Historical Building

In 1930 Arthur Bell constructed a new building on 4th Street South. The building was constructed with a rather interesting spanish colonial façade.

Considering the work Bell did, it was important that the building is fire resistant. So the building was constructed of concrete. Shiplap forms and trusses from the old St. Mary’s Bridge were used to reinforce the walls, footing and ceilings of the building. Sand for the concrete was hauled up from the river valley by horse and wagon.

In the first day, 110 yards of concrete was poured by hand. Later another 110 yard of concrete was poured to complete the walls and ceiling. The walls were made 8 inches thick and 10 feet high while the roof was poured to be 4 inches thick. Everything was cured for a week, the forms were stripped, and the floor poured with another 100 yard of concrete.

The business expanded into the building beside the original building but soon it was found that having light industrial downtown – and the difficulty of getting customers and their vehicles to the shop – made a change of location necessary. In 1980 Bell’s Welding moved out of the downtown to the industrial area to a new site on 2 Avenue North.