmins Theatre Company. The building is now home to the Timmins Senior Citizens Recreation Centre.

The Timmins Transit Terminal, the city said, was built in 1916 for the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway and is a “well-preserved” example of early 20th-century railway station architecture. The release said the building “played a significant role in the development of Timmins as the primary passenger rail station” and remained a transportation hub until passenger rail service ended in 1990.

The city said the terminal continues to serve as an inter-city and municipal bus terminal. It also described the building as the last remaining railway structure from the former Timmins rail yard.

The city said residents can nominate other properties for addition to the municipal heritage register.