Today’s post comes courtesy of a regular reader named Jamie T. The photo was taken by Jamie’s father from the car, at the intersection of Ouellette and Riverside.
On the far right hand side the British American Hotel is visible, and on the left is the brand new Dieppe Park, and Cleary Guest House.
Judging by the Detroit skyline and the presence of 1 Woodard Ave. I would guesstimate the date 1964.
Thanks for sending it in and sharing it Jamie. An amazing glimpse back in time.
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Hmmm, I might prefer the skyline without the Madden Building…
Thanks for the picture Andrew, very cool.
I love this stuff. It was taken apparently somewhat randomly yet it conveys a lot nearly 50’s later….for nerds that appreciate local history. Ha!
I don’t see the pontchartrain hotel which was opened in 1965.221 west fort st (then Detroit bank and trust) was u/c from 1961 to 1963 and looks complete in this picture. and Cobo hall was opened in 1960. The cars seem kind of old for 1964 but there are only 5 of them in the picture.
Ontario licence plates from even-numbered years had a white background; the odd-numbered years had the dark background with white letters. Black and white up to and including 1964, blue and white from 1965 onwards. This would support the 1964 hypothesis.
The twotone Ford with fins could be a 1956 model, the convertable could be a Crysler product, aybe a Desoto with dual headlights, the green cab in Checker green could be a Henry J, built by Nash/ American Moters.
The Vet Memorial building is across from foot of Quellete, to the left is Cobo Arena, to the left behind the visitors center is Cobo Hall, look further left shows ramp to roof parking.
Some of those 1950’s cars are still on the road today – they were made of steel, chrome, blood and sweat. Love the photo Andrew, thanks for posting.
Scott – Don’t thank me thank Jamie. 🙂
Wonderful photo. Brings it all back. The two-tone Ford is a’57. The yellow convertible looks like a ’58 Mercury. I believe that the green Checker cab is also a Ford, probably a ’55. I don’t believe that Henry J.s ever saw any use as taxicabs. In the rear-view mirror I think I spot one of those lumbering ’58 General Motors Bulgemobiles, maybe a Pontiac or Olds (may they rest in peace) and maybe the arched left rear taillight of a 1960 Ford. I remember lots of Ford products around town in those days. FoMoCo was a HUGE presence in Windsor until the assembly operations were moved to Oakville in 1953. Still pretty big after that. As for the vast expanse of pink in the foreground, it fairly screams GM, probably another late ’50s dinosaur.
Good automotive eye windsor in exile.
Not much character in our new structure on Rvsd. and Ouellette.
(there is no Q in Ouellette, that is unless you feel the need to puy a Q in the name)
Why did Ford leave Windsor for Oakville?
Oscar, that’s a great question and maybe the readers of this blog will contribute their own speculations or maybe even some definite answers (any old Ford Canada execs out there?). Could militant unionism in Windsor have played a part? Did the community of Oakville offer incentives to relocate? The answer that I’ve most often heard is that Oakville’s geographical location is more centrally located. Its closer to the densest Canadian population centers and thus the major markets for automobiles. Distribution to the Western provinces is easier. Look at a map. Windsor is somewhat isolated from the rest of Canada.
I like the view in the mirror of the car as well looking back behind the shot….
Enjoyed the picture like everybody else. I know the Cleary “Guest House” went up in 1957, and I think the city bought the B.A. hotel c1975. Did the hotel come down that same year?
Well most of the cars in the photo are late 50 vintage, however if you look in the rear mirror the yellow one may be from a later vintage possibly 62 or 63, not a car buff so I can;t tell for sure.
I think this is at least 1962 since the, ‘Flame’ building was built then. The picture really takes me back to the time when I came to Windsor and it was all very exotic to a wee Scottish laddie. I also remember hearing my adult relatives talking about the BA Hotel. It seemed that it had a very unsavoury reputation frequented as it was by a certain type of, ‘lady’. I gather too that it was a, ‘blind pig’ (out of hours drinking joint). Great pic anyway and many thanks to the poster.
Again wooooo growing up as a young boy in downtown Windsor,I had two aunts who worked at the department store Kressege (sorry spelling wrong) My uncle worked as crane operator for a construction company here in Windsor. His last job before going to California for more money back then was to demolish the British American hotel/bar Ialso got to sit on his lap and swing the ball as a kid .Wow just thinking back gives me chills.