This postcard dates to the late 1940’s and shows the original building before additions.
The building today.
A postcard from the late 1950’s of the entire complex. Like taken after the motel was built in 1956.
A view of the lobby of the motel building. Classic 1950’s design, and hard to see/appreciate from speeding by on Dougall Ave.
A flyer from 1956 advertising an upcoming show with Roberta Sherwood.
A ticket to see Tom Jones from 1972. Note the ticket states “Detroit Time”, as back then, Daylight Savings Time wasn’t always consistent, so there could be an hour difference between Windsor and Detroit.
Another flyer from 1956, showing a partial list of some the entetainment to appear so far, and upcoming shows.
The interior of the brochure showing some interior shots.
Here’s a plan from February 6, 1964 that was never realized:
MOTEL PLANS $425,000 EXPANSION
A $425,000 expansion to the Elmwood Motor Hotel complex to provide. 20,000 square feet of office space and an additional 20 motel units has been announced. Construction is to start soon on the two-storey, 200,000 square foot office building to be located in front of the present motel entrance.
Work is due to start at the same time on construction of 20 motel units, adjoining the last motel section, erected two years
ago. The $200,000 addition is scheduled for completion by June. An additional 18 motel units will be added at a later date, boosting the total number to 105.The office building, estimated at $205,000, will be located on the southern edge of the Elmwood property. This building of glass and face brick, is designed to influence American businesses as well as companies in Montreal and Toronto to locate branch facilities in Windsor.
Parking facilities will be at the rear of the building, and a 100-car lot for visitors in front. The 10-acre site outside the city limits will be expanded into a $3,000,000 complex of business, entertainment and lodging facilities, the first such project in North America.
The engineering firm of Giffels Associates of Windsor. Leasing for the office building will be handled Through Ivan Thrasher, president of Ivan W. Thrasher Realty Ltd.
The Elmwood complex is owned by Al Siegel, a Toronto businessman, who purchased the property 18 years ago when it was occupied by an old hotel and Casino operation. He rebuilt the premises and the last major addition and remodeling of the supper club eight years ago brought its value up to $1,500,000. The motel constructed seven years ago, is valued at $1,000,000 before the current addition.
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Interesting that as late as 1964 that area was still outside City Limits. Any idea what the "CL" phone exchange stands for?
The 1956 flyer shows a 10% hospital tax, up to a maximum of $1.00 .
CL = Clearwater Telephone Exchange or simply put 25, so CL 4 Would be 254.
My neighbour used to be a chef there in the late '60s and early '70s and remembers some of the guests there. He told me a story that late at night he had a highly respective Detroiter come in just as the kitchen was closing and would always ask him to make him a steak as he liked the way he made it. So my neighbour would fire up the grill and cook him a meal and everytime this Detroiter would leave him a tip of approx. $40.00US just to have the pleasure of eating late at night and have it cooked by him.
What a great place Windsor USED to be.
Why was the Elmwood Casino closed then? And, how did it become the Brentwood rehab centre? Did the province pull their casino license? It sounds odd that a casino would just go bankrupt, esp. since bingo parlours were really popular with Windsorites back then.
It does seem like a paradox that such a place would close up just like that. Ditto for the Top Hat. I think it was just a situation of changing times. Tom Jones and The Three Suns were all the rage in the early '60s but the whole lounge act scene just didn't last forever. Sure, you can point to Vegas but they have world class casinos and attractions to support it. As far as I know, there never was gambling at the Elmwood. It just faded away, sadly.
Jeeves and John, you'll have to tune in tomorrow for part III for the answer to those questions...
Wow, great archiving and thanks for your diligence. and the memories. This is a page from our past.
I remember celebrating special occasions at the Elmwood and seeing Paul Anka there.
If we all speak to our families, I'm certain our parents can fill in some of the blanks.
Also, this Casnio didn't have gambling.
There is a Casino on Belle Isle in Detroit that never had gambing either.
By definition:
Casino:
1. A public room or building for gambling and other entertainment.
Word History: The history of the word casino reveals a transformation from a cottage to a gambling palace. The source of our word, Italian casino, is a diminutive of casa, "house." Central to the transformation is the development of the senses of casino in Italian. The word was first applied to a country house and then came to be used for a social gathering place, a room or building where one could dance, listen to music, and gamble. This last pastime seems to have gained precedence over the others, at least as far as the development of the word is concerned, and casino took on the meaning "gambling establishment." These senses of the Italian word have all been borrowed into English, the sense "social gathering place" being recorded first in the 18th century, the sense "gambling establishment" first in 1851.
I don't get it. Why wouldn't they have gambling there? Even a child could recognize the huge multiple streams of income from gambling when they're bringing in big names like Tom Jones, that would attract high rollers. How long did Windsor Raceway have slots for? Did Windsor Raceway have a monopoly on slot machines back then? There must have been some kind of government ban or moratorium that prevented them from gambling here. I can't see any sane entrepreneur passing up on such an opportunity. Not to mention the fact that Al Seigel also ran the Windsor raceway at one point. And, why would Al Seigel buy this place and expand it if he knew he wouldn't be able to bring casino gambling there? It seems really odd that at no point in it's history did this establishment ever have casino gambling.
Jeeves, the slots at Windsor Raceway are a relatively recent arrival, ie. mid/late 1990s. Casino gambling in Windsor started being discussed in the late '80s with the temporary casino itself opening around 1993'ish. Just going by memory here so +/- a year or so on those dates. Either way, casino gambling in Windsor came along a good twenty years after nails started pounding into Elmwood's coffin. I do agree it seems strange that it was called a "Casino" but as Andrew's research has indicated, the word "casino" was apparently used in a more archaic context for Elmwood. And yes, there were great legal obstacles in making Casino Windsor a reality, many of which I'm sure a private establishment like Elmwood would have no chance of surmounting in the '60s.