Another Friday, and another week over. Today’s photo is part of a series of photos all marked “Gambling” on the back, and all dated February 28, 1948. This one shows the store front of Du Barry Frocks at 55 London St (today University W.)
A sign of the times on the front door. “The Army Needs Men”, left over from WWII?
Here’s the same location today. Not surprising, as it is Windsor, the building is long gone.
The building we see today seems to have some age to it.I’ve always had the impression that everything we see here and wraping around the corner south to the garage, was just the ground floor of a larger building who’s upper floors were removed for one reason or another.
I guess its a little far fetched now that I type it out lol
But they do seem 40’s or 60’s to me, with the way the display windows are and such.
Maybe the building pictured burned. I can’t see why you’d raze a larger building and build a bunch of single leveled ones.
Hmmmm.
Thanks for the picture Andrew!
Right Andrew. Long gone and replaced with our version of stucco for the 1970s…pea-stone facade. This building, the old bus station and the Metropolitan Building have beeen covered with this garbage. I wonder what people will say in 40 years about the horrible stucco we put on today’s structures.
Anyone remember when there was, I think, a shoe repair place around the corner and part of the current fur shop building? Its doorway/entrance/front window actually fronted on the alley itself.
At least it’s not a parking lot 🙂
Progress is needed in Windsor, and every city like ours. Change might require tearing down old inefficient buildings, but what sprouts in it’s place usually reflects progress and hope for the future. Romanticism may disagree with change, but common sense says we need to move forward.
..EF, yes change is needed but not in the the form of plastic/stucco crapola. Common sense says to value our built environment. not until then will we see progress….
Indeed Aaron, it did have a 2nd and 3rd floor at one time. On one of those floors there was the Halcyon School of Music, where I took guitar lessons in the early 60’s.
Why can’t newer buildings be built to resemble older ones? Bring back the great brick-work and round top windows with curved brick frames!!!
Buildings can be made to look like older ones but it can cost more than many owners/landlords are willing to pay. (“New Old Town” Novi comes to mind) If it is not well done it can look like some Disney-world version of old buildings which can be worse than pea-stucco. I would not mind modern style buildings but avoiding something which is dated quickly can be a challenge.
The reference to gambling on the pictures is explained by this article from The Windsor Daily Star, Dec 3 1945
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aiE_AAAAIBAJ&sjid=uk8MAAAAIBAJ&dq=55%20london%20street&pg=2299%2C341238
Apparently there was a horse race betting parlour that was busted by the city police morality squad on the second floor. The “morality squad”?
Seattle should be used as a model for change. It is one of the most dynamic cities in North America. Modern, yet still keeps its old world charm intact. It is soooo cool to see and visit the pubs and reteraunts from early 1900’s yet, be in a big modern city. They did it right
Joe, I agree on Seattle. What a beautiful city. The streets were SO CLEAN, too. I went to an old Speakeasy called Bathtub Gin. It was tiny, and the entrance was in the alley, and the bartender was a true mix-master. He was originally from Michigan, actually. He didn’t pour liquor & mixer and serve it, he made real drinks with complicated recipes. It was really impressive.
The “Morality Squad” sounds like an early version of the Vice Squad.