A postcard showing the interior of Our Lady of the Lake Church, c. 1910. The photo above is undated, but the church was built in 1907, and it was a Pesha postcard, and Mr. Pesha, passed away in a automobile accident in 1912. So the photo was taken sometime in that five year window.
The interior prior to closure, looked different than in the first photo. At time of closure the church was known as Our Lady of the Rosary. While a designated site, it is protected from demolition, but the longer it sits empty, the more precarious its future is. Hopefully a use for it is found soon.
It’s too bad they knocked down Ford City Hall for the parking lot across the street from the church. Hope it doesn’t happen to the church too. What’s the story behind how Ford City was able to split from Walkerville anyway?
Actually, the Ford City Hall was next door to the Church, the Church parking lot. Across Drouillard road was the Ford factory and the assembly plant along the river at the foot of Drouillard and Riverside Drive.
The church is not owned by the city, any work, reair or alter is the owners responsibily.
The building a reguesterd site.
My mother and father were married in this church
Well, Rick, it may be the owner’s responsibility to repair it, but the owner doesn’t have the money for the repairs. In fact, in back in 2009, the Diocese of London offered it to the City of Windsor for a buck and the city refused. It’s been closed since 2007. It needs $1.8m in repairs. It’ll probably be a goner like Ford City Hall. http://windsorite.ca/2011/07/city-declines-offer-to-purchase-ford-citys-our-lady-of-the-rosary-church-for-1/
The owner doesn’t have the money? BS. How many millions or billions does the catholic church scam yearly from their parishioners? I’m sure they can come up with some money to maintain their properties.
Why should they come up with the money?? The Diocese closed this church to consolidate their declining membership and doesn’t want this property anymore and is willing to give it to the city for free (a buck has to transferred to make it legal). If you want it fixed, pony up your own money. Buy it and get a group together with the money to fix it and turn it into a theatre like downtown Mission or something. If you don’t want to pony up, then STFU.
RIGHT ON DAVID!
All I’m saying is that the church probably made a pile on money for a very long time from this particular church alone! I’m sure the Catholic church could help pony up some cash to help a community maintain a historic building. It’s about being a good member of your community. They take in money for so many years and when the money stops coming in.. They pack up shop and move on. If you are part of the community you don’t just take, you give a little too!!
Shane, most parishes are poor (except for the suburban ones…go figure on that!). The oppe had decreed some 20-30+ years ago that parishes needed to be solvent and if they weren’t able to afford their repairs and/or expenses then those parishes would be “clustered” into other parishes.
While you are correct that the catholic church is rich (lets say the Vatican because they had trillions of $$) the fact remains most parishes and even the diocese are rather poor.
What galls me is the fact ehy keep opening suburban churches and let inner city churches rot and then close them. Last time I checked the Bible, Jesus didn’t say “you will be saved if only if you have X amount of dollars.”
IMO, the church are hyprocrites about this problem.
This, coming from a regular chruch attendee
Dave. I do agree and understand the the chuch itself may not have money. My rant that the “church” should give back was more or less directed at the Catholic Chuch as a whole. I hope I didn’t offend anyone. I just get upsent when I see people giving their money for years and years, and when it’s time for the church to give back.. They don’t. I do work with church groups from time to time and understand their finances are generally little to none. It’s a shame the Vatican is sucking these parishes dry… I guess God needs money… or something like that.
This site was the former site of Notre-Dam-Du-Lac.
It was a French Hamlet in the 1880s that was later consumed by Ford City.
This is actually the second church on site (Our Lady of the Rosary)
The original inhabitants, are buried on Seminole and Drouilliard.
If the Catholic church fixed up every crumbling little church inevery small town they would go broke. The Catholic church is run like a business, and has been pretty much since it’s inception. This is how we got protestant denominations in the first place. I hope someone can fix this up, but I don’t think the Pope really gives a rats ass about a derelict church in Windsor. It would be nice if the church “pony’d up” and paid to fix all of the problems they’ve left in this world, but it’s a pretty fantastic pipe dream.
I also love the name change to hide the obvious pagan influences. Does anyone know when that happened?
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PUTTING THESE UP. THIS IS THE CHURCH I WAS BAPTISED IN AND MADE MY FIRST COMMUNION HERE.
Quick question – I heard a rumour not too long ago that the two tall bell towers on this church were financed by Al Capone and/or the Chicago Outfit in order to be used as a lookout point during the rum running days. I realize the church was built in 1907, well before prohibition, but did it always have those tall, open bell towers? Or, perhaps rum runners just used the existing towers as a lookout point, and it’s just another rumour from Windsor’s most interesting period of history…
Brendan, I don’t know if Capone financed the towers, but what he did pay for was a light up cross on top of one, or both of them. That was used as a signal to the rum runners to signal if it was safe to cross from Michigan, or not. On certain Sunday’s when he was in town, the priest would let him go up in front of the congregation and look for labourers to help him load, and/or unload trucks, etc. This is information I got from the Canadian Club tour. I highly recommend it everyone.
To whom this may concern,
I am doing a genealogical book on my Ducharme ancestors which includes my parents and grandparents on both sides. Is it possible to use one or two of your post card pictures from this site? They are the best photographs I have seen regarding the church.
Please advise me.
Thank You,
Karen Belisle (St Joachim ON)