Here’s an old postcard from the early 1960’s, that I don’t think was ever posted to the site before. To me the most interesting part of the card is the bottom half, with the view of Wyandotte/Ouellette. The green TD bank in the lower right was designed by Johnson & McWhinnie in 1959, so the card is at least from 1960.
At one point there was a plan to add an extra two floors to the top of the building. The plans for the addition are available in the archives in the Johnson-McWhinnie collection. The building was recently sold, after sitting empty since the TD bank left, anyone have any idea about future plans for the building?
I always loved that view down Ouellette and across the river …
I think that is the maple leaf flag above the SWA bus and again in front of the TD building, it was adopted in Feb 1965 so this must dat from at least that time.
I don’t know of any plans for the former TD at Wyandotte and Ouellette, but while we are on the topic of downtown, I noticed quite a bit of construction going on at the former Shoppers Drug Mart further down the street after sitting untouched for years. Does anybody know what the plan is for that location?
The flag over the bus has green and red in the center field, appears square ends, not a leaf.
Richard
If you expand it on a good monitor and look carefully you will see that the flag over the bus has a street sign with some green lettering in front of it and some shadow in the center of it from the partly furled position as it flaps but the only colours are red and white. The bottom sharp edge of one side of the maple leaf can be seen as well as the one of the middle, side lobes.
I increased the flag one thousand percent (1000%) only sign is below flag no left turn.I think my monitor is good .
When you expanded did you notice there was no green on the flag, yes it is the no left turn sign I was referring to it has the only green remotely close to the flag. When it was expanded did you also notice the red in the center field is very clearly does not have square ends.
There are two cars in the photo that are from the mid sixties.
as far as the TD building i think it has a sold sign on it…no hang on i’m thinking of the old TIMMYS at Giles and Ouellette has the sold sign on it don’t know what’s in store for it i hope they don’t tuen it into another bar it’s nice to see the Bank of Commerce still on the corner
The TD bank not the Hortons
The Seaway Inn, seen in the background was built in the sixties, and Tamblyn’s drug store on the corner in front of the bus was renovated in the mid sixties as well, but I can’t remember the exact dates for those buildings.
NIce to see the shot of the old Boblo boat on the top portion of the card someone told me the detroit Princess is built from one of the old Boblo boats Aaron do you have any info on this ??
The white car behind the taxi is either a early chevy Nova or a chevy 2 i wondr if thats a vets cab it looks like a dodge maybe
Gary, the Bob-Lo ship shown is the S.S. Columbia. She and her sister ship, the S.S. Ste. Claire, are both currently tied up at the Great Lakes Steel dock at Ecorse, Michigan. The Detroit Princess was built in 1993 at the Leevac Shipyard in Jennings, Louisiana.
Hey are you guys sleeping? Given recent trends in contemporary urban renewal, Windsor style, the green TD at the famous intersection of Wyandotte and Ouellette will be replaced by a flat sheet of asphalt.
Ted, as far as I know, Columbia has been shipped to New York and will be restored and used for cruises on the Hudson, leaving from Manhatten. Lucky girl.
Ste. Claire is still moored in Ecorse however, under going a very slow restoration of her own, with the hopes of getting back on her old stomping grounds.
Gary, I had always been under the impression Detroit Princess was actually the Northern Belle, if you remember her from the Casino. Then one day I noticed Detroit Princess doesn’t have a paddle wheel on the back like Northern Belle did. I started looking into it and the Belle was towed down to Lakeshore Missisippi, and apparently dissapeared when Katrina hit that area hard.
Who knows, she may be floating around the Gulf of Mexico right now. If she made it to the Atlantic, I would imagine she has sunk.
I know, I totally went off topic 🙂
One Woodward Avenue is visible in Detroit as well, so it’s definitely no earlier than 1962.
Aaron no problem thanks for the info and thank you Ted someone i don’t recall who! mentioned that they heard it was one of the old Boblo boats but the princess is a sidewheeler i remember about 10 years ago i was with a friend on his boat and one of them was tied up at a slip on th detroit side it looked like it has been there awhile the canvas panels they put on the higher outer deck area’s and the curtains in the bathrooms almost at water level were all shedded from age it kind of reminded me of an old haunted boat but it was sad to see such a nice old boat just sitting there rusting away
Aaron, check out http://www.sscolumbia.org and see the latest news about the ship. Search for Ecorse, Michigan on http://www.maps.google.com and you’ll see the two Bob-Lo boats tied up together at Great Lakes Steel. Given her advanced state of deterioration, a trip to Manhattan might be a tad ambitious. Hopefully someday they’ll both be doing “Moonlight Cruises” again.
Aaron, you are right on! I just read the sscolumbia site and note that it has a NYC address. How does that Homer Simpson groan go? DOH!!
I know that the extra 2 floors have gotten the green light. The floors closest to the ground will serve as soup kitchens/welfare offices/government funded Tim Hortons. The floor immediately above will serve as the supercomputer server room for the new Hydro Smart-Meters and will employ 24 self picked CAW computer techs who will learn on the job training appointed by Mr. Dwight Duncan. And the top floor will be Mr. Duncan’s campaign headquarters, not only for the coming provincial election, but also the federal and Liberal party Leader Seat as well.
Does anyone know what that is between the Boblo Boat and the Bridge? It looks like the frames of a pair of very large buildings, but I can’t see anything that matches today.
Those ‘frames’ are what was called gasonomter (or similar name) used to store natural gas, Union Gas had one on Howard Ave at the corner of the west bound exit and Third Con..They seemed to disapper in the sixties, or seventies. The ones on the postcard card are nearly empty, when full tank would expand to top of frame.