The Matthew & McLean Building, located on Main Street in Souris, was the flagship building and storefront for the Matthew and McLean Company. Today the building houses the Visitor's Information Center, as well as the Evergreen Cafe.
History[]
The Matthew and McLean building was originally constructed in 1869 in order to house the newly formed Matthew and McLean company. From the very beginning, the building served as the center of commercial development for Eastern Prince Edward Island[1].
2000s[]
The building remained in the hands of the Matthew and McLean families until the company went out of business, at which point it was then purchased by the Winterhalder family, where it was run as a successful department store until the mid-1990s[1].
Around the year 2000 the building was refurbished inside out in a revitalization effort, using funding accessed through ACOA. At the grand re-opening ceremony, the Honorable Lawrence MacAulay congratulated the people of the Souris area for "recognizing the tourism economic potential of the Matthew and McLean building and for working so effectively together to develop that potential"[1]. The revitalization project was coordinated by the Souris Downtown Revitalization Committee, a subcommittee of the Eastern Kings Community Enhancement Corporation. The Corporation is a not-for-profit community group, formed in 1999, with a mandate to develop projects that enhance the entire community of Eastern PEI[1]. The renovation also created space for the Avalanche Restaurant and the Lighthouse Crafts and Gifts Store, as well as a small historical museum.
Funding for the project was provided as follows: $125,000 from the Town of Souris; $308,000 from ACOA and $77,000 from the Province of PEI, through the Canadian Fisheries Adjustment and Restructuring Initiative; $150,000 through ACOA's Business Development Program; $124,800 from the Canada/PEI Labour Market Development Agreement, a co-managed agreement between HRDC and the provincial department of Development and Technology; $90,000 from the PEI Department of Development and Technology[1].
References[]
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