Today’s vintage photo takes us back to September 1941 and to the corner of Ouellette and Park, where a photographer from the Detroit Times, captured this image of military drills in downtown Windsor. Keep in mind that at this point the US was still a few months away from the attack on Pearl Harbor and was not involved in WWII.
The photo ran in the September 30, 1941 edition of the Detroit Times. A copy of the newspaper clipping is attached to the back of the photo. The Prince Edward Hotel is visible in the background. Although long demolished, there is still a part of the building around locally…
This building on Laurier Drive in Lasalle, was built with the arched windows that were salvaged from the Prince Edward during demolition.
– On an unrelated note, a big shout out to the WUC workers who are busy replacing the water mains in my neighbourhood. I understand that a few of them are regular readers.
Have a safe weekend everyone, we’ll see you back here Monday.
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What is interesting, is that my future mother and future father yet not married to the other – they both went to Patterson High School are in that picture somewhere. My mom worked at Birk’s then (right across the street from the Prince Edward Hotel) and my dad was in the Essex Scottish and it was my mom on one of our visits to the Carnegie Library, told me how she watched Lewis (my dad), Bill (my uncle) and other boys of Patterson shooting their rifles on the street in front of the store.
I’ve seen that place in LaSalle and had no idea the windows were from the hotel. I love this site.
That’s something about the windows. Excellent fact finding.
What is the history of the building in LaSallle have heard several stories but do not know the truth
I heard that the “building” in Lasalle is partially a former school that was bought by an eccentric man who inherited a lot of money and turned the entire compound into a car museum/house.
Urbanrat- Amazing added interest to this story! You were listening!
I have been inside that building – it is PACKED with cars – too crowded to walk around, even though the owner charged a dollar per person to enter. Kinda strange, but a car collectors dream for sure.
Here is a link to a postcard of the entire Prince Edward Hotel…Can’t say of the date but looks late 30’s maybe early 40’s.
http://www.vintagepostcards.org/prince-edward-hotel-ouellette-windsor-ontario-p-5024.html
I’ve been in it too its a great little place with a tonne of old vehicles…some in good shape some not….I think part of it was a school at one time as well…. the guys definetly a collector…but yeah it is very tight inside….
Scroll the Google Streetview of the car museum towards Matchette, and you’ll see someone dressed in 70’s vintage clothing on the inside of the wooden fence watching as the Google car drives by. Almost as if this person was waiting for Google to come. Strange indeed.
http://internationalmetropolis.com/?p=705
wow! that’s awesome about the windows! i had no clue that kind of preservation happened in this city!
thanks Andrew!
looks like the front door to the PE as well
Nice photos ! WUC workers are the laziest bunch I’ve ever encountered. I worked at ENWIN/WUC during the summer of 2002 and had the most horrible supervisor (Jody). He was also porking one summer student Alayna. What goes around comes around!
I’ve been inside that building in LaSalle, too. Oscar is right. I need to go back.