Regular reader John, sent me an email the other week pointing me toward the 1928 Motor Tourist Guidebook of Ontario which got me lookin at all the old ads and this one for Osterhout’s caught my eye.
Located at 333 Ouellette Avenue in the storefront that was most recently Vermouth. In the 1920s and 1930s it was home to Osterhout’s Confectionary. The Osterhout brothers Peter & George built the 5 floor Exchange Building in 1921. The brothers were involved in many real estate transactions a erected several building around Windsor in the boom years of the 1920s. In the 1930s the building was sold to George Wilkinson and was remodeled and converted into Wilkinson’s Shoe Store. George Osterhout passed away at the age of 85 in 1965 at his home at 776 Windsor Avenue.
776 Windsor Avenue was demolished in 2013, but is captured on Google Streetview. It looks like the home fell on hard times after the passing of George Osterhout, and like many properties in the city core became a rental property. The site today is a vacant lot.
Great story! I really like to read about the ‘human element’ behind these buildings and businesses; a part of Windsor not appreciated enough.