Another part of Windsor’s past was lost Tuesday night in a spectacular fire. Seen above in happier days, the building on McDougall Ave and Hanna, was originally built as the Swedish Crucible Steel Company in 1914. The historic section being the middle part of the building. The Swedish Crucible Steel Company was an early automotive supplier, making castings for the automotive industry.
Photo c. 2008 – John Stefani
A huge thanks goes out to regular reader and contributor John, who was on scene at the fire last night with his camera. John has graciously agreed to allow me to post some of his shots. The rest can be seen here.
This is a shot of the fire at about its peak.
Photo c. 2008 – John Stefani
The main wall gives way…
Photo c. 2008 – John Stefani
… Look out below!
Photo c. 2008 – John Stefani
Firefighters catch a much needed hydration break.
John was at the scene until about 2:00 am.
This is the scene at 7:30 yesterday morning.
The old section is a complete loss.
Ladder truck No. 4 is still on the scene fighting the fire that broke out abut 11:00 pm last night. This shot is from 7:30 am.
A shot of nearly the same view as above later in the afternoon. This shot is from 4:30 pm.
That yellow beast is a Seagrave pumper. Good to see there are still Seagrave Trucks protecting our city.
The large buckled wall was the original exterior front wall of the Swedish Crucible Steel Company building. The part of the building on the corner being a later addition.
Demolition continues on the structure.
More demo…
At the end of the day there was no loss of life, so from that side there is a happy ending. Windsor Fire Fighters managed to keep the blaze from spreading to Aaron’s Mini-storage too. So great job there. However sadly it’s another loss of density to the core, and to the historic factory district. I’m sure the area will remain a vacant lot for many years to come.
As you can see from the 1937 map, the front section was a later addition (on the right). The original building was contained in the louvered section.
A brewery warehouse & the Canadian Battery and Bonalite Co. Ltd. are shown as tenants in 1937. Canadian Battery and Bonalite Co. Ltd, later changed their name to Olsonite. If you’ve got an older house, check your toilet seats, it might be an Olsonite. (According to this history, in 1973, the Swedish Crucible Steel Co. legally changed their name to Olsonite)
In the 1923 directory, the building lists its tenants as the Swedish Crucible Steel & the Canadian Battery Container Corp.
To view some interior shots of the building from 2006, click here to visit Mike Beauchamp’s site.
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In terms of reuse and the context of the location, this would have been a far better reuse candidate the the Ford Casting Plant.
The Ford plant was added on to several times, and horrible unsympathetic additions were made to the building time and time again. Yes the FCP was a good looking building, but it's reuse potential was very low. Don't forget it's on Ford property, surrounded by current active Ford operations. The reuse of that structure when surrounding buildings are still active factories is not feasible at all.
This building on the other hand was centrally located, and close to amenities. There was a retail plaza 50 feet away.
Just because it doesn't conform to your view of what is a good building, or that you view it as a pile of "crap" doesn't mean that isn't a beter candidate for reuse than one built by Albert Kahn.
That entire stretch of McDougall has the potenital to be something cool, however I doubt there is the will or support of most of Windsor and Essex County to do so.
I was recently in Hamilton, and had the chance to visit the T.H. & B gallery space, that is located in a converted textile factory. The building houses artist studios and a giant top floor exhibition space. It is truly a great reuse. Something like that would be perfect for the Walkerville Power Building. I suspect however that there is little hope of reuse there for that one either.
As for the brick. All the exterior brick on the Club Lofts is new. If need be the exterior brick could be replaced. As I stood watching the building being demolished, it was amazing how well built it was. The brick walls were three courses thick, and even with nothing holding them up, the bulldozer was not having an easy time taking them down.
I just don't see it. Almost every day I walkby this ugly looking aluminum clad building that was covered with graffitti and had broken windows for years to go to McDougall Plaza. Everybody in the neighbourhood complains about it. You've got a dumpy building covered with graffitti like this for years only a block from Kennedy High School. Loft conversion condos tend to be on the pricey side and who's gonna pay that kind of money when it's surrounded by plain looking aluminum clad warehouses? The only building worth preserving on this McDougall corridor would be the Windsor Truck and Storage tower. There are much better corridors in this city surrounding by gems that are worthy of conversion and fighting for. Regardless, there's no sense crying over spilt milk. What's done is done.
Checking the city directories from 1934 - 1937 for a brewery, only turned up Brewer's Warehouse at several close addresses on McDougall near Hanna through those years.
Thanks for checking Urbanrat. It was likely either a Brewer's warehouse or a warehouse belonging to Mr. Brewer. Either the directory or the Fire Insurance Map got it wrong... :)
Don't give up on Windsor yet Andrew. The downturn in the local economy may be the kick in the pants that this area needs to get innovative development off the ground. Where else but in Windsor and Essex County can valuable old properties like the Lowe Martin house be picked up for a fraction of its' real value? The folks who haven't been driven away by the bad local economy will find a lot of diamonds in the rough waiting for eager entrepreneurs to breathe life into them.