Ontario Highway 17B (Thunder Bay) Photographs - History of Ontario's Kings Highways

This page contains historical and present day photos of Ontario's King's Highway 17B (Thunder Bay Business Route). All photographs displayed on this page were taken by the Webmaster (Cameron Bevers), unless specifically noted otherwise. Historical photographs are arranged in approximate chronological order, while present day photographs (Year 2000 to date) are arranged by location from south to north. Click on any thumbnail to see a larger image!

Please note that all photographs displayed on this website are protected by copyright. These photographs must not be reproduced, published, electronically stored or copied, distributed, or posted onto other websites without my written permission. If you want to use photos from this website, please email me first for permission. Thank-you!

Historical King's Highway 17B (Thunder Bay) Photographs

Above - Postcard view of Cumberland Street (later Hwy 11B & Hwy 17B) in Downtown Port Arthur in 1960, facing north towards the Hwy 11A & Hwy 17A Junction. This wonderful photo shows a busy downtown street scene at Cumberland Street and Arthur Street (today's Red River Road). Prior to the construction of the Lakehead Expressway (today's Thunder Bay Expressway) in the late 1960s, all east-west through traffic had to pass through Port Arthur on either Hwy 11 & Hwy 17 or the signed alternate route via Hwy 11A & Hwy 17A. This 1960 photo was taken shortly after the Hwy 11 designation was extended westerly from the route's former terminus at Nipigon. Note the newly-installed dual Hwy 11 & Hwy 17 route markers on the green pole at left. It is also interesting to note that The Camera Shop, whose staff photographers captured some of the most important highway construction achievements in Northwestern Ontario's history, is located across the street behind the red city bus. From the 1930s up until about 1960, The Camera Shop published hundreds of photographs of Northwestern Ontario's highways as souvenir postcards for tourists, some of which are featured on my website. Today, these souvenir postcards offer historians a unique historical perspective into the development of the area's highway network. See an Enlarged Photo Here.
(Photo courtesy of Alex Wilson Publications Ltd.)

More King's Highway 17B Photographs Coming Soon!

Links to Adjacent King's Highway Photograph Pages: