From canal-side brewery to radio call letters: St. Catharines remembers Taylor and Bate

One of St. Catharines' most storied businesses began as a modest brewery on the banks of the First Welland Canal, grew into a downtown landmark, and vanished under the bulldozers of the Highway 406 project.

The story of Taylor and Bate Ltd. is the latest instalment in the weekly STC150 history series, which marks 150 years since St. Catharines was officially incorporated as a city. According to a City of St. Catharines history post, the series draws on the collections of the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre to revisit the community's past from a range of perspectives.

A brewery rises beside the canal

In 1834, James Taylor established the business that would become Taylor and Bate Ltd., calling it the St. Catharines Brewery. It was built on the east side of the First Welland Canal.

Fire destroyed the brewery in 1839, but it was rebuilt. In 1841, Thomas B. Bate joined the business, and in 1857 he was made a partner — the point at which the firm took the name Taylor and Bate.

By 1907, the operation was substantial. The plant included a storage house, an ice plant, a bottling house, a malt house, stables and other buildings, and it employed twenty-five people.

From beer to broadcasting

In 1927, the company was sold to E.T. Sandell, who later also owned the radio station CKTB. The station's call letters are thought to have come from the brewery's name, the city's post notes.

Sandell sold the company to Carling Breweries in the 1930s, and Carling shut the facility down in 1934. The end came later, when the Niagara Region expropriated the property and the buildings were torn down as part of the Highway 406 construction.

A family name returns downtown

The Taylor and Bate name made one more appearance on the city's streets. In November 1998, a new Taylor and Bate Brewery opened at 75 St. Paul Street. Tim Taylor, one of the principal owners, was the great-great grandson of James Taylor, who had started the original brewery in 1834 alongside Thomas Bate.

That revival was short-lived. The St. Paul Street brewery ceased operations in November 2001, closing the book on a family brewing name that had been part of St. Catharines for well over a century.

The city's post features a photograph of the Taylor and Bate staff taken in 1928, part of the museum's archival holdings.

The STC150 series continues weekly as the city marks the 150th anniversary of its incorporation. Readers can follow the series through the City of St. Catharines website.