Today’s post is for Ruth, who asked in the comments yesterday if anyone remebered Lyttle’s. Below is an ad from 1954:
I’m not so sure about that math however… By my calculations, they have been celebrating their 40th anniversary for half a decade… 🙂
Today the space at 507 Ouellette is occupied by the classy Bistro 507.
The Pascoe Building that contains the space formerly occupied by Lyttle’s is classic Art Deco. The building is a diamond in the rough and has been for sale forever. It was built in 1931, and designed by the local firm of Pennington & Boyde.
Thanks for posting that. I’ve always wondered what was there. I can only remember as far back as Mr. Sub being in there in the 80’s. Looks like Lyttle’s was a cool looking joint.
One of my Fav’s downtown. A little TLC and that building could really shine!
“Directly opposite Windsor Tunnel exit”
Did tunnel traffic spill out onto Maiden Lane East at one time?
Jamie, it used to be where you could enter the tunnel plaza but I do not recall if you could exit from there or not. Maybe on of our older and wiser posters would know?
Yes at one time you exitied along that stretch of Ouellette. If you look you’ll notice all the buildings on that stretch of Ouellette around the Ramada/Holiday Inn are all of the 1960’s era of construction.
Some friends tell me a “gentlemens” club called Tracy Starr’s was on the upper level at one time. I ‘d like to see a photo of said establishment. A pioneer venture in what has become Windsor’s legacy for sure!
“the classy Bistro 507” made me lol 🙂
I have to correct you Andrew–that hotel is actually called the Seaway/Red Oak/Best Western Rose City/Howard Johnson Plaza/Ramada Plaza/Holiday Inn. No identity crisis there.
the hotel that’s now know as The Holiday Inn on Ouellette used to be called the Richelieu back in the early 1980’s. If I’m not mistaken Lee Iacooca and CAW president Bob White met there back when Chrysler was going bankrupt to hammer out a deal to save Chrysler’s Windsor operations and bring a new product to Plant 3, which was building the poorly-selling Chrysler Cordoba and Dodge Magnum.
How very cool to see the site today with Lyttle’s!!!
You rock!
Thahk you for this little piece of my childhood.
Thanks for the update George–adds another name to the litany of names that have hung over that hotel’s door. And an interesting piece of Windsor history with the minivan meetings–I’m a big supporter of the domestic industry–but can’t scratch together anything positive to say about the Cordoba or Magnum–dreadful cars.
I always thought it looked like a neat upstairs.
…waiting for something to happen. Maiden Lane is about as perfectly urban as Windsor gets.
I remember in the early 80s the alley-like exit from the tunnel. You also used to go down it to get to the tunnel bus. I remember, vaguely, extremely institutional rooms, but with a neat 1950s look. But still depressing, in that faded horizontal blind kind of way.
Damn–that’s right Shawn–it’s still there, isn’t it?…it dead-ends at the new Tunnel Plaza buildings–and I recall at one time walking through what was then the National Trust building to get to Ouellette from the Tunnel Bus.
The customs inspectors were about 10 feet from the exit door to the lane and they all sat on stools with leather tops. Very unintimidating and it was an institutional, empty spot with a couple of closed doors on the east side. Fortunately, I was never pulled in so I don’t know what the rooms looked like. It is an interesting contrast to the way we go across the border by bus today.
As soon as I saw the name, I remembered my mother saying something about my Grandmother working there for years – I sent her the link to this page, Here’s what she had to say: “Ahh, I remember that place quite well. It was nothing to go in there on a Sunday after shopping in the greatest stores down Ouellette. My mother would be in there with a pocket full of tips. We knew she would put the money on the counter and we would sit there and eat ice cream.”
What great memories. I guess Lyttle’s was quite the place.
Hi Andrew:
I worked for John and Evelyn Gilchrist who owned Lyttles Bakery at this site and also on the 1300-block of Ouellette (Gilchrist Coffee Shop) during my high school days —
70’s. The most wonderful family I have ever worked for. I remember people coming from Detroit to pick up their orders of Scots Meat Pies – Sausage Rolls, fancy-cut sandwiches, tea cakes, pastries all hand made at the Maiden Lane location. They family evenutally sold this site and then the Ouellette Avenue outlet to the Branoff family as John and Evelyn were getting on in years. The best “first job” that I still have memories of to this day.
To BM who commented on April 21 2008, my mother worked there around or just after my birth and I’m trying to find info can you respond to me email if you see this.
Thanks.