This week’s Throwback Thursday image is the northwest corner of Ouellette Avenue and Wyandotte Street. This photograph was taken in 1927 and is similar to the photograph that was shown a few weeks previous, which had been taken a decade later. On the corner is the Rexall Drugstore that looks like it was closed by the time this photograph was taken 1927. Pond’s Drug Store eventually would move into this location. Next door is the People’s Store, and further along is Loblaw Groceries and above Loblaw’s Continue Reading...

Continuing in our series of the four corners of Ouellette Ave. and Wyandotte St. the northeast corner is this week’s Throwback Thursday Pic. Taken at the same time as the previous two photographs in the series taken approximately in 1938. This view has the traffic sign of the arrow directing drivers to the tunnel to Detroit, which had just opened up in 1930 to automobile traffic. The Meretsky-Gitlin Limited was located on this corner. According to the city directories, this business sold Furniture, House furnishings, Radios, Continue Reading...

Windsor Public Library will soon be embarking on the Riverside Memories Project, our final event commemorating the centenary of the Town of Riverside.  The project will build – and digitize – a collection of Riverside memories including photos, documents, personal letters and family histories.  Residents will be encouraged to scan and preserve their old photos to share with family, friends and the WPL Local History collection. “Preserving history and memories is fundamental to visiting our past and connecting us all to the community,” says Ward 6 Continue Reading...

Last week’s photograph was of the southwest corner of Ouellette Avenue and Wyandotte Street; this week’s Throwback Thursday Pic is of the northwest corner of the same intersection. Taken sometime around 1938, this photo captures the Ponds Drug Store, which is still in business under the Shoppers Drug Mart brand and is currently located on the southeast corner of the intersection. Brown’s Apparel Shop, located next door to Ponds Drug Store, was only at this location for a few years, and by 1940 was out of Continue Reading...

The new John Muir Branch of the Windsor Public Library has received a 2021 Ontario Library Association (OLA) Library Building Award.  The branch won the prestigious award in the library architectural and design transformation category, which recognizes additions, renovations, restorations and conversions to library use across Ontario. “The Muir project and resulting awards demonstrate that we ‘got it right’ and that the library is a community treasure to which our customers – of all ages – will return to, again and again,” says WPL Board Chair, Continue Reading...

Taken around 1938, this week’s Throwback Thursday Pic is of the southwest corner of Wyandotte Street and Ouellette Avenue. In this photograph, the local grocery store chain M & P had its Ouellette Market Store at this location as well as a newspaper stand and the streetcar tracks of the Windsor, Sandwich and Amherstburg Railway can also be found in this image. This corner has completely changed since this image was captured on film and would be unrecognizable today. If you are interested other historic images Continue Reading...

You may have noticed over the last year and a half that Windsor Public Library has been a bigger presence than ever online – with increased social media outreach and all kinds of virtual programming, we’ve been working hard to produce the best quality web content we can, and to provide you with the same kind of great customer service you’ve come to expect from us, but in a virtual setting. Windsor Public Library is proud to announce the launch of our Digital Branch! Now you Continue Reading...

“The Spirit of Windsor” steam engine is this week’s Throwback Thursday Pic. The engine is a Pacific 4-6-2, build in 1911 by the Montreal Locomotive Works for the Grand Truck Railway as their engine No. 5588. The engine was retire in 1961 by the Canadian National Railway. On May 6, 1965 at a celebration on the riverfront, the engine was dedicated as the “Spirit of Windsor”. Behind the steam engine is one of CN’s river barges that transported freight cars between Windsor and Detroit. CN’s riverfront Continue Reading...