A few older postcard shots of the Cleary Auditorium. Designed in 1957 by Johnson and McWhinnie, the buidling that was built was a much scaled down version of what the architects had imagined.
Even back then the Mayor and Council meddled in the plans, and the auditorium was shrunken as was the convention space. Plans for a smaller second theatre in the basment were also scrapped. The basement theatre would have been able to share dressing area and technical areas with the larger theatre above.
Instead of a multi-purpose facility, we got the scaled down version that was recently sold to St. Clair College. Almost immediatley the short comings of the truncated facility became evident.
Johnson & McWhinnie were comissioned in 1963 to add a freight elevator (that was removed from the original plans) and a kitchen. In 1966 they were again called on to work on an addition to the building.
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Hey - you're using the term "scale(d) down" in a derogatory way, reflecting poorly on our organization, and will seen be hearing from our lawyers :)
You can't go after me, the city has been scaling things down in a derogatory way since before you or I were born!
Threating lawsuits, huh? You sound like a typical blogger... ;)
Who designed the last expansion of the Cleary?
Is it me or winter? But the gardens look much better then than they do today.
What do you mean by meddling? How much did it cost to build? What was the city's portion? How much was it supposed to cost, since we ended up with a scaled down version?
I don't care what any says the Cleary auditorium was an architectural masterpiece and an important part of the community for many years. God only knows how many graduations, weddings and VIP's it hosted during the 60's, 70's and 80's. I remember my own high school graduation was held at the Cleary and Pierre Trudeau, Stephen Lewis and the Queen attended receptions there during the buildings heyday.
It really was a remarkable builidng. I generally love that era of modernism--though I find the original Cleary a little hard to love, I do appreciate it for it's purity of modernist design. The renos--when was that--late 1980s?...actually weren't all that bad--although the original design was completely obliterated--they did create an attractive and slightly more flexible (but still not profitable) facility.
The pre-renovation Cobo Center in Detroit was equally impressive archiecturally.
OK, maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I heard that Mr. Cleary donated the money to the city for the Clearly Auditorium to be built and it wasn't built using public funds.
Looking at the precious Baby House tucked back there and thinking what a miracle it is (by Windsor standards) some numbskull didn't tear it down to make room for executive parking or a loading dock when the Cleary was expanded in the late '80s. At least *some* things are sacred. :)
David, correct but I don't think it covered all of the bills.
I too don't mind the addition of the '90s.
David, yes Cleary left funds for both a "civic auditorium & riverfront guest house". Within little more than a half century this current administration of the city has completely wiped the Cleary legacy off the map. Demolishing the guest house and selling and chaning the name of the Cleary.
I'm not certain the particulars (I don't have them handy), but I am just going off what Doug Johnson the architect of the Cleary told me. He said that between the original design, and the final design there were many trips to present before council, and constant chops from the design.
The building is also engineered with a "floating" foundation. Apparently that was a pretty novel feat of engineering at the time, and saved a ton of money over a more traditional foundation. Hey, it must have worked out well, as the building has survived a half century without any structural problems.
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Geroge, I agree with you, it's a shame that it's been so altered the original design is now unrecognizible.