Sudbury Steelworkers Hall

The Sudbury Steelworkers Hall was a historic labour union hall in Sudbury, Ontario, which was destroyed by a fire on September 19, 2008.HistoryLocated at 92 Frood Road in Downtown Sudbury, on the northwest corner of the intersection with College Street, the building was originally built in 1947 as a Royal Canadian Legion hall. Following several years of labour unrest in the city resulting from factional wars between Inco and Falconbridge mining employees over representation by the United Steelworkers of America or the Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, most workers eventually reconciled under the leadership of the Steelworkers. With the need to acquire a new home for the expanded union organization, representatives Don McNabb and Gib Gilchrist selected the hall, which the Legion had put up for sale due to declining membership. The union purchased the building, and moved into it on November 25, 1965.The building was also considered a local institution by the wider community, often being rented out as a banquet and reception hall and as a meeting venue for community groups, political party nomination contests, fundraising events and other community functions. The building also housed some of Laurentian University's classes prior to the construction of the university's current campus in 1964.FireShortly after 2 a.m. on September 19, 2008, a fire broke out in the building's banquet room. Fire alarms first went off at 2:12 a.m.