Old ‘Aurora’s building’ more historic than you may think

As the community waits to see what plans the new owners of the property at 384 McNabb St. have in store, the building on the property - known to many as ‘the old Aurora’s building' - is older than many Saultites may realize.

A real estate listing for the property states the building was constructed in 1980.

Not so.

It was the location of an Anglican church built more than 60 years ago, according to the Diocese of Algoma, which originally acquired the deed for the property back in 1954. 

“It was dedicated as a church on Sunday, Oct. 18, 1959 and the name of the church was All Saints’ Anglican Church Sault Ste. Marie. The cornerstone was laid on Oct. 18, 1959,” said The Most Reverend Anne Germond, Archbishop of Algoma, speaking to SooToday.

“In those days, Archbishop William Wright was the Bishop of Algoma and it was a time of great expansion in the church in the 1950s and 60s. A number of Anglican churches in Sault Ste. Marie were constructed around that time, such as Holy Trinity and the former St. Matthew’s, now Emmaus Anglican Church,” Germond said.

Archbishop Wright, assisted by Rev. D.A.P. Smith, George Freeman and Rev. Canon F.W. Colloton laid the cornerstone, Algoma University archives show.

The All Saints’ Anglican Church building was designed by J.B. Parkin Architects. 

On Nov. 5, 1961 the Archbishop of Algoma announced that All Saints’ Parish Hall could become a self-supporting parish with Reverend Warren C.S. Banting as its first rector.

Banting held that role until the church closed.

Faced with a large deficit and declining membership, the congregation of All Saints’ voted in the fall of 1969 to close the church at the end of the year.  

The closure also came because of the proximity of other Anglican churches in the Sault, as many of the church’s parishioners were absorbed by the Holy Trinity Parish at the corner of Great Northern Road and Northern Avenue. 

“The next owner of the property was the Moose Lodge and they took over there on July 17, 1973. We think that Aurora’s must have bought it in 1980 from the Moose Lodge,” Germond said.

The church had a basement with room for Sunday School and a large kitchen area available for dinners, teas and meetings for groups such as Cubs and Scouts.

The main floor served as the main church service area including an altar, pulpit, pews and organ.

When the building was transformed into Aurora’s Restaurant, another floor was built, looking down on the main dining floor.

The building stood as a landmark home for Aurora’s Restaurant beginning in the 1980s, then Amici’s, Casa Mia and Chicago Cookshop.

The structure has been vacant since 2015.

As reported earlier by SooToday, the building was recently sold to a Sault Ste. Marie-based numbered company for $1.2 million.

The building had been owned by Ben Pino since 2003.

The new owners have not yet released details of their plans for the property.