Back over to Ouellette and Elliott where the building eaters went to work Friday afternoon.
They started on the south side of the building on the old Mother’s Pizza side, smashing though the middle. This photo is from about 4:00 pm Friday.
I paid a retun visit Saturday afternoon, to check on the status. No one was around, but they kept working Friday after I left, demolising the entire front portion of the building.
I always liked the brickwork on the former Joker’s night club building.
Upon closer inspection, the bricks are an optical illusion, meant to look like Flemish Bond bircks with darker headers, the look is acheived though use of regular bricks with a raised texture in the middle of the brick.
Next door at the Mother’s buiding, intersting bricks can also be found…
Another view…
While we were out shooting, a gentelman on Pelissier offered to let us up on his balcony to shoot a few elevated photos.
A view form the south side.
A relic from the past, a brick from the the Jules Robinet Brickyards of Sandwich. The Robinet brickyard went out of business during the depression.
Those intersting bricks on the Joker’s building were brought light as the earlier building came down. They were manuafactured by the Brazil Clay Company of Brazil, IN.
The north side of the building revealed a small glimpse of an old painted sign. Too bad the Joker’s building didn’t come down first, then we would have had a chance to see the old sign…
A final view of the interior of the Mother’s Building. Is this still the old Mother’s decor? If you look closeley you can even see where the pictures were hung on the wall.
..and another one bites the dust. But for what I have to ask? More stucco’ed buildings and a parking lot?
The Jokers building was a good one with lots of potential.
Sign.
That should say “Sigh”. But it is a sign, too.
I noticed this while driving down Ouellette Saturday night with other family members. One of them couldn’t believe something was finally happening with the site, even if it was demolition. I remember the inside of Mothers as dark, though it was probably due to the lighting (zthe only concrete memory I have of the restaurant was that it was the only place my Mom could indulge in cinnamon ice cream).
I never had the chance to visit that particular Mother’s–but having been in a handful of other locations I would bet that is still the Mother’s wallpaper–it seems to follow the “old- fashioned” decor they had in their restaurants.
On that wallpaper shot you can also see the outline of the ledge that ran around the restaurant. The ledge used to be decorated with antique type stuff like old radios, lamps, etc. Mothers was the place our parents would take us to for birthdays and stuff like that. Great pizza and yes, ice cream too.
and the demoliton continues today (Monday) as the Mother’s building is gone.
Anyone have any idea if anything is going to replace this?
I believe a network of yellow painted lines is the most likely candidate.
I have heard both a parking lot and a strip mall… take your pick I suppose…
Did you manage to get a Robinet brick?
No Rich, there was no one on site, and the fence was a little too secure.. 🙂
Seeing that interior of the Mothers Pizza brings back memeries of one of the first pizza joints I ate at as a kid more than 20 years ago, was the mothers building vacant all these years after it closed or was it used for somthing else??
The owners of Jokers purchased the old Mother’s building with intent to open a restaurant.The city fathers denied them a business permit with claims that Joker’s was going to annex the building for expansion.
I am one of Jules Robinet’s great grandchildren and am interested in obtaining some of his old bricks. Who can I contact to retrieve some of these?
I am Annette “A.P” Robinet’s granddaughter……my parents, aunts/uncles have a few of the bricks from various demo’s within the windsor area. Unfortunately I am not sure how they got them but I wll ask around for you. Who are you related to in the family?
I am Annette “A.P” Robinet’s granddaughter……my parents, aunts/uncles have a few of the bricks from various demo’s within the windsor area. Unfortunately I am not sure how they got them but I wll ask around for you. Who are you related to in the family?
If you find out how to get a hold of a few Robinet bricks please let me know. I am a great-great grandchild. One of Germaine’s grandchildren. Ellen’s eldest son.
I am Julia Robinet (Jacquot)’s granddaughter. Julia was Jules’ daughter.
im a great grand son,my dad is laurier,son of wilfred. there are plenty of bricks still around ,some never used id youd like one gimme a ring , and leave a message. it makes me very happy to see the amount of people interested in my family heritage. Jeremie 519 890 5498. i would also like to learn more too.
I am also a great grandson of Jules Robinet, Jules is my grand mother Lucille Becigneul(Robinet)father. and my mother Antoinette’s grand father, she is a Becigneul. I am interested in obtaining a few Robinet bricks, I have see several that said “Robinet” on the brick, I would love to get a couple of these. The ones I have only have “JR” on them. In fact in 1999 I built the house I am currently living in, I had the mason lay a “JR” brick near the front door. If anyone has some please contact me. arta48220@yahoo.com 248-640-1616
I am a historian working at Glendon College (York University) in Toronto, but I grew up in Windsor. I am presently studying the story of French immigrants in Ontario. Would any of you have any detailed information on the Robinet family and Jules in particular that I could make use of?
Dr. Jack Cecillon
Please contact me at jack.cecillon@sympatico.ca
I guess none of the readers of this story remember the older, and longer lasting tenants of this corner. Rose Furniture,(also owned the Rose Bowl bowling alley) and A & P. These buishnes lasted a lot longer than Mothers or any of the bars. Mothers was started in London On., and later sold to Mike Elitch, Little Ceasers, Red Wings, Tigers.
Their was another Mothers on Tecumseh Rd. east, latlety a pet store now for sale.
Jack, the only thing I know at the moment is that he was very popular in old Sandwich town and basically supplied all the bricks in town. He built some row houoses in Sandwich also.
I know there’s a whole lot more. Let me see if i have any thing around and I’ll e-mail you.
It might be a couple days though since i don’t have a computer at home.
I’ll get back to you one way or another.
I believe Leon’s furniture also occupied the Joker’s corner before building out by the mall Circa 1975.
Richard you are right. I forgot about Mother’s on Tecumseh Rd east of Jefferson. Corbett Pets is there now. Before Corbetts it was the Grizzly Steak House (hence the Bear on the front) and before that Mother’s Pizza.
Richard, Yes, I remember Rose Furniture! Owner Archie Rose was the landlord of the house we lived in on Pelissier, and I remember walking with my mother as a little boy to that store when she went to pay our rent.
My name is Angie Robinet and I am the grand daughter of Henry Robinet, son of Emile Robinet, son of Jules Robinet. My grand father, Henry, has a brick. He also had one of the original wine barrels and a demijohn. Unfortunately I haven’t seen the barrel or the demijohn since I was a little girl. Henry still makes wine though. Of special concern for those of you interested in the Robinet family history, I have a copy of some of Jules’ diary enteries. I also have a family reunion photography dated back to the earily 1900’s. The back drop for the photograph is the Robinet Manor once located on the property which us Windsorites now call the west end ghetto. Jules built serval housing units on his property. During the depression his tenants were unable to pay their rent and taxes. In good faith Jules sold off the land and brick company to pay back taxes. His brothers moved to Tecumseh and opened a grocery store. Jules then returned to France. There were many family relicts, but all have since been scattered amoungst his children and now the great-great grandchildren.
Our family needs to have a family reunion.
angierobinet@gmail.com