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Categories: Photo Du JourWindsor

Windsor Castle Cafe

This vintage brochure dates to about 1935. This house was the residence of Vital Ouellette and his wife, and originally sat on the corner of Ouellette & Chatham. In the first few years of the 20th century, the Bank of Montreal bought the land on the corner of Chatham & Ouellette to build a bank branch (which is still there). The house was purchased and moved one lot to the east. It was the first brick building moved in the city of Windsor when it was moved in 1903.

Sadly the building was just shifted east and not rotated, so what was originally the front facade faced the alley, and the back of the bank. The building was the home of the Windsor Club, and opened in this building in March of 1904. During the depression in 1933, the Windsor Club was forced to leave the building, and it was around this time the building became the Windsor Castle Cafe.

The building amazingly still stands on Chatham Street, and is today home to Jason’s.

If you pop down the alley beside the building and look up, you can catch a glimpse of what once was… This was once the home of the man who lent his name to Windsor’s Main Street. More history tucked away out of sight.

Andrew

View Comments

  • It was Jason's for a long time, then Danny's moved from Riverside, to this location. Now it is Venue Rock Parlour.

  • The best dry garlic ribs came from Gan's. Sadly they were below the Windsor Rec bowling alley on Pitt St. and it all burnt. Just an empty space now.

  • I believe I was known as The Commodore in the 60's and early 70's. I was one of the classier dining establishments at that time along with Sir Williams Steakhouse, Mario's (when it was next to Windsor Utilities), and of course the "big four": The Top Hat Supper Club, The Metropole Supper Club, The Killarney Castle Supper Club and The Elmwood Casino (although it wasn't an actual casino).

  • To answer David's question from July 13, 2007 lol, they moved it by horse team and logs. Laid logs down as rollers, and used a whole lot of horses.
    I believe there is a picture somewhere.

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Andrew

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