Today’s old ad comes from the same booklet that had yesterday’s ad for Routley’s Motel, published in 1954.
Smith’s Department Store on Ouellette Ave. was a long time local fixture. Founded in 1914 as the C.H. Smith Co., the downtown store was expanded in 1925.
The main store on Ouellette following the 1925 expansion. Photo from the collection of the Windsor Archives.
The Smith’s annex on Pitt St., built in 1928. Photo from the collection of the Windsor Archives.
The beginning of the end of the downtown store occured on October 23, 1974, when Smith’s opened a 90,000 sq. ft. department store in the Mall. On October 10, 1975, Marks & Spencer bought Smith’s, the Downtown store was closed on August 14, 1976.