SchoolsWindsor

Walkerville Collegiate Institute Renovations

October 2, 2022
Keeping with the theme of renovations, I noticed that Walkerville CI is undergoing a renovation/restoration that’s long overdue. After many years with a horrible out of place window selection, the school board is replacing the badly retrofitted windows, with a look that is similar to what would have originally been there when the school opened nearly a century ago. You can see in the…
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Windsor

Bartlet Building Annex Renovations

September 25, 2022
Built in 1926 the Bartlet building on the corner University & Pelissier was actually built as an annex to the original Bartlet Building built in 1920 just east of this one. Photo from Google Streetview As you can see in Google Streetview the lower levels have been…
Old Photographs

Royal Vist - 1951

September 11, 2022
With the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II last week, much was made of her previous visits to Windsor. Before she took the throne, when she was simply Princess Elizabeth, she paid a visit to Windsor in October, 1951. The future Queen and Prince Philip visited…
Old PhotographsRenderings

Curry Hall

August 21, 2022
In 1904 plans were drawn up by the Williams Brother architects for John Curry. Curry planned to erect a new building at the south east corner of Ouellette & London (now University). The building was to be three floors in height, with two stores on the main floor, and a large hall and stage on the second floor along with parlor for ladies and gentlemen, along with restrooms. The third floor had…
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MapsNotable Windsorites

The Legacy of Samuel Smith MacDonell

July 24, 2022
The name S. S. MacDonell may not mean much to the average Windsorite today, but this man was crucial to Windsor’s development, and is the man responsible for creating both Wyandotte and Erie Streets. Born in 1823 in Toronto, he went to college studied law and was…
Renderings

Jackson Park Gates - 1931

July 10, 2022
April 14, 1931 THIS SHOWS what the ornamental entrance to Jackson Park will look like when it is completed. The columns are on either side of the Ouellette avenue extension, and the low, curved wall is on the east side of the avenue. The pedestrian entrance, leading to…
DetroitOld Newspaper StoriesWindsor

The First Fireworks - 1959

July 4, 2022
After a few years away due to COVID the annual fireworks returned to the riverfront this year in spectacular fashion. However it got me thinking about the history of the fireworks, and exactly how the first ones were handled in the media… I decided to go back through old newspapers and see how that first fireworks display was handled back in 1959. From July 4, 1959, 63 years ago…
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Lost WindsorOld PhotographsWindsor

Wyandotte & Glengarry - Then & Now

June 19, 2022
Sometimes the difference on a then & now shot can be very stark, other times its amazing how little has changed. Image from SWODA Take the image above as a perfect example of change. This image is looking south on Glengarry from Wyandotte Street East. This shot…
RenderingsUnbuilt

Greater Windsor Labour Centre - 1965

June 5, 2022
Originally planned during early 1960s and the period of urban renewal for the core, the local unions in Windsor met and decided to all join forces and build a large office building that would bring all the local unions together under one roof, where jointly they could pool…