880 Ouellette, due south of the Main Branch of the Windsor Public Library, stands an one of the few unaltered mid-century office blocks in the city. While it looks a little shabby and dirty these days, she’s still a nice looking building. Although, how she looks today, isn’t how she was planned…
From the Windsor Star – December 10, 1964:
It was built by a group of Windsor businessmen, who called their group Folis Enterprises Ltd. To build the building, newspaper reports said the Carpenter’s Hall at 892 Ouellette and the house immediately to the north, opposite Anderson’s Funeral Home would have to be demolished.
At the rear a decked parking area for 70 vehicles was planned, although I suspect it was never built.
The building was know be called “Corporate House” and was designed by Windsor architect William Hilliker. Hilliker was also the architect for some parts of St. Clair College along with the provincial health lab on Huron Church which is scheduled for demolition later this year.
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Thanks for the post Andrew!
now i have a question for you. do you remember the set of photo's i sent you a while ago that i found on boatnerd, that were shot from Detroit, most likely in the 70's? They showed our waterfront and railyards, some had the boblo boat in them some had the fire boat spraying water? anyways....if i'm not wrong, you can see this building in the background except it's all black panels instead of white. If you've lost the pix I can send them again if you like.
thanks again!
Not sure which photo you mean. But are you sure that wasn't the Viscount, Aaron? Sometimes distance is deceiving in those types of shots.
Not sure what is up there now but in 1991 the top floor there is where I and many others over the years wrote our amateur radio licence exam - at the Dept. of Communications Windsor office. This agency was rolled in with the creation of Industry Canada and I'm not sure what sort of frequency spectrum type operations are still in that building, or in Windsor at all. It was also the Hong Kong Bank of Canada on the main floor at that time as well. I wonder if that great little lower-level restaurant in there is still operational.
If my memory is correct, the building housing the Provincial Health Lab, at 3400 Huron Church Road, originally was the muncipal office for Sandwich West. The township left the site when the Windsor annexation of 1966 put the property within the city limits. Sited, back on a well-treed lot, it was a very attractive building, especially at night, with its wall of windows lit amongst the trees. The current gaudy blue and white paint job doesn’t do the architect’s vision justice.
Until renovations in the 90's the panels in this building were black. It was a much better look.
I remember that basement restaurant a few years ago. It was Coca Cola themed. I went back and checked it a few months ago. The restaurant is long gone and it's all locked up and nothing new was put in its place.
I wonder why it's been called the Falom building for the past decade or longer? Anyone know who Falom was or what his significance was to this city?
Probably a investment or property management firm... Like the Candrel Building.
Interesting... I don't remember it being black, but I didn't move to Windsor until 1989, so I may have been before...
John - it definitly wasn't the Viscount. it's clearly standing alone in the background with it's black top and this building is casting a shadow on the large apartment building next to it. i think the pictures were taken from something that doesn't exist anymore near the corner of Navarr pl and Rivard st in Detroit. There is a large, stone apartment building at Jefferson and Rivard in butting into the photo, so the angle puts the Viscount way off to the side as well. seems like it may have been black based on Joe's comment though. If you'd like the pix and you still have my e-mail address let me know and i'll shoot them over to you. i lost you e-mail when our server crashed for the 12th time.
I like that it's called "Corporate House" -- very British. A few buildings here in Toronto retain that kind of name -- something "house" -- but not many.