Thousands of cars a day stream past this old brick factory on Wyandotte St. E. most if not all of them without giving any thought to the history of this former Automotive Assembly Plant.
Like many old factories, it was great to live super close to work.
This factory pumped out the Graham-Paige automobile from 1931-1935. However the depression wasn’t the best time for a new car factory, and from 1935-1940 the company simply imported cars into Canada rather than building them here. An interesting tidbit from Wikipedia about the company states: “Graham-Paige dropped the “Motors” from its name and went into the real estate business, buying up such properties as the Roosevelt Raceway in New York and the Madison Square Gardens. In 1962 the firm changed its name to the Madison Square Garden Corporation, which has since been absorbed by Gulf & Western Industries.”
Another neglected piece of Windsor’s history. Not so much as even a reminder of this buildings past, in an age when Windsor truly was the Automotive Capital of not only Canada, but the whole British Empire.
**P.S. Happy 4th of July to all my US readers. Have a great holiday!
That’s why I love visiting here. What a great piece of Windsor history right under our noses.
can anyone here show the old crysler plant at the corner of mcdougall and tecumseh and give some backround on why it closed thanks
I used to work at this factory. Its now occupied by a box making business. You could see old metal tracks on the floor, which gave a clue to its past as an old auto factory. People there told me the place was owned by Hiram Walker Distillery as well,(possibly after Graham-Paige?) and used as a loading dock. All through the building you can see the remainants of old bay doors. The buildings on the left hand side in the picture were a foundry as recent as 10 years ago or so, and, through some serious googling, I found out that it was also a studebaker plant. You can tell the building on the left hand side is far older than the former GP plant.
The company I worked for moved to that location from the old fisher body building on st luke and edna in 1987 when it burned to the ground. If there is any more info or if anyone out there has more info please post or email me brendanhoughton@sympatico.ca.
AWESOME site btw!
Speaking of Graham Paige, I just remembered that there’s a local guy trying to sell a 1929 Graham Paige Sports Coupe Model 615 on Kijiji for $10,000. That’s a sweet looking ride, but probably wasn’t made here if they started pumping out cars in 1931. I’m sure the car’s body hasn’t change much in two years. http://windsor.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-classic-cars-Vintage-car-Graham-Paige-Sport-Coupe-1929-W0QQAdIdZ62290643
Its pretty awesome to know that such amazing cars were built in my humble former workplace.