MADE IN HAMILTON
19TH CENTURY
INDUSTRIAL TRAIL

SITE 11
CITY COACH FACTORY, 1844

This imposing building was erected in 1875 to house the carriage factory of J. P. Pronguey. It was designed by Albert H. Hills, a local architect who also designed R.M. Wanzer's sewing machine factory at King and Catharine Streets. Most striking is the mansard roof with dormer windows, a characteristic feature of the Second Empire style. This factory building was an ornate addition to the rows of refined Victorian buildings that once lined this part of James Street North.

Pronguey opened the City Coach Works in 1844 in a small stone building at the corner of Park and Market Streets (close to the centre of present-day Jackson Square). He was a master carriage-builder whose practical expertise was widely known.

About 20 men and boys worked for Pronguey shortly before he moved into his new James Street plant. These workers used their wide-ranging skills to produce an extensive line of products. The products of the City Coach Works were well known both in Hamilton and Toronto. When the demand for carriages declined after 1900, this building accommodated a variety of uses: the manufacture of clothing, a furniture store, a bowling alley, a movie palace and live theatre.

Mr. Pronguey's Manufactory:

"...A private coach of Landau style is perhaps the finest piece of work in the manufactory. The body is painted black, with gold tracery; the inside lined with crimson cloth and leather; and the top is arranged to open in the centre. By ingenious attachment, the steps on either side descend when the door is opened, and are taken up again when it is closed." Hamilton Spectator. 18 July, 1871.