The cover of an old postcard folder. The photo was from about 1959, as Cobo Arena is still under construction. It opened 1960. $0.39 cents for the folder, and a $0.05 cent stamp would get this a friend and would make a nice souvenir for less than $0.50.
Even the early 1960’s show lots of surface parking lots filled with cars. Even the location of today’s parking garage at Chatham & Goyeau was a surface lot.
Hope everyone had a good weekend!
I am amazed that those surface lots are still there. I guess the surface lot industry makes too much money.
Nice to see former buildings that no longer exist (Opera house, Smiths, Downtown Market, etc).
The white hulled cruise ship that is tied up across the river (near the Ford Auditorium), appears to be either the S.S. North American or the S.S. South American. Built in 1913 and 1914, respectively, they were operated by the Chicago, Duluth & Georgian Bay Transit Company. Both ended passenger service in 1967. Their smoke stacks were painted with bands of black, orange and gold (from the top), whereas the smaller Bob-Lo boats had bands of black, blue and yellow on their stacks.
the corner of goyeau and university almost looks like a small parkete with all the trees i don’t recall if a house ever stood right on the corner
Just a note on the SS North America. She was sold by the Georgian Bay Lines in 1963, her new owners retiring her in 1964. The South America lasted through the summer of ’67.
The North American sank off the coast of Maryland in ’67 while being towed. The wreck was found in 2006 by a research team in 250 feet of water. South American lasted til ’92 when she was scrapped after being left to rot in Camden New Jersey.
Just out of curiosity anybody have any access to old maps or satellite images of Windsor and Essex County? preferably anything before 1980. I’m looking for the direct maps through email or website, not looking for anything I have to pay for. Thanks to anyone who knows of any way I could get my hands on these, been very curious about the area for a number of years.
http://www.clas.wayne.edu/photos/ap_index.htm
There you are, John. All you do is scroll down to the section that says “City of Detroit”, pick a year, and you’ll find a map. Click on the red numbers that are closest to Windsor and you’ll be pleasantly surprised. These go all the way back to 1949. I’d also suggest going with the higher resolution photos on the right hand side of the menu. Also, these photos don’t seem to work with Chrome, so I’d suggest using Internet Explorer.
Enjoy!
The Windsor waterfront got a lot of attention in 1959. The St. Lawrence Seaway formally opened and “salties” , ships from overseas, began to pass down the river. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were welcomed in huge public ceremony on the bank as they dropped in on their Canadian tour. And the International Freedom Festival lit up the night sky over the river with its first fireworks show.