Plenty of nods to department store roots at new Fanshawe College campus

By linylamberink 980 CFPL

Posted August 27, 2018 5:27 pm

1 min read

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A mixology room, where students will learn all aspects of beverage service. (Including bartending personality, and how to make more tips.). Liny Lamberink/980 CFPL

Fanshawe College is welcoming students into its newest downtown building next week, but it’s also inviting people on a journey into the past.

The new home of the college’s School of Information and Technology, and the School of Tourism, Hospitality and Culinary Arts used to be London’s much-loved Kingsmill’s department store that closed in 2014 after 148 years in operation.

The college’s president, Peter Devlin, led media on a tour through the 130 Dundas Street building on Monday afternoon, explaining its many different labs and its nods to the building’s history.

“We have the facade of the Kingsmill’s store out front, [and] we have many of the bricks that have been restored and put back into our walls,” explained Devlin.

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The yellow brick adorns the western wall of the student-run restaurant that’ll be open to the public later in the year, named “The Chef’s Table.” The restaurant, the apparel store and a few other spaces on the ground floor also have the Kingsmill’s old tin ceiling, while the main entranceway features its old wooden beams.