Photo Du JourWindsor

The Cleary Auditorium – Then and Now

Then, The Cleary Auditorium was the shining jewel in a newly built civic center. It was built in 1957 by local architects Johnson & McWhinnie.

Now, A white elephant, stripped of its original design. The City of Windsor loses about a million dollars a year subsidizing the Cleary auditorium.

The City is in the process of selling the structure to St. Clair College, who will be establishing a downtown campus in the building. Maybe then the building will be worth the space it occupies on the riverfront.

***** EDIT ********

In the initial post, I made some comment about the WSO (Windsor Symphony Orchestra) that were factually inaccurate. These have since been removed. Jay Katz, General Manager of the WSO posted comments below, that better explains the role of the WSO.

I did not intend to imply that the WSO did not have any value. In this city, where arts are given only a secondary thought, all of our artists need our support, as the city doesn’t place any value on quality of life issues for its residents. My initial anger in posting this entry was that as a tax payer living in the city of Windsor, that my tax dollars are going to subsidze the venue. While Mr. Katz points out that touring shows do use the Chrysler Theatre space, as he noted Jann Arden and Stewart McLean, he must also admit that the Chrysler doesn’t do a good job in bringing in GOOD acts, or in advertising wha they do have playing.

The WSO is a great organization, and a key part of the perforoming arts community in Windsor.

My apologies for my earlier comments.

*******

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