windsoriteDOTca - windsor ontario arts, music, events, hyperlocal news blog & city guide

This past week, a friend and I spent some time exploring parts of Walkerville, and number one on our agenda was that old, leafy icon on Riverside Drive and Devonshire Rd.    and I explored the exterior of the Walker Power Building (part of Hiram Walker’s distillery empire), sometimes known colloquially as the Peabody Building.  In reality, the Peabody Building was a different building, to the immediate west of the Walker Power Building, and was demolished some time ago.  Here’s what’s left of the Walker Power Building!

A panorama, frontside.

The building is completely covered by ivy, which later this month, will become a beautiful shade of red.  With so many broken windows, the ivy is even growing inside.

Some of the ivy has started to turn red.  It’s a neat gradient, as   says.

Sign of fall.

The ivy invades!

Abandoned building.  The main entrance "325 Devonshire" is boarded up, and covered.

The building was a thriving center for the local arts community until recently.  A year or two back, tenents were asked to pack up shop and vacate.

The "No. 2 Entrance" faces Riverside Drive.

The entrance.

Windsor’s Printmakers Forum once held a dwelling on the 2nd floor.  The Forum moved nearly across the street to the old Canada Post Building.  Getting the printing presses out and to the basement of the PO was quite the task, I’m told.

Around back, you can see that the building was home to another artisan, a cycle shop.

In 1993, as a child I watched the Walkerville Town Hall that was moved across the VIA/CN Tracks from Riverside Drive to Devonshire Rd, from these windows on the east stairwell.  That Town Hall is now completely restored, and functions as an auction house.

The Walker Power Building’s future is uncertain at this time.  The building is on Windsor’s Heritage Inventory, and the City’s planning department has cited the structure as a prime site for adaptive reuse, including perhaps a loft conversion.  Although, it is kinda scary when a numbered corporation takes over a building.  What the future of this historic diamond-in-the-rough holds is totally unknown.

There’s a bit of history on the neighbouring Peabody Building, too.  During WWI, it was bombed by German sympathizers.  More on that here.

A few more photos, and fullsize here at my flickr photostream.

Also, fghtffyrdrms_bn should have some photos of her own from the building up on Windsor Visuals soon too!
 
 

• anonymous

  I would just like to point out that this building is still being used by some for reasons beyond me. I was visiting this building yet again with another friend of mine when awkwardly, this man hung his head out the window and told us not to touch (or bang on) the windows. I later found an electrical cord leading from a first floor window to a second floor window. Long story short, people are still using this building and I’m not sure what for. I’m also not sure how they are getting in considering all the doors are locked and/or blocked. Also, Westerntragedy and I found mail in the mailbox dated for that day. Clearly things are going on in there which may be why the whole “demolition” thing has been so long in process. I’m not going to lie, if random people staying in that building keeps it around forever I hope that no one ever leaves. To even imagine the city tearing this down breaks my heart. It’s beautiful and artsy and full of life…especially if the Ivy keeps growing in!

• fghtffyrdmns_bn

  I would just like to point out that this building is still being used by some for reasons beyond me. I was visiting this building yet again with another friend of mine when awkwardly, this man hung his head out the window and told us not to touch (or bang on) the windows. I later found an electrical cord leading from a first floor window to a second floor window. Long story short, people are still using this building and I’m not sure what for. I’m also not sure how they are getting in considering all the doors are locked and/or blocked. Also, Westerntragedy and I found mail in the mailbox dated for that day. Clearly things are going on in there which may be why the whole “demolition” thing has been so long in process. I’m not going to lie, if random people staying in that building keeps it around forever I hope that no one ever leaves. To even imagine the city tearing this down breaks my heart. It’s beautiful and artsy and full of life…especially if the Ivy keeps growing in!

• mikebeauchamp

  Wow..

  A little over a year ago, I was snooping around this building too (trying to find a way in) and noticed a light on inside. I figured there must be someone living inside of it and just left it alone. Also, during Xmas, someone put lights up at the top (which was an awesome thing to do).

  I -REALLLY- think the plan for this whole property should be turning it into a park. COMPLETE with the falling apart building. Just let nature take it over, and let people watch what happens to it. Of course it would be dangerous as bricks from the facade start falling etc. Maybe a pond and fence could be put around it to stop anything falling on people’s heads.

  Fuck, I’d love to see something like that…

• westerntragedy

  I know, even leaving it in its current incarnation would be nice. Though, some developer with dollarsign eyeballs will either a) demolish it and build a 10000 story condo tower, or b) strip all the cool broken windows, bricks, etc off and rebuilt something on the steel frame.

  Nobody thinks of preserving these things though, especially considering Windsor’s backwards heritage strategy.

• fleeting_image

  I like the idea of it being repaired – new windows, wiring, plumbing and turned in to a safer art house/loft.

  I always imagined that it was already one until I saw all the broken windows.

• fghtffyrdmns_bn

  Hahaha like a moat. Suddenly Pboi (er…that’s my nickname for the building) is a castle. How neat.

  I think the REAL plan should be to give it to me so i can live in it forever. I will invite you artsy-windsor folk in to take pictures. I want to convince owen to come with me and I will knock and ask if I can just go in.

• fghtffyrdmns_bn

  I will tie myself to the building if anything dangerous ever happens to it.

• citynoise8

  I love this building. Recently i was at taloola cafe and saw some people coming and going from it. I’m pretty sure people are still utilizing the interior. These are beautiful pictures, but it would be so so soooo interesting to get some shots of the inside!

• mushrooms_4_u

  I used to hang out here and watch a few of my friends bands practice, and listen to some of the other tennants practice as well.

  Being inside that building is such an experience.
  I miss it!

• Myke

  I used to live in the apartment directly above taloola cafe. I used to walk my dog over across the street at the vacant lot beside the building. There is a creepy guy living in there. Scared the hell out of me and my dog. He had also informed me that was watching me nights before. Very odd….And always asked me if I needed a bag to pick up after my dog. I always had one to begin with so I never did understand his obsession…Anywho, I think they should clear out all the creeps and rebuild the building into lofts.

• Suzzq

  The building you are all referring to is at Devonshire and Riverside it is beautiful and needs to be restored. I would love it to be a community art and cultural centre. Inside should be artist studios,that could be toured a cafe and gallery. We need more access to culture,and art in Windsor.Also we need activities in the core that are not centred around drinking,strip clubs and gambling.
  We have lots of parks. We need more interesting mind and creative stimulation.

• http://www.everlastingmomentsphotography.ca Cindy

  Is there anyway to get inside the building? I’m a photographer and would love to get some shots inside, help the cause and prove to them that they need to keep the building.

• http://www.everlastingmomentsphotography.ca Cindy

  Is there anyway to get inside the building? I'm a photographer and would love to get some shots inside, help the cause and prove to them that they need to keep the building.

• Pingback: Photo Of The Day – Tuesday April 19th 2011 | windsoriteDOTca - windsor ontario arts, music, hyperlocal news blog

• Jackobite68

   i work for fowler plumbing and we worked in that old girl for years cant say i loved all the calls but she was fun to work in

• http://twitter.com/char_zimmerman C. Zimmerman

  It’s one of my favourite buildings. I remember when their were businesses that used it…I’d always look up at their signs and at all the windows to see what I could see while driving by. 

  The ivy is taking over.  I attached a pic to show. It was just taken today.  

  I like the way the ivy looks, but at the same point it’s being allowed to grow in the building as well…which makes me think no one cares to preserve this building, even though it’s on the Heritage list…can’t someone be fined for not maintaining it if it’s on that list?!?

  I guess we’ll all just have to wait and see what happens to this unique building.