Ouellette Avenue is a hub of activity in this classic street shot, in the days before Devonshire mall, and urban disinvestment. Note the Metropolitan Department Store on the left. On October 26, 1960, a gas leak exploded inside the store killing 11, in one of Windsor’s worst disasters.
The Metropolitan Stores incident was covered in an episode of Great Disasters on History Television. Was nicely done too.
Great Photo. No better example to illustrate what’s wrong with this city’s mentality today. I read the Star the other day and Kenny Lewenza was boasting that pretty soon every laid-off Chrysler worker would be back on job in time for the 08 minivan. Just who the heck will be buying all those minivans when the price of gas hits four bucks a gallon in the U.S remains to be seen. Personally, i don’t think Local 444 ought to be boasting how good their members have it when Windsor has the highest unemployment rate in Canada and its’ still climbing.
Loved this photo, it really looks like a different time all together, and it was. You can almost hear the hustle and bustle of cars and people.
I remember going to the Niagra restaraunt (now Aardvarks) downtown as my mum used to own Bella Roma hiar salon upstairs above the Niagra. That was back in the very early 70’s and downtown still had some of that wonderful hustle and bustle.
Downtown really has changed and lost much of its charm.
The cars lined up along Ouellette, bumber to bumber and the store awnings over hanging the sidewalk in this photo are a great reminder of what it used to be like before all the “downtown improvements’.
Another great picture, thanks. Fascinating and depressing at the same time. I’m not sure how it illustrates what is wrong with the CAW though. I guess someone just needed somewhere to rant.
Wilkinonson’s Shoes. “Wears like a pig’s nose.” I rembember the flouroscope you put your foot in and saw the bones in your feet. Doubt that would be legal today. I can still see ole man Wilkinson sitting at his desk behind the railing on the mezzanine.This and Grays were the only two stores to split a shoe size for my different feet.