This is going to be a rewind edition of our local Milton History segment.
Each week, Milton Historical Society President John Challinor and I speak about the history of local street names. Due to a schedule conflict, we were unable to record a new segment. Our plan was to cover Lear Gate and Reis Place. We’ll get back to those next week, but until then, enjoy my personal favourite segment that we’ve done so far: the Quality Greens Place sign that sits above Downtown Milton.
Enjoy, and we’ll see you back here for next week!
Originally published on February 22nd, 2022 at 4:20 a.m.
Do you know what Quality Greens Place is?
This is a history lesson for newer Milton residents.
At the intersection of Main Street and Martin Street sits a big old sign that reads ‘Quality Greens Place’. Milton Historical Society President John Challinor says it was the name for the last grocery store in downtown Milton.
Quality Greens officially closed in 2006 – now 16 years ago. Currently residing in the building is The Sleep Factory and a hair salon. The large sign sits on top of the building as part of the original facade.
When the business closed, it marked the first time in Milton’s long history that a grocer was not located in the downtown core.
Serving as Town Councillor for Milton, Challinor says him and Mayor Gordon Krantz spoke with a number of potential grocers about taking over the vacated space, but none were able to consider it because of “the physical size limitations of the current store, flood control dictates set by Conservation Halton/Province of Ontario related to a building expansion or strict leasing requirements set by the building’s current owner.”
He adds that while the Town of Milton and the Downtown Milton Business Improvement Area (DBIA) have kept the matter on their radar, no grocer has ever seriously considered the location due to the number of issues.
Challinor goes into detail about the history of the location.
I actually asked Milton residents on the FM 101 Milton Facebook Page about what business they’d like to see come to Milton. Aside from the typical Costco and Burger King responses, a large number really wanted to see a grocery store return to the downtown core.
https://www.facebook.com/FM101Milton/posts/1283014638871586
We’ll return to covering the history of local street names next week, I just wanted to cover the history of the sign because it still sits atop of a building located at a pretty major intersection in Milton – and with all the growth in our town, many have likely seen it but had no idea what it was.
If you’re looking to understand how Milton’s streets are named, you should check out the book written by Challinor and Dills. Published by the Milton Historical Society back in 2007, it sold out in about six weeks and has since been long out of print. That said, according to Challinor, you can still find a copy at the Milton Public Library. With nearly 15-years having passed since the initial publication, and the extensive town growth in that time, an updated book is likely to come.
You can also take a walk with the late Jim Dills down Milton’s Main Street in 2002.
If you have a suggestion on what you’d like to learn about next week, let us know! We’re currently working on names that we find interesting. You can message our Facebook page, Twitter account, Instagram page, or even email us at News1013@LocalRadio.ca. Otherwise, we’ll just continue asking about local street names that we find interesting.
Hey, things are changing for us here at MiltonNow.ca! If you have a news tip or story idea, you can now send us a heads up via email at News1013@LocalRadio.ca. If you’d like to get ahold of me personally, shoot me a message at Cameron.Wilkinson@LocalRadio.ca. We’re in the business of content creation, so no idea is a bad idea.
