Reader Darren sent along a few Steinberg’s pictures from his collection… Thanks Darren!
A clipping from the Windsor Star during the demolition in 1992…
… and this photo above. He writes:
I have a photo I took inside there after it closed and they used it for auto shows. Can’t remember when I took the photo, but you should be able to tell by the models of cars in there.
I’m not sure, can anyone out there identify the year by the cars? Looks like mid-1980’s to me… Maybe 1985-86?
You know what gets to me. In the past, they held auto shows inside vacant downtown buildings like this. Yet, today, we don’t have this building and I see this huge empty mainfloor showroom space in the Candarel building that Chrysler or some other dealer should be filling up with cars. What gives? Chrysler should have one of their dealers fill it up with cars like GM does with the main floor of the Ren Centre. So now I have to see the tombstone for the Norwich block, which looks like a big empty building every time I walk past it even though it has absolutely no reason for being empty. At least, raise curtains around it so it looks filled.
thanks for posting these. i keep wishing i took more photos. i’m pretty sure this came from a slide so it was probably around 1986 since the old charger there was only made till 1987 i think.
Yep. Wiki says 1984-86 for this model.
Yep the ’90s weren’t kind to Windsor either just like the ’60s and 70’s. This place I call a city soemties just reminds me of a graveyard and what could have been…how typically sad.
Speaking of indoor motor shows in downtown. Next weekend, a private company is renting out 75,000 sq feet of showroom space to hold the Windsor RV & Powersports Event in Walkerville (in the Old GM Transmission Plant) and they’ve lined up a whole bunch of local dealers to fill it up. http://www.rvpowersportevent.com/ Yet, the showroom space in the Candarel building remains vacant, as it has for years. What’s going on here?? Why can’t the showroom space in the Candarel building be filled up by one of these dealers? Is it just really crappy marketing on the part the property managers of the Candarel building? I hope the city is not somehow on the hook financially for that space being empty.
Do they have 75,000 sq ft of showroom space at the Candarel building? I imagine being able to drag in stuff like big honkin’ cabin cruisers and 40 ft. travel trailers is a consideration (ie. height as well as floor space).
Did I say Candarel had 75,000 sq ft. of space? The motorsport show has 30+ dealers occupying the 75,000+ sq ft.. So, if they can get 30+ dealers to pay for space at that show, why can’t they get 1-2 dealers to display their vehicles at the Candarel space? I’m sure 1-2 of those 30+ would be interested if the property managers got off their incredibly lazy asses and made inquiries.
Well most trade shows aren’t held at split locations a few miles apart from each other. If part of it was in the old armouries I suppose it would be doable being walkable and all, but not this way.
It’s not really “showroom” space in 1 Riverside Drive–it’s vacant retail space–though I suppose it could get a rough finish and be used as exhibition space–nonetheless that won’t happen given both the proximinity to the Non-Cleary and the soon-to-bow Caesars facility.
Speaking of Autoshows, I wrote about the Detroit one, but mostly the Toronto one, in a piece this week:
http://www.eyeweekly.com/city/features/article/18711
The models are pre-1986. That was the the Center High Mount Stop Light (CHMSL) was legislated, and they do not appear on these models.