I love these old shots of Ouellette Avenue, and what a vibrant downtown we used to have. The building on the right is today’s home of Chanoso’s and South Detroit. The old long lost Labelle Building is visible on the south west corner of what is today University Avenue. Only the then brand new Canada Building on the left hand side along with the Imperial Bank on the north west corner of of University and Ouellette are identifiable today.
Hi Andrew, this is a reprint from February 13, 2008.
The two buildings on the southern corners of University & Ouellette were real gems.
Ouellette Ave looks much better than now !!!
This picture was taken before my time but I recognize some of them from when I was a kid in the 40’s. On the left side of Ouellette Ave. in the pic, I see the Heintzman Pianos Building, where Mom used to buy sheet music (the bldg. with the rounded Romanesque windows). Next door to that would be the original Palace Theatre. The Palace Theatre Building stretched up to the tall Canada Building and contained a variety of stores ( Columbia Fruit Market, United Cigar Store, and, my favourite, the Honey Dew Restaurant. Upstairs were doctors’ and dentists’ offices and the like. Then there was the Canadian National Railways ticket and telegraph office located on the ground floor of the Canada Building (tallest bldg. in southwestern Ontario at that time). Beyond the Canada Building would be the Prince Edward Hotel, a fine classic about 11 floors tall and a first-class establishment. Across the street from the Canada Building was Wilkinson’s Shoe Store with its big sign. Painted on the top side of the building was the slogan “Wears Like a Pig’s Nose.” No, there was nothing dull about downtown Windsor then! Coming this way down the right side, there were some tiny stores, like Calhoun the Hatter and McCance Jewellers, I believe. Then the beautiful LaBelle building with a ground floor Pond’s Drug Store with its refreshing soda fountain in the front window. Sadly this classic burned to the ground in 1959. On this side of London Street (University Ave. now) was a bank (Bank of Commerce I think – we’re going back into the mists of time!) with F.W.Woolworth’s Dime store on the far right with its creaky wooden floors.