The old Highway Tavern at the corner of Wyandotte and Dougall, which oddly enough actually has a Dougall Avenue municipal address, is likely not long for this world. This old place, built into a large old residential property, recently had a demolition permit requested. The 1923 directory lists it as a side by side duplex, while the 1937 fire maps show it as the Highway Hotel. It probably became a tavern about the time that prohibition was repealed, and it looks like it kept its name the whole time.
Traces of the building’s past can still be seen up top.
The building run half a block long, from the alley to Dougall along Wyandotte street.
The section with the “Coors Light” sign was once a Chinese laundry, while the part on the end that housed Kathy’s kitchen looks to have initially been a pharmacy in the mid 1920’s.
Not sure what the plans exactly are for the property or if the demolition will actually occur. There have been many instances over the years where a permit is issued, but nothing ever happens. I guess we’ll have to wait and see on this one….
“Not sure what the plans exactly are for the property or if the demolition will actually occur”.
Are you kidding? This neighbourhood is a mouth full of broken teeth. They’ll all get yanked out and never get replaced. Another parking lot in the works. Hopefully it will be paved to keep down the dust.
Windsor once had one of the finest, most intriguing and historically significant collection of road houses and beer parlors in the country, due, in no small part,to the nearby border, the effects of American prohibition, and the proclivity of our stalwart working class comrades to unwind over a few pints after a sweaty shift on the assembly line. RIP, Highway House, Killarney, Lido, Westwood, and all the rest, too numerous to remember after too many hours spent in too many of them.
Wasn’t this the Windsor Music Cafe for a while?
Uzzy, the Windsor Music Cafe is one block over on Victoria & Wyandotte. It’s been closed for at least 5 years now. Was pretty dumpy when I went there in the late 90s.
Adam, that’s right. I was confused. I’ve never been to either of them.
Sad.
Another one bites the dust… the Highway Tavern was quite the establishment near the end of its life, an amazing array of patrons. I stopped by there a few years back, just to check it out. We did not stay long, a fight was brewing that night, and I was glad to be near the door.
The Highway Tavern was also once a meeting place for the I.O.O.B. Club (The International Order of Old Bastards) – their logo still remains on the sign to this day.
The Windsor Music Café was located in the building that was originally the Killarney Castle Supper Club, northeast corner of Victoria and Wyandotte.
Get ready, the city wants to demolish it, and we know what that means. I smell a fire in it’s future. I’m sure someone will come forward to say that they witnessed some teenagers leaving the scene, just like most of the other prohibition era taverns, roadhouses, or for that matter, any building the city wants rid of, but doesn’t want to pay for the removal of. Around here, that’s called “Urban renewal”.
Demolition requests come from the property owners, not from the city.
I’ve spent a bit of time here and I always felt like I had to look over my shoulder a friend of mine’s mother worked waitressing at the Kilarney when it was somewhat respectable back in the 60’sit seems to me that the music café always had trouble i’m sure the Windsor cops weren’t sorry to see that one close
wasn’t there an old boarding house across from it on the south side of Wyandotte that burned years ago??
I looked at the building on Google street view and there was a sign on it – $189,000 for building and the land. I wonder if someone bought it and they filed the demo permit.
It was Foxy’s for the last year of its existance as a bar. The place was a hole, poorly laid out The bar was divided in half and there were alwyas a ton of people on the kareoke side and no one on the other side. Probalby could have kept business up if they would have opened it up and put some money into it. Had some good times in there but it was a shithole and attracted alot of lowlifies. Not suprised its going. Kathy’s Kitchen did put out some really good bar food too.
While working around that area I stopped into Kathy’s Kitchen quite a bit. Great cheap food.
Does it still run?
I brought up this article to my mom and though neither of us are surprised to see it go; we both came to a conclusion. Why, because of its history, hasn’t this duplex, hotel, tavern been deemed a historical? Jokingly my mom said that at least it would cost less than the Capitol to fix up lol
I used to go into Kathy’s Kitchen alot I like her Fish & Chips, Pasta, Burgers and many of the daily specials. I have been around there for almost 4 years, but I think her place is closed now. In the 15 years that I had in office in that neighbourhood I watch alot of businesses close up and the store fronts would just remain vacate afterwards. I think 3 out of 4 corners at Dougall and Wyandotte are now vacate.
Immortalized in a terrific song by Lonesome Lefty.