St. Mary’s Demolition – 1977

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• Colin - Central Park.

  The 'newer' homes there, are called 'The Gates of St Mary's' or 'St. Mary's Gates'. My friends live there, they find old bricks and foundations of St. Mary's every once and a while, when digging in their garden.

• This is a beautiful Neo-Gothic building. I can imagine the time it would take to construct a building of such beauty and craftsmanship. I can't believe that the city of the school board could have found a use for this school.

  It's a far cry from the magnificent school that was imploded to make way for the little cookie cutter homes that replaced it. I guess that was considered progress in 1977.

  What a shame...

• Thanks, Ric- Central Park rings a bell. I was only 2 when it was demolished so I don't ever remember seeing it. It's amazing how when you look at old buildings- even ones built in the 1800's- you wonder how did they build them with such detail back then without the technology, equipment and everything else we have today. That's why I appreciate older buildings over the newer ones 9 times out of 10. Not only that but anything built these days looks the same and has little or no personality..

• 50 years young at the time of its demo. That's what blows my mind. It was an older but not an "ancient" building in the '70s. What exactly was so unserviceable and decrepit about it already?

• I lived at the very end of the 3200 block of Morris Drive as a child.... saw the Academy everytime I played in my yard and in the huge grassy field in front of their property, I learned how to catch fogs in the stream in that field.... We would walk around the school grounds with my dad on Sundays... we'd climb the orchard trees and get chased away by the nuns... I even studied private charcoal and pastel drawing lessons in that building when I was in grade 5 at Central Public School... if I recall, the classes were on the third floor far northeast corner tower of the building.... I attended the auction in the chapel just before demolition, and bought a few things cheap.

  I remember this exact day like it was yesterday. A huge blast, and within 20 seconds, it was a pile of rubble. I believe the same folks that demolished most structures in the USA did this demolition as well, possibly the J.L. Hudson building in Detroit a few years back??

  An absolute shame to have destroyed this building..... they said it wasstructurally failing!!!!!???? ......and we call this "progress". If this building was in Europe, it would still be standing and in use.

  I wish there was a resource for high quality photos of this building somewhere. Andrew, do you know?

  thanks for posting, some great childhood memories.

• Hard to believe a building like this once stood in this city. Such a shame it's gone. I could just imagine if this building was still around, the use could be doctors offices, condos/apartments and even ground floor shopping.

• Who was the architect?

• David - it was designed by a nun from the order.

• Imagine if the University of Windsor, or St Clair College for that matter, had made this part of their campus... now that would have made a great School of Engineering!

• Impossible to imagine. Just thinking about the history of the University of Windsor and historical buildings, I'm pretty sure they would have demo'd it if they'd gotten their hands on it like other historical buildings such as the Prince of Wales Public School, which I bet was in much better condition.