Its curved roof architecture gives away what’s inside.
The building on King Street housing the Midland Curling Club was built on the Midland Fairgrounds in 1919.
According to the Huronia Museum and Huron Ouendat Village, it was designed by architect Wilfred F. Smith and built by contractors Will and Isaac Cumming, who also happened to become lifelong curling club members.
Initially the club used natural ice, but in 1933 they made the switch to artificial ice by having it piped in underground from the adjacent Arena Gardens.
“Roughly 13 miles of pipe were used to create the ice for the two buildings,” the museum noted.
“At the time, Midland was the only town between Toronto and Winnipeg to use artificial ice. In 1942, women began using the club ice as well.”
Since those early days, the Midland Curling Club has seen generations of curlers pass across its ice, including world champions Russ and Glen Howard.
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