By the late nineteenth century, Lindsay was growing as a county seat on the banks of the Scugog River. It was a busy railway town, and steamships sailed to the wharf from communities like Bobcaygeon. Having been built on a former wetland, Kent Street was still marshy and it was common to see wagons sinking up to their axles. Despite these hardships, progress was a transcending value of the Victorian era, and a performance space would be a wonderful addition to this growing community.

The Crayola brand was developed by Binney and Smith Company. Cousins Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith of New York operated a chemical company making products like red iron oxide pigments for barn paint and carbon black chemicals to make tires black.