Going through some old photos the other day, I came across this set I shot shortly before the demolition of the old Chrysler Canada Headquarters on Chrysler Centre Drive, back in 2003.
The building was an imposing structure, along Chrysler Centre Drive, opposite the plant.
It was designed by architects, William R. Souter & Associates from Hamilton. The building was built in 1948.
An older postcard of the building, shortly after construction. This was the Canadian Headquarters from 1948 until the offices relocated to Riverside & Ouellette in 2003.
During that shoot, the camera I had at the time also had a movie option, and I took a quick video of the exterior of the building to put the size of it into context.
You’ll never believe it, but the site today is a parking lot. 😉
The video isn’t working.
What? A building in Windsor being torn down for a parking lot? That never happens!
I would rather this building still be up rather than that soviet looking Candarel building downtown. Just heard that BBDO is vacating and closing down out of that building. They rented the 8&9th floors. 80 people will lose their jobs.
Wasn’t that building supposed to bring people downtown and bring jobs? It seems quite the opposite has happened. Not to worry though, I am sure former mayor Hurst isd proud of the job he did.
Shawn, I see the video working for me… Anyone else having issues?
The vid is telling me I need to open a YouTube account to view. Forget it YouTube.
Youtube user changed it to a private video. You not only have to join but also be on each others Friends list. Oh well.
AH OK it’s on your account, Andrew, that would explain why it’s working for you. 🙂
Shoot me a pvt or if you want post your account user – name on Youtube so we can hook up with you for this.
The Candarel Bldn is a lot of things, but Soviet looking?
They could have at least saved the facade of the front entrance. Did we really need a giant parking lot there?
I heard that a security guard named McGoo died in the basement after inhaling toxic fumes and that he still haunts the parking lot you can see him at night he wears a harness and a safety vest.
ME, I’m sure if you were on the Board of Directors for Chrysler you could have had some imput, but you’re not. Private land ownership and development is not part of the democratic process and therefore your imput is neither considered or wanted. I think the Canderel Building is an asset to downtown and unfortunately the former Norwich block was owned by land speculators that did little more than run their heritage properties into the ground. It’s sad but unless the owner cares or the government wants to buy them to restore (how many can they do that with?), they were doomed. I’ll take a 15 storey Class ‘A’ office building downtown over another parking lot any day.
that’s one solid looking building! but….i suppose chrysler don’t want anything looking TOO permenant in this city anymore. at least they kept the trees.
as far as the cantsell building is concerned, it’s only an asset if it generates revenue and employs the people that live in this city. we were promised something like a 36 storey jewel of an office building an what did we get?
an empty from the get go, 15 storey, spartan, PARKING LOT. which seems to be the only thing related to that building that makes any money.
OK – My fault, I messed up the video settings… That’s why I try to stick to photos 😉
Dan..that’s a good one! Not only does McGoo haunt the parking lot, he labels every car in the lot and tarps any of them in danger of getting bombed with bird s&*t.
Seriously though, I used to go into this building alot when it was still standing and it was your typical office building. A lot of cubicles and on the second floor,there was an area called “Mahogany row” which was the area of the presidents office. A lot of expensive wood, huge doors, huge conference tables and even a back stairway leading into the garage where the executives would park. Even more faint to my memory was the building on Tecumseh road (Tec rd office bldg) where a parking lot also sits. That was the personnel building, hospital and several classrooms were in the basement. I think that was demolished in 1996. I still remember the flooring in there- green and white ‘checkerboard’ style linoleum tiles and 60’s style office decor.
I wish they would have kept HQ there and left the building alone. Instead, they built that mistake on the river and split up the office staff into basically 3 buildings. It could have used some interior renovation to freshen things up to make it more modern and it would have preserved a piece of local history.
Shawn, yes it looks very soviet; Cold, bland and utilitarian.
No Edward i didn’t sit on the board. But since MY tax dollars paid for Candarel (at an over-inflated rate. Remember MFP?) I do have an opinion and I will state it.
I would rather a the norwich block with it’s land speculators (I guess we don’t have those anymore right? Like all of the properties East of Ouellette on Riverside Dr, or in the proposed urban village, or many of the downtown buildings as they stand now) full of business and jobs than what is there now.
ME, you’ve offered the same opinions about the new TD Canada Trust Building downtown. Having an opinion is one thing but you have suggested that your opinion should be taken into account by private companies with respect to how they run their businesses and spend their dollars. I believe that you actually stated that banks should not be “allowed” to be built downtown or essentially forced to maintain their current locations in buildings that they and their customers find unsuitable. As long as the development meets the zoning requirements for the privately owned land public consultation is not required. That being said, I am 100% for the protection of heritage properties but I think that offices and banks in a downtown are actually a good thing. You may be against the city assembling and expropriating the Norwich block for Chrysler but if they did not the head office was going to business friendly Mississauga. This expropriation may have cost the taxpayers some $$$ but what was the cost of losing our only significant corporate headquarters in Windsor? Windsor will bend over backwards to save blue collar jobs but just try to save some white collar jobs and look at the opposition.
i don’t know if anyone said that banks shouldn’t be built downtown, and they are a great thing downtown because it brings people down there to do their buisness. but when you have a habit of playing musical chairs with the buildings downtown…….we have a problem.
Aaron whats up with this city the canderell was supposed to be 32 floors but city council has this thing where they want a nice uniform skyline i look at Detroits skyline and it makes a power statement with the GM REN CEN in the middle like a helm then you look back across the rivr at windsor’s pathetic skyline and it looks like a privacy fence all the same height and it says anything but power
meh, i rather like the look of Windsor from Detroit. it’s almost like a couple buildings sticking out of a forest with rows of houses on either side. the rencen is actually off to the side and looks out of place to me. it just don’t fit in with the rest of the city (i know it was supposed to represent the future of detroit) and we’d have to hollow out the core just to fit something like the ren cen.
plus…..all our big oppertunities to build great structures were dashed by things like the great depression and other economic woes. check out the “unbuilt windsor” portion of IM if you havn’t already. i’m sure you be impressed with what could have been.
that old chrysler building on chrysler centre sure brings back memories i live about streets farther east of this location we used to play flag football on the south side of the building back in the 60’s