The old dealership at Tecumseh and Parent, just east of the Caboto Club met the building eaters Tuesday afternoon. The ad above for Lorne T. Rowson G.M. dealer is from the 1958 phone book.
The dealership at 915 Tecumseh Road East has been home to many dealerships over the years. Overseas Motors got their start there, before moving to the far east side. Many Windsorites probably remember it as Bill Howitt’s. Also it only looks as if the building on the west side of the lot is coming down, the Rocky Motors portion seems to be staying.
Interestingly enough, the 1937 fire insurance maps list the two buildings as home to “The Bell Telephone Co. of Canada”. Compare the outlines of these buildings, with the aerial photo above, and it would appear that the back section of the building is much older than the rest.
This is the section that appears on the fire insurance maps. I’ll keep an eye on it during demolition to see if any clues are revealed.
Tuesday afternoon, demolition underway.
By 4:30 Tuesday, the curved glass block section was down.
I’ve got my money on an expanded Caboto parking lot…
Vauxhall and not Opel? I know at one point GM imported both, but Opel was by far the better seller, at least in the U.S. I wonder of GM Canada got a break in importing the English car over the German one…..
Caboto Club owned the Building as of right now. There has been plans to move the Rose City Gymnastic group out of the buildings back area for a while, after Jerome Taylor Hyundai had moved out of the building. The Caboto Club has stated it needed some additional space for its building, and this building would come down.
I wish they would have given those bay windows and glass block to Habitat instead of letting it all go to waste.
Doug – Good question. I’m sure the Canadian link to the old colonial overlords is what got us the Vauxhall’s.
David – Tell me about it. There are no demolition companies that believe in recycling or salvage prior to demolition in this city.
Hey Andrew, nice post. Does anyone know what the fate of this lot is going to be? I know that the Caboto Club has had interest in the past in using that space as overflow parking, but I also know that they were at one time interested in building condos for retirees (but I don’t know where). Either way, the power and influence that the Caboto Club once had has long faded away. At least they have really good stone-oven pizza in the bar for great prices (basement).
Andrew, have you ever looked into the history of the Caboto Club? I think that might make for a very interesting IM page!
We are going to see a lot more demo’s coming because it is advantageous to the property owners to get rid of these buildings in order to save money on their taxes.
I agree on the salvaging of material. It is such a shame to throw this stuff away. I could have used those blocks myself…
i drove by this a few times in the last week. my guess…parking. also i noticed that the francis bakery down the road is getting prepped for what i think will be stucco.
GM imported the British-made Vauxhall to counter a new phenomenon in the mid-1950s. For the first time, a cheap overseas-made car was starting to capture market share, eating into sales of US and Canadian vehicles. The import was Volkswagen and the “bug” was edging toward 10 per cent of the market. The Vauxhall had two things going for it. In Canada it got lower duty fees offered Commonwealth countries and it was just 13 years after WW II ended. German-made vehicles faced a bias the way a maker of a binladen-mobile would be welcomed in the US today. The Vauxhall was boxy, poorly fitted together, and unsuited to Canadian winters. We had a demonstrator for a week and it often stalled. Vauxhall would disappear from the Rowson showroom in a couple of years.
My dad bought his first car from Bill Howitt back in 1973. It was the last GM product he would ever buy again.
Very true about Caboto considering a retirement home on that site however infighting has put that idea on ice. One member told me that hell would freeze over before they made a decision.
My Grandfather was a founding member and builder (literally) of the Caboto Club on that site and as he passed away in 1980, my mother wrote the Board of Directors shortly thereafter to consider a retirement home for elderly members of the Italian community. As you can see, nothing came of it and I am sure countless others have suggested the same idea.
Whoever wrote that it would become a parking lot pretty much nailed it as that was the same thought I had when I drove by the demo site.
More parking!???!!! hmpfff!….. Why don’t they make these demo areas into owner-tended community parkettes throughout areas of the City (could be good reason for a tax break for the land owner) – this one could be Caboto Park, shady trees, grasses, and community picnic areas…. nothing similar nearby for area residents….. could be a good policy for our fine City.
Scott, good idea but there is a park near the area on Lens Ave and also Ypres, a short walk away.
I only noticed this demolition just yesterday, my Dad used to work there when it was Rowson’s totally forgot that before you jogged my memory. more landmarks gone and no salvaging what a waste.
I never had the privilege of seeing my grandfathers GM dealership in person….. these photo’s mean a lot to me…. thanks to whomever published them….
Dave Rowson
British Columbia