The other day’s post talked about the 1930’s phenomenon of Tourist Camps. Below are a few post cards I have collected along with some other information on Boose’s Camp. Anyone know anything about it?
This advertisement is from the 1937-38 Tourist Guidebook of Ontario – Published expressly for the Essex County Automobile Club.
Back when Dougall Ave. was a little country road in Sandwich West Township. Note the Cities Service Station.
I think this is the oldest of the three. Note the gas pumps are in front of the house. This is before the stand alone service station was built on the property.
A nice view of the house/office, with a sign advertising “20 cottages”.
This one is marked Baby Tourist Camp. Baby Park was adjacent to Boose’s and unless there was an ownership/name change at one point, I believe that they are the same place.
The 1937 Fire Insurance Map showing the 20 cottages, main house and service station.
An aerial view of the area today. Sometime in the late 1950’s Dorwin Plaza was built on the site of Baby Park. If you drive to the rear of the plaza, there are still some wooded areas still standing. Anyone know anything about the park and why it vanished? As far as I can tell Boose’s stood on the chunk of land that is today Cogeco Cable. A quick check didn’t reveal any remnants of the site’s past.
1930’s Tourist Camps have seemed to pretty much have vanished from the landscape. Locally, I was able to find two examples.
1. This old Neon Sign in St. Joachim on the former #2 Highway. In the rust you can faintly make out the words: “TOURIST MOTEL”
2. Also in St. Joachim, in the rear of a convience store, there is what appears to be 3 remaining tourist camp cottages (2 pictured here). The size, shape and clustering of them would certainly lead me to believe that’s what they were.
Andrew, thanks for posting these.
I’ve seen some of these postcards on ebay and I often wonder about their stroies – really, it wasn’t so long ago, but all trace seems to have disappeared. Although about a year ago I noticed a postcard for a Kavanagh (sp?) Motel (1930’s?), that gave an address on Howard – when I checked the property is occupied by Boroots (sp?) Motel – obviously the same place
Jane, no problem. Hotels & Motels seem to have been a very disposable and quickly forgotten part of our local history. I too have seen the postcard your are refering to, and I was also wondering where it was.
I drive past Boroots on my way to work, and I have always wondered about that little cluster of motels on Howard Ave. Remnants from the days when there were two Horse Racing tracks?
I wonder if it’s because hotels don’t figure into a local’s imagination of their city — so they are easily forgotten.
The location of those little “family” type motels makes sense when you think of it in context of the racetracks. They are a bit archaic now, but at the time they were probably pretty lucrative.
I wondered if the Kavanaghs graduated from tourist camps to the motel business?
if you love old Windsor postcards, check out our book: Postcards from the Past: Windosr & The Border Cities. It features a card showing Booses, as well as 290 other amazing cards – some going back to the 1890s.
go to our website: http://www.walkerville.com
to see the book and also “Best of The Times Magazine – 2006 Edition” which is our latest book – 408 pages, hardcover, over 1200 old photos of Windsor and area, plus hundreds of fascinating stories.
Looks to me that “Tourist Motel” says “Tourist Court” or a similar word. Or am I seeing things? Maybe that would throw a new light on jogging someone’s memory. I know of someone of that name you mentioned, but she’s 106 and not able to communicate. Good luck with your mystery. I’ll offer input if I can find out any info. from the older people I know. Unfortunately, they become fewer in number.
that rusted sign used to say Shady Acres It is across from the Pickles restaurant, used to be Country boy and before that the St Joachim Hotel.
Not sure of my memory here, but I think that before Cogeco occupied the site, there was a motel called either Stadler’s or Statler’s? Maybe some of those buildings were originally Boose’s?
Dave – It was The Statler Motel:
http://internationalmetropolis.com/?p=375
Enjoy the quiet Costa Blanca
I just discovered your site It’s always fun to find things that relate to your family. The location that you are looking for is not near the Dorwin Plaza but further south past the EC Row express way at West Grand. You would need to look around the land on the east side of Dougall and West Grand to see if there is any remains of the cottages left.
ok… so the Boose camp was where the present day Real Canadian Wholesale is today. ..a lot of shrubbery in this area, more than usual, considering how many businesses are along this stretch! Thank you Bruce Boose!
Jay Thompson Ricard, the only Real Canadian Wholesale Club on Dougall, that I know of, is further south, and on the other side of the road. There is a Cogeco Cable building on the site, and in front of that, there’s a small strip mall, with a massage therapy clinic, an insurance sales office, and Scoot-A-Long of Windsor, according to street view.