Viscount Hotel

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• I didn't mean to imply that the building was beyond saving, but instead that the owners probably felt that the cost of repairs was too high to keep the venture profitable (especially since they didn't seem to be willing to fund repairs when the problems first began to appear). With a new hotel being built beside the Cleary (and the speculation about the future of the hole in the ground that eventually became the Compri, then the Radisson) it's certainly possible to see demolition as the least-costly alternative. I have no doubt that, even if the roof had completely collapsed, the building itself could have continued to stand, but not as a functioning hotel (or at least, not without costly repair work).

  And when I said that "they" were concerned about the air-conditioning unit coming through the roof, I should have specified that I wasn't talking about engineers or building inspectors. Instead I was referring to the people who were working in the top couple of floors, and who saw evidence of the bad building maintenance on a near-daily basis. I knew a couple of them who expected to hear that it would be declared unsafe. At the time I thought that they were being a little alarmist, but when it was decided to demolish the building, I had to wonder if they weren't correct.

  But whatever the reason behind the decision to bring it down, it was sad to see it go...

• I had heard that the owners of the Viscount never put any money into maintenance and that's why the hotel quickly deteriorated.It was only about twenty years old when it finally bit the dust back in the 80's. I remember being told by someone who's dad inspected the building prior to being condemned that he'd never seen a building in worse shape than the old Viscount.

• Hmmm A parking lot. This seems to be something that Windsor does very well.

• IF and I mean a BIG IF, the casino was to raze the Desmarais building on Riverside Dr. E and put in a parking garage I am sure the city residents and especially the downtown merchants would have a shit fit. Aren't we supposed to be trying to bring MORE people downtown to live? But then again, this is Windsor afterall and things that make sense here don't usually happen.

  As for the Viscount, I remember it had to be torn down due to the shape and the fact that it was leaning. Someone alluded to a new condo going up there as well. I too remember the fanfare but it was shortly lived as the recession of the early '90s nixed any and all plans for it.

• Does anyone remember the Kon-Tiki (sp?) Restaurant on the Viscount's main floor? It featured a Polynesian motif with flaming lanterns outside that looked neat at night.

• The Viscount was owned by the Corchis family and my mom & dad
  were some of the initial investors.
  My mom was in charge of housekeeping for many years and when
  I was married in 1963 our wedding reception was held there and
  spent ourwedding night there also.
  Radio station CKWW was at the top and the adjoining building had
  doctors,financial and other offices.

• Thanks Wes, you wouldn't happen to have any photos of it would you?

• my mom was a desk clerk at the Viscount.... I remember going to the lounge when I was a kid and drinking cokes at the bar.... also spent an evening at the CKWW studios that were at the top of the building

• http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2010/06/10/viscount-hotel/

• I never was in the Viscount but I do remember it was vacant for years before it was razed and I thought it was a shame. Also the Sheriton Chain operated the hotel before they closed the building.