2011 – The Year In Review

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• We made it through 2011. But many other buildings didn't. While some needed to come down (fire, new 401 route etc) others didn't and shouldn't have come down. Yet we still have burned out houses in neighbourhoods that are not secured well still standing. I don't get this city sometimes.

  With the above said, Coucnil did the right thing in DENYING an application for demolition on the building on church st. just south of University ave. The owners wanted to demo the building with no plans to do anything with what would have been another vacant land. Kudos to council on forward thinking (I think Counc. Valentinis lead the charge).

• Regarding the new road construction around Huron Church Rd. The demolition of all structures , removed such urban blight from 50 or so years of ugly commercial buildings and plazas. Homes that had access to such a busy highway should never had been allowed to be built in the first place. Anything built after the bridge went up in 1928 should have been reviewed to see if it complemented this Border access route. Poor planning for what became a wild west of commercial and residential mix that has now been cleansed. It may look barren now , but the re-building of the new concept will be a welcomed new environment.New trees will be planted and a green belt to be proud of. Residential neighbours in the area will be affected during this re-construction. Noise, dust and traffic has to be done in order to get to that final beautification. This will be a game changer in the new year. Looking forward to it. Bring it on !

• Hind sight is great, when the bridge opened railroads hauled the freight and passengers, long haul truckes where yet to come.Probably in 1928 Huron Church Rd. was two lanes, no lights, no congeston.If you want to blame someone for the building along this road it was Sandwich West Township, not Windsor.

• The old gas station most recently known as King Cone, and this beautiful 1920s home around the corner at 2720 Grand Marais.

  http://www.flickr.com/photos/tiz68/1423675623 today
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/tiz68/1424555184 ca 1927

• The urban blight started when commerce ramped up during and after WWII. Into the 50's and 60's the wild west sprawl was taking place and Sandwich West implemented little or no control over this area. That is what has been cleansed from the landscape. Well, it will take $1.4 billion to correct it. This time proper planning will control this new access route in and out of our Country. This will give a better face to our entry/exit port. We deserve this finally, in Windsor.

• Keep up the good work Andrew. We will wait and see what attrocities happen to Windsor architecture and the coming year. Happy New Year to you and all the readers of International Metropolis.

• Its a shame you can make one of these every year.

  For me the saddest losses are the comercial building
  On Glengary, and the little brick house on Glengary regardless
  Of their shape, they've seen alot of history. And the Wilby house,
  Really too bad.

  Thanks for another great year of history lessons, Andrew!
  And happy New Year everyone!

• How about a feature on buildings that SHOULD have been demolished but are still blighting the landscape? One thinks of the row apartments at Erie and Bruce.

• The failure of the collective imagination here in Windsor is unbelievable. Does the average Windsorite even care what happens in our city or are they too busy looking for work in Alberta? This has been a bad year for Windsor's heritage and every time a beautiful old building or house is demolished the city becomes a little less livable and begins to look more like a prarie wilderness. Thanks for keeping us informed of everything that's been going on Andrew. You're dedication to keeping Windsor's past alive makes us feel better about the city we live in. Happy New Year.

• Every location pictured above was a shithole. I doubt that progress is all that bad