This house was located on the corner of Church and Vera, one block north of Wyandotte St.
I was reminded of this house the other day when I drove down Church St. past the now vacant lot, and stumbled across this photo the other day while looking for a photo of the Nisbet Inn.
I took this photo in late 2001. The house despite being chopped up into four or five apartments, still retained elements of its once glorious past. Sadly a few years back (maybe around 2004/2005?) the place went up in flames, and today it’s just another vacant lot in the core.
I looked at purchasing that house in about 2007/2008. At that time it still had original stained and leaded glass. The interior still had the original coal fireplace and mantle but most of the trim was in bad shape. The pocket doors were nailed into the walls and could have been re-used but most of the doors were long gone as well.
When it was converted into rooms and somewhat apartments (the main floor was rooms only with the kitchen and bath shared but walls were haphazardly put up) they did a butcher job. Still the bones were relatively decent (except for a bit of work on the foundation) and with about $20-25,000 it could have been a fabulous house. The only issue was the area is quite terrible due to high drug use.
areas such as this in other cities would have been gentrified years ago but in Windsor there is no plan to try and do just that since most of these areas are still deemed mixed-use. The taxes that are generated for the city with the high millage rate for mixed-use deters the gentrification because the only way to recoup costs is to make more of these grand homes into rooming houses or apartments for very low income people.
I believe this has been one fo the foolish practices of this city. To turn away from what could be jewels for our downtown. Without the city helping to tout these areas and push for gentrification our downtown will always have a ring of very low income areas to the detriment of downtown and the rest of the city.
Well said – any other city would be looking after these core areas and trying keep these heritage houses from falling into disrepair.
agreed, very well said! it is too bad the city turned their backs on these neighbourhoods. the city needs to relaize what we have before it’s too late. it’s not hard to imagine what these hoods were like in the early part of the last century….i guess for people like us anyways.
to others it’s just another rundown windsor neighbourhood. the core should not in anyway look like this. if visitors knew that the city had spent time and money making these places right they would be attracted to walking thru the hoods and looking at the beautiful houses that are downtown. which in turn could bring more out of town buisness to the places along wyndotte and university. i know when i go to london i certainly don’t stick to the main strips downtown, i go out and look at the history.
thanks andrew, she was a beautiful home.