Here’s another shot from the Bernie Drouillard Collection that comes to us from John.
It’s taken looking north on Ouellette Ave. towards Wyandotte St. The Douglas Building that was under discussion on Monday, is visible on the extreme right hand side of the photo. The question remains if that is the same building that is currently the shoppers, or if it was demolsihed and rebuilt?
It looks like the top left corner visible in the above picture of the Douglas buliding was round. If so, I would doubt they would square in off in a rehab job.
I was reading in the Windsor Star page C3 today that the new owners of 801 Ouellette Ave (formerly Club 801) bought it for $600,000 and are gutting the building and will have it demolished as soon as the city approves a demolition permit. It has some nice brickwork still on it and it looks like a fairly solid building. I heard it was an old furniture store. Anyone know the history of that building? I kinda like the architecture of that building. Does anyone think it’s preservation worthy?
Was that the old Jokers? If so it is really a neat building. The blond brick it interesting as are the transoms (if they are still there). You are correct it used to be a furniture store.
Demolition in this city is $$$ with no regards to the past.
It was once “Elliots on the Avenue” when downtown had some 1960s and 70s suaveness still intact, as this photo illustrates.
Would that demolision permit include the never-again-inhabited Mother’s restaurant attached to it? I always thought it must have been cursed 🙂
What year did Mother’s close? I’m guessing sometime in the late ’70’s/early ’80’s.
I loved that place!
I’ve always wondered the same thing about Mothers. Seems like after it closed up that building never was used again for anything else (to my knowledge). Someone said something about Jokers knocking out some walls and using it, not sure about that. But it was a great restaurant and I can’t explain why it ever closed. They served great pizza, had neat decor with antiques, and were popular for birthday parties and things like that.
The Shoppers’ Drug Mart that sits on the corner of Ouellette and Wyandotte was built in the early 1980’s to house Canada Trust’s main office. The building was part of a larger development that included a high-rise building with underground parking attached to it. The high-rise was never built because the developer couldn’t find enough tenants so the land ended up being used as a parking lot.
I think it might have been mid-late 80’s when Mother’s closed. I have vague recollections of going there to get pizza when I was a kid.
I still have a few of Mother’s glasses that they used to serve floats in, then you could take the glass home (or my parents are thieves). If anyone would like to see them, for nostalgic purposes, I could take a picture. Does anyone have any pictures of the restaurant before it became a wall of white plywood?
I’m thinking Mother’s closed around ’90 or ’91. I specifially remember the last time I was there, and that was in ’89. I remember that place so clearly, right down to the cigarette vending machine in the lobby, although that may have been gone by ’89. When did cigarette vending machines become illegal anyway?
Good question, WFW might be right. I moved to Windsor in 1989, and I swear it was still open when I first came here, it might even have closed in 1989.
Jokers was previously Elliots which was there during the ’80’s. Prior to that it was Leon’s furniture – actually I think it was still Leon’s in the mid ’80’s when I moved to that neighbourhood. I just can’t remember what it was before that altho i have probably walked or driven past it 1000’s of times? Anyone????
Elliots on the Avenue was quite a nice place.
It was a locally owned furniture before it was a Leon’s but I am not sure if it was right before it changed to Leon’s.
As for Mother’s pizza, it definitely closed in 1989 because I remember a frine do fmine going there and then within a week it was closed for good.
Isn’t Windsor great?!
So, does anyone know how the process to get a demolition approval from the city works? Is the owner required to post a notice and have the city hold a public hearing if there are any objections or does it just go through the planning deptartment where they just pay a fee and it gets rubber stamped by the bureaucrats? Is this building old enough for someone to argue it shouldn’t be demolished for historical reasons? Because if this place is getting demolished for an ugly Taco Bell hut (as the Star article states they will try to build a building that a national franchise wants to lease out), I’d be pretty pissed There are already plenty of unutilized dirt parking lots on Ouellette that nothing’s happened with like the one next to Anderson Funeral Home and the one next to the Paramount. There’s also the Tim Horton’s at the Giles corner, which was closed down and still nothing’s happened with it.
To get a demolition permit, UNLESS it is a heritage building, it is pretty much a rubber stamp process.
I also believe that the permit is valid for 1 year from the date of issue.
This building is not a heritage building, and is not on the heritage property inventory. So sadly more of our history will bite the dust.
This building in my opinion is one of the most hansdome building on that stretch of Ouellette, and is a great example of Flemish Bond brickwork.
It’s sensless demolition like this that pisses me off, and helps to make this city shittier.
Do you have an idea of the construction date for this structure? The former “Mothers” section appears to be older. I’m surprised they weren’t already on the HP roster when I looked today. I think it’s fair to say they are both a healthy 100 years or better in age, non?
I think the Mother’s building is the older of the two.
The Joker’s building, likely dates to the 1930’s.
I’m not entirely positive but I think the old Mother’s restaurant on Ouellette was originally a fine-dining establishment called Mario’s before being bought out by Mothers’ Pizzeria.
http://cgi.ebay.ca/Lot-2-Vintage-Postcards-Marios-Tavern-Windsor-Ontario_W0QQitemZ190113674676QQihZ009QQcategoryZ35927QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem
Mario’s postcards show up frequently on eBay. Do the pictures in the auction listing help?
John, I think that building is closer to Wyandotte St. If memory serves, I think it’s painted pink or purple or something….
Something I’ve noticed (hope the link works) in an old photograph
“Marios – Good Food” – sign on building north Wyandotte, on the west side of the road.
OK I guess it didn’t work. 😉
Anyway, I attempted to link to a ca 1940 photo, and wondering if that’s the same Marios of years later…