Construction underway at Kodak Heights, 1914 with
steam shovel and horse drawn wagons
Toronto. 1999 was an exciting time in photography. Digital technology was underway and taking on the mantle once proudly worn by film.
That year, however, Kodak Canada was stilll in Kodak Heights and a major presence in Canadian photography. CKC was part of the all pervasive Eastman Kodak organization, the major photographic corporation world-wide. In fact, for many people, any camera was simply called ‘a Kodak’.
In the late 1800s, the parent company in Rochester was busy expanding its business world wide. In 1899, it established a strong foothold in Canada. The photograph at left shows the work underway at Kodak Heights in Weston, Ontario (now part of Toronto).
Sadly, today the grand old company is but a shadow of what it once was. The remaining building in Kodak Heights has been repurposed as a subway station on the new line now (at last) nearing completion. Buildings on the original campus in Rochester have been nearly totally demolished.
The celebration of the 100th anniversary in Canada is commemorated by an illustrated article in our journal issue 25-2. The author of the article goes unnamed (likely editor Bob Lansdale). The article begins, “While we prepare to ring in the new millennium, Kodak Canada has a special reason to celebrate in 1999. The company is marking the 100th anniversary of its founding in Canada.
“Its 1,400 employees along with its customers, suppliers and business partners celebrate this milestone with yesterday’s memories preserved and plans for the future in place.
“In the mid-1890s the Eastman Kodak Company of Rochester was in an expansive mood, buying up various camera and photo materials companies, then incorporating their talented staff and products into the ever-expanding Kodak empire.
“The Brown and Palmer Photographic Paper Co. which had been founded in 1886, dissolved in 1897 – at which time John G. Palmer entered into a new partnership with artist George Hanmer Croughton Jr. Two years later, on April 1, 1899 they were taken over by the Eastman Kodak Company; Croughton stayed to run the plant under the Eastman banner while Palmer was dispatched to Toronto to assess the potential of the Canadian marketplace.” …
Members viewed the entire exciting story of Kodak Canada in the pdf file for issue 25-2 on the free members-only DVD. See above or at right (Membership) to join. Email Lilianne at member@phsc.ca if you have a question.
