Today we had back in time to the corner of the Elliott and Goyeau, where the former Patterson C.I. stood from 1888 until it was demolished in 1979. The School closed in 1973. Photo above dates to 1961.
A post card view of the school prior to construction of the annex. The annex was built in 1917. This postcard was postmarked 1905.
From a photo album dated 1920, here is a shot of the school.
And the annex, also from 1920.
From the August 6, 1936 issue of the Windsor Daily Star:
TO RAZE TOWERS FORTY YEARS OLD
The two remaining towers on the Patterson Collegiate Institute, which have been standing for forty years, will be leveled off within the next few weeks. One of the two towers is shown above, over the entrance. The main tower, in front of the Collegiate, was removed several years ago. The towers have become dangerous, and school board officials decided to authorize their removal.
Towerless Patterson can been seen in the photo below, c. 1974.
Despite the school closing in 1973, the alumni still held the 120th anniversary reunion this past summer in Windsor. There are some neat photos on their site, including the one above.
The site is still on-line if you’re interested in checking it out.
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Andrew, when I was writing my original post I was going to mention that the school was replaced by a parking lot, but I deleted that section. Well, it can't be just a Windsor thing, or we wouldn't have the song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgMEPk6fvpg).
Thank you for the information on the precursor to St. Clair College.
ME, I am having trouble following your logic with regard to school boards. Schools are built in places where people locate, not the other way around. How could a school board know which area is going to be desirable for residents? You don't build a school and then hope people will come. The only school I know of that is out in the middle of nowhere is Villanova (did I spell that right?). Even there, I would imagine the school was centrally placed to serve the surrounding communities, not to drag people out to the school.
You are right when you say that closing schools has an impact on the surrounding community. However, the question of why a school is closed has to be asked. Dougall, for example, was re-built. In the places where schools are closed the number of children is so low as to make the school inviable. All the wishing in the world won't change that, and the school board can't bleed money waiting for residents to come back. It ain't romantic, but it comes down to money -- one half-full school has to be closed to fill another one. Choosing which school to close is never easy.
By the way, if you have any evidence to the contrary, please post it so I can look at it, too.
You bet it's a shame Patterson was closed in '73 and razed in '80,eight short years before its centennial.
I attended from 1966''71,and as I had myriad problems-extreme OCD,co-ordination isses and small size-in Grade Thirteen at 18 in Oct.1971,I was,as now 5'8'',but just 130 lb.(I'm 205-214 lb. with 17.25'' biceps today0
juxtaposed to a 154 IQ-genius level-I needed and received MUCH AID from virtually all staff and most fellow students.(Incidentally,one Grade Thirteen teacher told me she found me EXTREMELY handsome,an opinion most Windsor ladies hold of me two generations later at age 57!!!)
Hi: I'm doing some Family History Research on my Great Uncle Arthur James Horrell who use to attend Patterson Collegiate Institute in Windsor from 1933-1938. My Great Uncle grew up in Windsor and I was wondering if there was anyone in the area who possibly has a year book from that time period? Feel free to contact me at gmorley@rogers.com if you are able to help in any way. I think it's great that old pictures such as the ones on this site are still around because history like this is hard to come by anymore.
Nicole, did you try the link at the bottom of the article for the alumni association? The 125th reunion will be in September.
Hi: I posted a message on here back in 2014 with regards to doing some research on my Great Uncle (Arthur James Horrell)
My Great Uncle attended Patterson Collegiate Institute in Windsor starting from 1933-1938
I was wondering if there was anyone who possibly had a year book from that time period that they would be willing to share with me?
My hope is that by tracking down a year book I might be able to find a few pictures of my Great Uncle.
Please feel free to contact me at 722scotland@gmail.com
Thanks ?