Happy Friday once again, and this time a long weekend to boot. Today’s photo is another old Detroit News image, this one having been shot from Detroit, in January, 1963. Looks like it ran in the paper Jan. 22, 1963, it features the car ferry “Windsor” making it’s way across the river. The Windsor entered service in 1856.
A nice view of many long gone buildings. The British-American Hotel, the old CIBC Building, Smith’s Department Store, and the old Windsor Opera House. Many buildings lost…
Car experts, I call on you once again… What is that on the ferry? Obviously, cars heading to the US, were they the output of Windsor Assembly in 1963?
Have a good Easter weekend everyone.
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What is that on the ferry?…
I will say one thing here to start it all off… There’s nuthin’ on that ferry that wasn’t Made in North America.
Hard to tell for sure but those vehicles look like Ford products. Perhaps Ford 500’s or
fairlanes or even Galaxies. Chrysler cars of that vintage had a very distinct look. Think Belvedere and Valiant.
“Windsor Opera House!” That’s worth researching, I never heard of an Opera house in Windsor!
Regarding the Windsor Opera House, according to Morrison’s “Garden Gateway” [pub. 1954], “Windsor’s Opera House (now the C. H. Smith Auditorium), built following the Great Fire of 1871, did not prove to be a success financially. It was closed August 9, 1901, by the owner, Mayor Davis, and the city was left without a concert hall.” Interesting the idea of a department store hosting a live entertainment centre. Reminds me of the Eaton Auditorium in Toronto.
Interesting about the Windsor Opera Hoause! This page always sparks such great exchanges of information! Keep up the great inspiration, Andrew 🙂 Also interesting is the slogan on the sign Detroiters would have seen: “Shop Stay Save Play”……
Those cars would be… boxcars! Sorry, April Fool’s was yesterday but had to get that one in there. 😉
The sight of those lost buildings makes me sick……
There is something in the distance, to the left of the tunnel ventilation building, that appears to be a smokestack. Anyone know what that is?
Judging by the angle and the distance, I’m guessing the smokestack is rising out of the old industrial corridor somewhere along McDougall, perhaps south of Erie?
wow cool picture ! wish it was still here
WIE – i think that stack belongs to the old Hupp Auto factory at Giles and McDougal, now known as Vital produce. If it’s the same stack it must have had it’s upper reaches removed at somepoint, or rebuilt all together.
great look at the city Andrew!
Thanks
As time passes, people forget that the Windsor waterfront was a working watwerfront from the ferry slips to Walkerville, with the Pere Marquette/Wabash/N&W and the GTW/CN ferry slips and the CN/Pere Marquette roundhouse all along the shoreline. I found this website, and if you scroll down about halfway, there’s a picture of the Windsor ferry slip taken about 1910, with a link to a photo of the same area taken in 1973.
http://www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains/CPR_London/history_Main.htm
The other thing I really liked about the post was the old “Stop – Stay – Save – Play” sign that as a kid, I considered as much a landmark at the Parke-Davis or Canadian Club signs along the waterfront. Nice post that brought back a lot of memories……
Aaron – The Produce place is the old International Playing Cards Building:
View Larger Map
The old Hupp Factory is the United Way building.
View Larger Map
To me that is one of teh biggest losses downtown; The opera house. Now we have an ugly hotel and for most of the property….can you guess it?
A parking lot!
Welcome to parking lot Windsor!
oh! i thought both builings were one big complex.
Thanks Andrew!
Doug – the ferry slip in that postcard would be just west of the Caron Ave pump station. just an FYI.
Aaron….
…..I don’t know the Windsor waterfront anywhere near as well as Detroit so I don’t know where the Caron Avenue pump station was in relation to downtown, so you can correct (please) if I’m wrong here. Wasn’t the Wabash/Norfolk & Western ferry slip closer to downtown Windsor than the CN slip? Memory says the last time I was in the area (1995) the pilings and apron for the slips was still in place.
As to the ferries themselves, just before I moved to Colorado in 1972, both the N&W and CN had converted all their ferries to tug powered barges. I don’t know why the N&W made the conversion, but the GTW did it for a practical reason. The Lansdowne blew a piston. A fireman on the Lansdowne recounts the story here. It’s the second post on the page….
http://www.railroadforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11009&page=6
Doug, this would have been a CP slip coming out of their “little yard”. i guess if you drew a line right across the river from the “Riverfront towers” i think they’re called, just west of Joe Louis, with the marina. anyhow, If you drew a line stight across you would hit the slip in the postcard. A look on google maps will show you the shape of the slips are still in the seawall. if you remember where the giant red and white CBC tower was, it’s right there.
As for the N&W slip, they’re still there across from the Spirit of Windsor and relativly preserved.
I keep forgetting you don’t live anywhere near us!
Got it. Thank you.
Doug that was a good story from the fella whoworkd on the Lansdowne it would have been nice if they could have kept the rail barges in their original slips i remember them crossing the river when i was a kid
does anyone know the exact area that the PM/CO had their ferry slip was it farther east near Hiram walkers??
Gary – i’m pretty sure C&O’s slip was at the foot of Glengarry st. not really that far from the others.