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September 2009
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Categories: Windsor

Much Better

As I look at the corner of Walker and Ottawa, I can’t help but be taken with how much better it looks now.

So much better without that pesky historic bank. The bank was designed by Kenneth Rea in 1919. Rea was a Montreal based architect, who did most of his work in that city, but he was also the chief architect for the Bank of Montreal from about 1909 though 1930. His Bank of Montreal work can be found across Canada from Halifax to Vancouver, but not in Windsor anymore…

Enough with the history lesson, however… It is nice to see that the Bank has been replaced with a garbage bin screen. A fitting replacement for such a main intersection, and certainly the best use for the land.

Andrew

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  • Yes! Much better....NOT! What I see is a blank canvas for our spray can urban artists! I can't wait to see it tagged... Maybe someone should organize the spray can artists and ask them to aid the city in creating interesting spaces and sights.

  • Perhaps they should paint a mural of the old bank on the garbage bin screen. That would be sharp.............................................

  • oh ya...that is a beaut. you know...i always say, it's okay to tear down old buildings...just as long as you put a plaque there, or throw up a picture so everyone knows what it used to look like or what used to be there...but this...this is much better. thank you mr. govas for enriching the neighbourhood! the rest of the city should take note...garbage bins ARE beautiful!

  • That looks like a shed to me. Did he get a building permit? Any kind of shed structure over 8x10 feet requires a building permit prior to it being built or it has to be removed.

  • It may be that the owner was aware of the controversy he created when he demolished the old Bank and the garbage bins are his way of responding to it. I read that one of our city councilors was looking into the placement of these bins but I haven't heard anything since.

  • So much for the ideas of having a daylight corner.. Could the owners have placed the fence any closer to the road...

  • I thought part of the reason for tearing down the bank was for parking spaces and improved sightlines for the addition that was built?
    I may be wrong here, but it looks like 2, maybe 3 parking spaces were created and now you have this terrible garbage bin on the corner. Are there not city bylaws against such activities?

  • I know what the Site Plan approved process is like in the city of Windsor, I would assume the rezoning a property like this would go through a number of meetings. The site plan review committee can be very meticulous on what is required for a site layout to be accepted. I don’t know why this layout couldn’t have been modified to have the garbage dumpster in the back of the building. Note a commercial and some residential projects and subject to site plan approved. This process can take up to years depending on the project…

  • The only problem I have with the above comments is that I have absolutely no idea of what the rental history of the building was. Yes, it's sad that it was torn down, but if there was no adaptive reuse of the building in the offing, what were its chances of survival? Preservation for the sake of preservation is an expensive idea.

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Andrew

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