A few photo’s of the Breaktime Lounge on Drouillard. These photos were sent my way yesterday from my Dad who caught this while cruising past.
Some of the metal cladding either came off or was removed. Not sure which, but underneath the old brick and tile became exposed.
I bet there are many beauties trapped under ugly metal cladding. Metal cladding was the stucco of the 1970’s. 🙂
Have a good weekend everyone, see you back here Monday. Big thanks to my Dad for stopping to grab a few shots of this place.
It really does make you wonder what kinds of beauties are under all this garbage, doesn’t it?
I still don’t understand why places that have a place for a flag, don’t fly a flag.
On a Droulliard related note: this place had a pretty signifignt fire the other day.
http://goo.gl/maps/M21TK
Hope she’s alright.
What era does that tile and brick date back to I wonder?
Probably 1920s since that was the boom of the area. But if it was bit remodeled it would or could have been 1950s. Hard to tell without getting up close.
Andrew is right about metal siding being the stucco of the 1970s. It’s why City Hall uses it so much…their thinking is mired in that ugly decade.
I may have had my first legal beer in that place, it used to be the Rex tavern back in the late 70’s was still original then, later went on to other names Tricia’s being one.
Was this the old East Windsor Tavern? Used to work at Ford’s in the early 70s. Lunchtime was beer time and the many taverns along Drouillard always had tables full of beer waiting when the magic hour came. The blond brick and glazed tile facing were wonderful and inviting. What twisted aesthetic would cover it up with repellant sheet metal?
I did a little research and there was lot of tiling done in the 50’s and 60’s. It was referred to sometimes as modern architecture.
Actually, 1118 Drouillard Rd. I’m looking at the 1923 city directory, and am wondering if this was Dubensky Bros Hardware. Some handsome tile work.
Take it all off!
my brother worked there as a bouncer back in the 70’s when it was called the REX he was saying they tried to improve the image abit by requiring men to remove their hats when they came in but i guess he was running all over the place trying to get these old piss tanks from Drouillard to take their hats off because alot of them wouldn’t do it heheh!!
That must have been a window where the other bricks are above the tiles?
Gord, it probably was. But at some point there was a law stating any place that served booze couldn’t have windows facing the street.
Just stumbled upon this site. Fantastic. I appreciate the effort put forth. I’m Windsorite in Californian exile for the last 20 years.
I’m not sure if I remember it correctly but I thought there was glass block where modern brick has replaced the window.
12o7 Drouillard housed my family’s business for over 50 years. Ford Provision Market.. corner of Ontario. End of the corner grocery store.
Sheryl, I’m assuming that’s the building that still stands next to this one that was taken down. There is a mural on the side of the remaining building, with what looks like a small market, or grocery store. Is that supposed to be that same building in its heyday, or just a generic building. Do you know?
Windsorite-in-exile, I know who would do such a stupid thing as put metal siding on a building…city hall!
Sheryl, my mistake, I was confused about which Drouillard building this article was about. This one still stands. It’s the old Whiski Jack’s that has come down.
1207 Drouillard (With the Prohibition Mural) is currently sitting derelict with extensive water damage due to the fire at Whiski Jack’s. It cannot go on the City’s Blight List because it is zoned commercial and they do not include commercial properties.
In the 80s, this joint was known as Trisha’s. Today, having sat through hundreds of city council, planning commission and school board meetings, I wonder how local government officials allowed a strip bar to built 25 yards from an elementary school. Then again, I never felt that giving a **** about Drouillard Road was high on anyone’s priority list.
Of course, several times a month, on the way home from school, my friends and I would poke sneak up to the door, open it, take two steps into the darkness and then go running. When we stopped, we’d talked about all the beautiful naked women we saw — except I never did. Going from daylight to darkness, my eyes never adjusted fast enough to see anything.
I grew up right across from the Queensmen Motorcycle Clubhouse, which is now a printshop. Not counting the motorcycle club, there were 7 taverns within a two block radius of my home — a truly incredible number — including the great Mongo Murph’s, which was a giant, cavernous bar. In our grade 8 local history class at the now shuttered Holy Rosary, we learned that Mongo Murph’s once had a different name (can’t remember it now) and that it was once the busiest bar in southwestern Ontario back in the days of Ford City.
Tron> Before it was Mongos(advertised as the best dive bar in town)it was the Great Western(complete with mechanical bull) and before that it was the Temple(lotsa “worshipers” there I bet )
Bars of Drouillard as best I can remember, starting on west side of street nearest to Wyandotte:
Palace–demo’ed in 90’s
Temple/Great Western/Mongos
Yesterdays—is Aggie still around?
Detroit House
crossing the street,
East Windsor/Lannys
Rex/Trishas
IT–International Tavern
Also on Whelpton was Floridas
After hours/bonus watering holes:
Queensmen clubhouse
Donnys Supper club—-ie.bootlegger
Judy’s Dump—-ie. bootlegger
Oh yes, the warm beer from the bootleggers at 2 a.m.
Good memory Bob. Judy was my friend’s mom.
As rough as the hood was, it had life when I grew up. Always kids all over the place. But the closing of Holy Rosary school and Holy Rosary Church really hurt what was actually a pretty tight community.
I had my very first bar experience at this place. 3 pitchers which got me wasted back when it was Betty’s breaktime lounge! Good times.
Bob C i belive u talking abt my mother Aggie. It used to be called bettys brake time at the time my mother Aggie and my stepfather Balazs owned it back in the 90s. They moved to la sale and now in little river. They doing fine .
>I like/respected your Mom, she could be tough as nails and as soft as cotton…