Bowling and Billiards, this massive building once occupied the south side of Pitt Street, just east of Ouellette Avenue. This picture ran in an ad that appeared in the Windsor Star in December, 1926.
It was a handsome building. For some reason I believe that this one was the victim of a fire. Another part of the lost downtown streetscape.
Used to transfer buses at the downtown station on the way home from (high)school, mid sixties. Would often take a detour to Pitt St. with a few buddies, shoot pool down in the basement,…a very noir scene…the only lights in the place were over the billiard tables…brass spittoons on the floor….attendant in the corner with a stogie butt clamped between yellow teeth…ghosts of rum runners and two bit hustlers watching from the shadows….was always very quiet, we seemed to be the only customers…maybe it was the time of day, maybe it was the end of an era….upstairs was a bit more wholesome, family style, five pin alleys with real live humans setting the pins….maybe ten pin too, can’t remember…..sometimes would throw ’em a quarter after a few games…I am interested to know what became of the place. Pitt St.was a happening street. If you lived downtown, you could get just about anything you wanted within a few blocks, without having to infernally combust clear out to the airport. Pretty pathetic, what it is now….a whole lotta nothing.
Don’t know about “Exile” but my parents forbid me to go near the Rec. Too many bad influences (betting, swearing, hoodlums etc). Which made it all the more important to go there! Remember the lights hanging over the tables. It was wonderfully seedy and dirty and forbidden, like sneaking into the “girlie” tent at the carnival sideshow. Do you think the brightly lit, broadloomed co-ed pool places closed places like the Rec? Also bowled five-pin upstairs. Do you remember how angry a pin-setter would get if you threw your ball before he’d got up on his perch and got his legs out of the way?
i was there i think twice the kind of place that made you look over your shoulder didn’t Gilly’s Cue operate out of here i know that had a pool room downtown
You are right Windsor-in-exile. It is pretty pathetic that living downtown etnails getting on ones car and driving to suburbia to shop for the most basic of needs.
Wow, although I don’t remember this place (I am only 34) I do agree that Pitt street is a lame excuse for a downtown street these days. Oh poor downtown.
I have no memory of this place, it must predate me. What stands now where this was located?
Nothing stands in it’s place RobS it’s now the parking lot for the Toronto Dominion Bank!Ken what you said about Pitt street being a poor excuse for a downtown street what i find a poor excuse for a downtown street is the block of Ouellette Ave between Wyandotte and Elliot street it;s really starting to look like a slum area all those empty buildings and the poor old Vanity theater what a shame
I agree, south of wyandotte between elliot is really looking like a slum. Happy that north of Wyandotte is starting to look up somewhat though, but we’re not even 5% there yet. What we need to do is move the outlets downtown and off the new parkway. A very wise decision but nobody will have the vision to ever make that move.
I wish the picture was better. Windsor Rec was the coolest pool hall in Windsor. It hadn’t been altered since the 20’s when I went there in the 60’s and it had great atmosphere. It wasn’t really female friendly but no poolhalls were in those days. The tables were awesome…large and true. When Windsor Rec closed the tables went to gilley’s which was over Coles (where Oishi is now) next to Kresges and finally to the Rose Furniture building at Ouellette and Elliott. I imagine someone still has those tables. There were photos of the inside of the poolhall when it was new and they might still be floating around.
Joe, Gilly’s must be where “The Room” is now. Before they went all night club, it was called “Room With A Cue.” It was a pool hall, with a nice view 😉
I have no idea what happened to the pool tables when they did that, but I know some people that might. If I can find out, I’ll post it here.
The first ten years of my life – 1941 to 1951 – I lived at the corner of Goyeau and London streets.My frame of reference may be a little older, but at this time the downtown core was fantastic. Within a four square block area of this pool hall were innumerable taverns and at least three other pool rooms. There was a pool hall located on Pitt just east of Goyeau where it was not uncommon to see a full blown craps game on the sidewalk, especially on payday Fridays.The life in this downtown neighborhood was unbelievably rich.The Police were tolerant of the simple pleasures of the working man, as long as no harm was done.The best way to think of this era is to look at it as a Bowery Boys film.I am happy to find your site and look forward to your future posts
From what I remember, Windsor Rec burnt down about 1976. It had 5 pin and 10 bowling on various upper floors. Gans Chinese Restaurant was on the main floor. Adelman’s Dept. Store was across the street, between the Ritz Hotel and Smith’s Dept Store. Next to the Windsor Rec was Mossman’s Deli (great cornbeef sandwiches)on oneside and Steve Paris Shoe Repair and Union Men’s Shop on the west side.
Yes that building did meet a fire was a massive one back in the 70’s.
real pin boys. duck pin bowling on one floor, five pin bowling on next floor and finally 10 pin bowling. the place was a step back in time even in late 60s and early 70s. it was cool. youre never see a multi bowling alley like that in windsor ever again. im delighted to have memories of the experience. you know if it was still there i would still patronize the place over all the other bowling alleys in windsor.
I was raised in Windsor on Mercer and Assumption and went to Begley. My grandfather worked at Fords and I thought we were in a pretty good neighbourhood until one day at Begley when we used to have current events in class. One article said they were tearing down the slums of Windsor to make Windsor affordable Housing. I didn’t know what a slum was, we had all different nationalities living in our neighbourhood and we all got along. From 378 Mercer Street we moved above Wyandotte to Goyeau and Erie to a different hood and school.
What puzzles me that in todays generation with them building a new Bridge from Detroit, going through areas wereas the houses are probably worth at least $150,000.00 and are either boarded up or demolished. This does not make sense to me, to destroy beautiful neighbourhoods and leave nothing but eyesores or slums in there wake is preposterous. The new Bridge should have started East of Ouellette, then once its erected all the old houses would have been demolished , and there would have been no ghetto..shame on these planners.
I loved the old Windsor of the Fifties, it was safe and elegant.
Gary, You want the new bridge east of Ouellette? Where exactly? You want it to go over a densely populated area, over Belle Isle, and into the only part of Detroit where affluent people live? The best place for the bridge would have been right next to the current bridge IF Huron Church had been turned into a super highway, as it was promised in the ’30s. But it wasn’t. So where they ended up putting it, was the next best option. Brighton Beach never turned into the neighbourhood they intended it to be. It did disrupt some nice houses around Huron Church, but it was the best they could do. Do you remember what it was like when the US was building the Interstate system? It’s progress. There’s always a cost.
So glad I found this picture on here. I have a picture of my Dad’s (now 97) bowling team from this bowling alley. He couldn’t remember the name until I found this and asked him if it was the one. He said yes ! Now I have the information to go with his team picture.