Over on Felix Avenue in Windsor’s west side, you’ll find another classic old school building. Today known as J.L. Forster Secondary School.
The building was designed by an architect named Andrew Johnston Riddell in 1922. Riddell is a bit of an interesting man… Born and educated in Scotland, he moved to Canada in 1904 settling in Winnipeg. He moved to Windsor in 1918, and died in 1924. This is his only known work in Windsor.
As the area changed, so did the original building. Wings were added on each side.
But the original section remains in great shape. When it originally opened it was called General Byng School. As Sandwich was a community that was growing, they were always adding to the school system. It started with the construction of General Brock School, followed by the Prince of Wales. The local school board noted a need for a public secondary school, as well as extra capacity for primary school children, so the General Byng School opened in 1922, serving both primary and secondary school students.
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“The council at Sandwich, Ont., recently granted the Sandwich Board of Public School Trustees the sum of $266,041 for the construction of a new 10 room school on Felix Avenue. The new school will be equipped with a gymnasium and auditorium and will be modern in every respect. The general contract has been awarded to the Windsor Construction Co.”
– The Contract Record, October 25, 1922
The school building was eventually renamed in honour of an early principal, John L. Forster.
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