Demolition – International Metropolis

Demolition going, going, gone...Lost Windsor

841 Ouellette - Final Days

May 5, 2024

An unremarkable end to a part of Windsor’s history. The large vacant house at 841 Ouellette that was recently painted in a rainbow pattern of colours, burned down the other night in a spectacular fire. Built in 1890 for J.D. Arthur Deziel, the home served as a beauty parlor in the late 1930s and a dance studio in the early 1940s, before becoming a rooming house for a few decades. It was a…

Demolition Lost Windsor Old Photographs

Joseph L. Reaume House - 1924

April 21, 2024

One for the lost Windsor files, is this house that once belonged to Joseph Reaume of Ford City. Reaume was a builder and was was also the assessor of the town of Ford City. The house was built to resemble houses that Reaume saw during his winters away in California. The…

Buildings of Windsor Demolition Old Photographs

Dieppe Park Demolitions - 1954

April 4, 2024

Before the waterfront park system was in place, there were once buildings on the north side of Riverside Dr. Back in the early 1950s work was set in motion to clear the north side of Riverside Drive and establish a civic centre and park. Across the river in Detroit, the same…

Demolition Lost Windsor Old Newspaper Stories Old Photographs

Marcon Home Demolition - Russell Street - 1978

March 12, 2024

Demolition of old Marcon home on Russell Street recalls memories for 92 year old Alma Cronin By Brian Porter Star Staff Reporter “Over there’s where I used to play, and that’s where rose bushes once grew.” More than 90 years of memories came rushing back Tuesday to Alma Cronin as she walked around the Frank E. Marcon house in the old town of Sandwich. “My…

Demolition Lost Windsor Old Photographs

J Clark Keith Generating Plant - c 1979

November 26, 2023

Here’s an aerial view of the J Clark Keith generating plan in Brighton Beach in a shot taken around 1979. The coal burning Hydro plant was opened in 1951, but ceased operating in 1984. The giant structure stood mothballed until it was declared surplus to provincial…

Demolition Lost Windsor Old Photographs Windsor

Tunnel Bar-B-Q 2015

November 19, 2023

I recently came across this photo that I took in April, 2015 in a folder of older pictures. 2015 doesn’t feel like that long ago, but it was nearly eight years ago already. The long lost Tunnel Bar-B-Q was a local institution for generations, dating back to the the…

Buildings of Windsor Demolition Lost Windsor Notable Windsorites Old Newspaper Stories

Clarke Monuments - 1044 Howard Avenue

August 20, 2023

Here’s one that’s a more recently lost piece of Windsor History. This small block building on Howard, just south of Erie Street, stood from the early 1920s until about 2020. For most of a century this was the home to D Clarke Monuments, a gravestone maker that was conveniently located near to Windsor Grove Cemetery at Howard & Gilles. Don Clarke, the proprietor of the…

Demolition Old Newspaper Stories Old Photographs

The Centre Theatre - Wyandotte Street East

December 18, 2022

Plans for an east side neighbourhood movie house, first came up in the 1930s, but the onset of the Great Depression but those plans on hold. Once the economy improved enough the onset of WWII further delayed the theatre’s arrival due to a lack of building materials.

Demolition Lost Windsor Renderings

Park Theatre - Ottawa Street & Moy Avenue

December 11, 2022

In December 1939, Famous Player had their staff architect Jay Isadore English draw up plans for a new Windsor neighbourhood theatre. The theatre was announced with a main floor seating 641 people, and a balcony holding another 150 for a total capacity of 791. Given its…