I’ve always liked this building at the south west corner of Hanna & Parent. I like how it has a mix of architectural elements that are not found in other apartments around town.
I don’t have any information on it, other than it doesn’t show up in the 1924 directory (in fact there is nothing built on the west side of Parent, between Ottawa and Hanna), but it does show up on the 1937 Fire Insurance map.
If I had to guess, I would think it was built around 1927-1929.
I like the little copper roofed awning over the door along Parent Ave.
I also like the stone trim on the corner. According to the Fire Insurance map, the first two spaces along Parent were originally retail spaces.
I bet it looked much better with the original doors and windows. However, it’s still a good looking building, and a unique part of our heritage.
This building looks like it’s maintained well, really good picture. As far as the replacement windows go i’ll take those over that dog ugly stucco that’s been showing up everywhere lately.
I was wondering how we would move the conversation over to stucco today 😉
I believe but not 100% certain that the owner of this building is the same owner of the Grier Apartments, the first apartment houses, built in Walkerville.
Just wanted to add that the Grier apartments were bulit by none other than Charles Chilver (of Chilver road fame). He also built the building where SOHO and Peerless is and his house and horse stables still exist to this day.
His plot of land ran to Tecumseh rd from the Detroit river which was given to his mother (or grand-mother, I can’t remember) by the British Empire for her husbands duty in the War of 1812.
The name Grier is her last name and he named it in her honour. He subsequently passed away in the lower 3 bedroom apartment where he lived in old age.
The building is interesting, but the elements don’t seem to match up very well. That balcony and door beneath; the basement windows on the left and larger first floor windows; the air conditioning hole in one place and nowhere else. Seems odd. A “mix of architectural elements,” as you said.
Some buildings off the top of my head that I found attractive would include the Granada on Giles. I really like that building, having visited many times. Another that I drive by and wonder about is the large, old apartment building on the South-East side of Hanna and Ouellette. And there is one on Goyeau, between Hanna and Shepherd. It sits on the East side, among the single dwelling homes. Driving by, I always found it beautiful.
ME thats great info about Charles Chilver. I saw a picture of him on horseback riding on what was then the intersection of Susan Avenue and Wyandotte. In the foreground you can see the back of the building that has SOHO and Peerless as tenents now. It looks pretty much the same, except the road isnt paved. Susan Avenue became Victoria Road then Chilver Road, in honour of the man himself.
Brendan, it only became Chilver by default.
When Windsor merged with its neighbours, Ford City, Walkerville and Sandwich in 1935, there were some duplications in street names. Since Windsor already had a Victoria downtown, Walkerville’s Victoria had to go! Wyandotte St east of Walker Rd from Strabane on used to be called Ottawa St. That changed once the underpasses went in, making Wyandotte a street across the city.
I have a map of Windsor from 1937 that still shows Chilver as Victoria Rd. The amalgamation occured in 1935, so it looks like it took a few years to sort that out.
As a side note, along with renaming, came renumbering. In 1937 every house in the city was issued a new house number on an enamled steel plaque. If you drive through the city, you’ll note a lot of those 71 year old numbers still in place…
Ahhhhhh I see. I have a Vernon’s city directory for the years 1919-1920 on my computer. I noticed the street names that were similar in every borough at the time, for example it would list an address as being on victoria rd (walkerville) as opposed to Victoria Avenue (Windsor), etc.
I also found out my great-grandmother`s first address in Windsor, as she had moved to Windsor from Hayward`s Heath, England that year, and I found out my great-grandfather`s address in Ford City at the time as well. His occupation was listed as `Worker-Ford Motor Company of Canada“. This guide was made about a year before they had met. Really cool stuff, and a great reference guide as well. It has everyone`s name, address and occupation listed. Plus, it is packed with a TON of great old adverts from that era.
If you are ever on the corner of Windermere and Richmond, look down and you will notice in the pavement on the north east side an engraving that says “Huron Street”. It is barely legible, but you can make it out. That gives away Richmond`s original name, when it was an east-west lane in Old Walkerville. I also read somewhere that Walker Road was called Third Street a way back when…..
Hi Andrew…I grew up just a few doors down from this building (as you probably already know form the posts on the old substation) The building used to (and probably still does) have the name Schincariol carved into it over one of the portions of the building…. the Schincariols had a market on the corner of Hanna and Elsmere for a long time (my mom worked there my place was kitty corner) The south part of that building is a HUGE apartment on the lower floor with a gigantic porch….I remember a s a kid Ms. Schincariol always out there…telling us not to ride our bikes across the yard LOL…. I also used to hang out with a kid who lived in one of the upper apts…..
Anyway….thats a bit of history that may help find some more somewhere for you…sorry I can’t help with much more…
on that note…on Elsmere about half way between Hanna and Tecumseh road on the West side there was another large house with a large garage in the back..the garage also had the name Schincariol painted in block letters above the door…..
The Schincariols eventually sold the market to another family in the area…… and sadly the market is now closed down…as did the substation, and the old Airforce club and the ETR line all with in 200 feet of eachother ….. the area is pretty much a dead zone now…aside from ABC nursery, Ontario Spring and Alignment and the Windsor Fence Co……
hope this was usefulll…