Happy Monday, here’s a neat ad for the newish Simpsons-Sears store at Devonshire Mall, dated from 1972. The ad indicates that the store opened in September, 1970, and features a nice rendering of the store.
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Gone are the 5 gas islands. I don’t even remember them, but I’ve seen a picture of the gas bar next to the former Auto Service Centre.
I had a security job guarding the mall as it neared completion that summer. The idea of indoor malls was beginning to take hold, even replacing outdoor strip malls, like Dorwin Plaza in my old neighbourhood. It was the beginning of the end of the busy, noisy downtown Windsor of my youth.
As of 1972 had the portion of the E.C. Row expressway been completed through the Howard/Dougall area yet? The ad makes reference to “Howard Ave. at E.C. Row” but not to the expressway.
I remember the gas pumps at the mall it was handy to get gas while my wife shopped
I wonder how many employees remain at Sears. When I was a kid in the 80s, I remember tons of salespeople assisting in every department. Now that I’m an adult, there’s rarely anybody around to give any help.
The Sears GAS station was where the car rental place is now.
I remember a second gas station on the mall property back in the 80s as well. I recall a Shell station in the Southwest corner not far from where The Keg restaurant is/was.
Gas pumps were on the west side of the current outdoor equipment / lawn mowers / etc. building, which at the time housed the mechanics’ garage.
Rob s
You are right about the shell gas station by the Keg,but I also recall it being a Gulf gas station prior to that with a car wash.i remember as a kid I was ,for some reason ,afraid to go in there with my parents to get the car washed.i always had to wait outside of it with my mom.
rob
your right about the Shell gas station by the Keg.I also recall it was a Gulf gas station prior to it being a Shell.I remember when i was little,my parents would go there to wash the car and for some reason i was afraid to go in the car wash.I would have to wait outside with my mom and my brother and sister would laugh me.How time flies.
I was at the ZEHR’s store on Dougal yesterday I noticed while waiting for the bus that they changed the Dorwin Plaza sign now it’s call Windsor Rose Marketplace I think if the city would have done abit more work on parking in the core they might have saved part of the downtown shopping
The reason Dorwin Plaza was built to lure shoppers out of Windsor to Sandwich West township was bylaws controlling business hours. In the fifties and early sixties Windsor stores only open Friday night, closed half day on Wednesday, could not buy gas after six pm or on Sunday. Yorktown Plaza, Dorwin Plaza and Gateway Plaza all in Sandwich West Township, because of overly restrictive bylaws. City council of the day passed them, supported by the downtown merchants. Private investment went to a better business environment to make money.
Downtown merchants have cried about parking for last fifty plus years, Having good merchandise, reasonable prices and most important good service, something that is lacking in many stores today. When they started making you buy bags, you also now have to pack your purchase. Save the environment, or money grab, will the next step be stock the store shelve?
Richard, the next step may be something more like Costco, where they don’t really stock the shelves, they just unwrap the pallet for you, and you pick at it until it’s gone. They at least take the next one down off the shelf for you. Costco doesn’t have a stockroom, it is a giant stockroom.
I wonder when they stopped using the basement?
As far as I know, the basement is still in use, at least it was a couple years ago when I repaired my vacuum.
The basement as far as I know has never been used as a retail showroom. The basement is essentially the service/parts department for all of the appliances, etc. You need something repaired, they send you to the basement. I believe the shipping/receiving/stock rooms are also in the basement. There is no escalator down to the basement. The stairs to get down there are off of the South entrance if I recall correctly.
I was down in the basement for some repair, or parts several years ago. It’s the Bay that uses the basement, correct? They actually have escalators that run down, though. That’s where menswear, and shoes are, if I remember correctly.
Uzzy, that is correct. The Bay (and formerly Simpsons) has always used their basement as retail space and thus has escalator access.
Sears (formerly Simpson-Sears) on the other hand has never used their basement for that purpose, at least not during my lifetime and therefore only has stairwell access. I believe that there is an elevator that goes down there as well for the disabled.
They should use the basement to make more parking.
I heard something on tv last night that COSTCO started life in a airplane hangar
Gary, that is true. But it was their pre-cursor Price Club that was in the hangar. But that store is still in operation. And you can still get a foot long hot dog and a 20oz. fountain drink for $1.50 at all locations.
Devonshire Mall was built on the site of the Devonshire Horse Racetrack. The cement grandstand was still there in the 1960s. The infield pond was still wet enough most of the year to allow kids to float rafts. Across Howard was the giant railroad roundhouse. It was for maintaining locomotives and seemed to be the biggest building in town. South on Howard and across the tracks was Kenilworth, a horse stable and dirt track. If you were a kid using the track as a shortcut you could be run over by a horse.
The names are still there but that part of town has been “repurposed”.
I worked at Bowrings part-time (72-74) during High school. There was Miracle Mart at one end and Simpson-Sears at the other. This was before the theaters were added. Lots of good memories.