Monument Garden Pays Tribute To Former Windsor Grade School

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The University of Windsor is recognizing the history of a former grade school with a new monument garden.

Prince of Wales Public School at the corner of Wyandotte and California was demolished in January 2009 to make way for the University’s new Centre for Engineering Innovation.

The former grade school, which closed in the 1990’s, did not fall without a bit of history being preserved.

As part of a deal between the University, the Greater Essex County District School Board and the Windsor Heritage Committee, pieces of ornate trim and the former building’s coat of arms were preserved for future use.

The University recently completed work on a new monument garden in front of the engineering building that utilizes pieces of the former school to tell the history of the property.

The University’s Lori Lewis says the Prince of Wales School monument Garden will symbolize UWindsor’s recognition of Prince of Wales’s place in the history of Windsor’s west end and its ongoing commitment to celebrating education.

Prince of Wales was built between 1919 and 1920, was originally a four classroom school, and opened in 1920 with only two teachers and 83 students. By the end of the 1920’s, the school had more than seven times the number of students: 621.

In 1966, a change in school boundaries saw a number of students transfer to Dr. H.D. Taylor school and enrollment at Prince of Wales dropped.

In the 1990’s, the school closed and was sold as surplus to the University of Windsor where it became a storage building through the 2000’s.

The University will officially open the monument garden with a ceremony at 10am on Thursday June 26th.

The former grade school is demolished in this 2009 file photo