Sad to say, that tonight I passed the intersection of Ouellette & Erie, and noticed a pile of rubble where this beauty once stood. The photo above was taken back in 2002, and the building was in much better shape.
The photo above shows the house as it looked last week (on the 27th *edit* the 21st – two weeks ago).
For some reason another one bites the dust, and more of out past is lost as the core continues to hollow out.
I’ll scoot by later this morning and update the post with a current shot.
While the building was certainly looking a little worse for wear there is no need for it to come down.
969-975 Ouellette Ave. Lost for good.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Here’s the scene from the last hour (10:00 am Thursday)….
Crescent Lanes first opened on Ottawa Street in 1944 at 1055 Ottawa Street, opposite Lanspeary…
Above is a photo of the home of Mr & Mrs Oswald Janisse, located at…
in 1917 two Greek brothers Gus & Harry Lukos purchased a one story building on…
Photo from Google Streetview A long time reader sent me an email the other week…
An unremarkable end to a part of Windsor's history. The large vacant house at 841…
One for the lost Windsor files, is this house that once belonged to Joseph Reaume…
View Comments
That's just sad. It's just killing the little old home boutique store potential of that street. And, I was reading in the paper the other day that the navy reserve will probably be moving out of their building to the tip of Mill street around the old cove marina, so that building will probably be coming down too. And, for what? Parking? Who even needs all this parking along Ouellette? The Masonic Temple already has a parking lot on Goyeau. The hospital? But, I thought they had enough parking on Goyeau? Perhaps someone doing a title search on who owns the property might shed a little light on what's planned for this parcel.
That *is* just sad. I saw the demoed building earlier tonight as I drove by and immediately wondered what's replacing it. I *assume* someone has a good reason for tearing down a nice old structure like that. Maybe Mac's is supersizing with a stucco annex. :-)
I spent a lot of years working in the Hunter, it was condemned at one point, but someone said it had heritage status, so it was fixed up. I don't know if it had the status or not, there's no marker. In either case the building is safe for a number of years the was the government goes about things - the Navy was to move about 10 years ago and still no movement on their new digs.
Another Stucco sighting - the old Rocco's food market behind the TD bank on Ottawa and Moy (Hall?, can't remember which), is getting a new shirt.
What a cryin' shame. To think that huge luxury homes like this once lined Ouellette.
You know what's the really sad thing. About a month a half ago, 969 was listing for $169K with the other side for sale and was mint inside. Completely renovated inside like one of those NY/Toronto style lofts with natural woodwork trim and shiny hardwood floors, updated classy lighting, resurfaced kitchen cabinets, glass block walls, interior brick facades, the whole nine yards. It had a full basement. It was in move-in condition for any kind of high class office. It wasn't some run down slumlord building; the inside was mint.
The owners did a lot of work on that building.
Of note, the unit on the north side was where the Treble's & Large sisters lived for just a few years. They were the original owners of the Treble-Large house on Victoria Ave (the Queen Anne with two turrets).
I agree with David. These could have been great boutique style offices or retail stores...IF and I mean IF we had retail downtown. I guess more parking or awesome stucco will be the remains.
Once again I will ask if the city demanded that salvage take hold BEFORE demo? I am sure Andrew knows the answer ; )
With the above going, gone, there is only house left between Mac's and Anderson's Funeral Home. The lot beside Anderson's has been vacant for almost twenty years!! Windsor is starting to look like a hockey player with some teeth!
169K?! Would be 1.3 million at least in TO's Annex or similar hood.
Shawn, if things keep up in Windsor the way they're going, even at 169k it would have been a terrible investment.
The empty lot two doors north was demo'd in the early 90s -- I remember parking there for fireworks soon after. All that space. Nothing happened in the boom times, so now much more unlikely.
I think as history progresses Michael Hurst is going to look like Nero -- oversaw Windsor during the last boom, and let the boom happen wherever it wanted to, but didn't focus on the bones that held windsor together (the intact downtown, the stock of fine buildings). Letting the Norwich go, and so many other chunks of Windsor's urbanism, is going to be his legacy. Nobody will remember the boom, because the boom is gone.