From the Evening Record, July, 1912:
Photo of the French homestead up the river front above Walkerville, which was purchased by the late J.L. Hudson and is being renovated and repaired to carry out Mr. Hudson’s plans for providing a summer cottage for the accommodation of the women clerks in the Hudson store in Detroit.
I believe this house was knocked down in the early 1920’s and in its place today is the narrow block of Prado Place from Riverside Drive to Wyandotte Street.
J.L. Hudson passed away earlier in 1912, and Prado place was laid out on land that was owned by the Hudson Estate. The oldest house on Prado Place today, dates to 1921. This piece of land was the last to get sub dived in area, which is why the street is so narrow. It had to be squeezed in to fit in between the roads that were already laid out on either side of the property.
It’s amazing and sad to see just how much of our past has been lost to demolition over the years.
Windsor had a beautiful past. The key word here is past. Compare that today with the ugly streetscaping, ugly light posts, ugly buildings; well, Windsor has become just plain ugly except for our parks.
I can’t think of another city that has killed it’s past as much as Windsor. We really don’t have much left.
I find it funny that Americans will have a summer cottage in Canada , specically the Windsor area, whenit’s just as hot here. Hudson was not the only one.
Maybe the lack of public transportation kept the location not to far away.Probably the surrounding area, and closeness of the river where the attraction.
In answer to ME, today is tomorrows history,enjoy it when you can.
Andrew, wasn’t there another well known house somewhere in that vicinity that was also demolished a long time ago? Seems to me that I remember seeing it here in your archives. I’m not sure if it was as far down on the drive but it was pretty close.
what a beautiful home! in some ways though it’s good it got torn down or we wouldn’t have prado, which is a wonderfully unique street.
I agree with Aaron. It is a shame that this place no longer exists, but if it was to be replaced with something, at least it was with Prado Place – hardly something to complain about.
My late grandfather was a bondholder of Hudson’s. During the 1990’s I was a guest speaker for a number of clubs on the history of the company J.L. Hudsons. I was asked to speak to a ladies lunch club in a home on Prado. The house was midway, and may have been built where the barn was. Anyway in the rear of their yard was the orginal tool shed for the Hudson summer home, I beleive it is still there. In the shed are some original advertisments from the Hudson Department store circa 1900
Here is a link to a Windsor Star article about the development:
http://www.windsorstar.com/news/todays-paper/Leap+faith+transform+site+derelict+Hallmark+plant/3253775/story.html
Now only if we could get this guy to focus on our downtown! Better than the handful of “owners” who have sat on their buildings for years doing absolutely nothing with them.
not to get off topic but on the extreme eastern end of Peche Island there is what remains of a home or cottage hiram walker owned abit of a foundation and what appears to be a driveway over a small creek
I don’t believe that this house is a French homestead. If a farmer in Sandwich built such a home the Habitants would resent him for it. In any event building a three storey mansion, as depicted in the photo, would be above their means and unaffordable. A look at the property
map of Sandwich East at the turn of the century gives us the clue to solving this mystery. We see a narrow strip of a section of farm Lot #114, where Prado Place is today, being owned by Mrs. C.H. Millard. A quick look at the land assessment records of that era and we see the following entry. “Mrs C.H. Millard (Widow) – Detroiter”. I believe we can reasonably assume that this house is the “Millard Mansion” built
probably in the 1880’s by Mr. C.H. Millard who was a prominent capitalist from Detroit. More investigation into the Millards is required to
verify this property.
Yes I have been away for 30 years. But even then was always know for its parks. But some park are not keep up as they once where. i/e George park should keep them clean and safe so kids would play in them and lean to play.
Should “Thom” above ever check back, I would love to know which house you are referring to? I grew up on Prado in the house midway on the west side of the street — right in front of the flower circle. (my job as a child was to collect 25 cents from every household on Prado in the spring to buy flowers for my mother to plant there!) We had a long garage in the back, so large it was shared with our next door neighbor — one large driveway between the houses. I can’t help but wonder if this was the original tool shed you spoke of?
Further to the J.L. Hudson property regarding the 3-storey house depicted in photo above. We now know the house
was built in 1880 be Detroiter Joseph Canniff. Quote from the Essex County Directory of 1883:
” Canniff, Joseph H., gentleman, Owns 22 acres of Farm Lot #114, Con. 1 (today Riverside Dr.), his property being worth
$20,000 (a lot of money in 1883), He was born in the State of Michigan, U.S. in 1820. Came here in 1880. P.O. address
Walkerville.
After is death around 1890 the property passed to a certain H.C. Millard of Detroit and was again sold in 1904 by a Mrs.
Corissa Daily ( believed to be nee-Millard, ie. the surviving daughter) to J.L Hudson. Hudson died in 1912 and his company took over the house. It was razed in the mid-1920’s to make way for Prado Place.