Doors Open Windsor proves inviting to many
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As a kid, Wayne Bristow remembers climbing to the roof of the Windsor Star building with his father to change light bulbs on the giant metal sign bearing the business name.
Sunday morning he was back inside to see its reincarnation as the University of Windsor’s School of Social Work and Centre for Executive and Professional Education.
The downtown campus invited the public to take a peak as part of the 11th
annual Doors Open Windsor. The free self-guided tour saw some 40 homes, museums, temples, theatres and churches throw open their doors to anyone interested in an architectural soup of old, new and repurposed buildings.
Marty Gervais, a retired reporter and columnist who spent three decades working out of the Star’s newsroom at 167 Ferry St., conducted Sunday’s tour that included Bristow and his wife Purita, a retired University of Windsor employee.
“I guess they thought I knew a thing or two about the building,” Gervais quipped.
Bristow’s father, Fred, worked in maintenance there for just over 48 years.
Bristow was curious to see how they preserved some of the more intriguing architectural elements of the Star’s old home.
“I’ve been in this building many times with my dad,” Bristow said. “It’s beautiful what they’ve done.”
Architects maintained the Star’s original limestone façade from 1927 and the arched windows that used to illuminate the ornate corner office of the publisher.
Bill Courtney and his wife Jo-Ann started their meandering Doors Open tour in old Sandwich Towne. They were floored by the technology and work being done at the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Studies.
“It’s absolutely incredible,” Courtney said.
The Courtneys also toured a Sikh Temple, and after their stop at the old Star, they had plans to take in a heritage home on Ypres and wander through a few spots in Walkerville.
“It’s a good chance to see all these different places,” said Courtney who noted the photo on his business card was taken by former Star editor in chief Carl Morgan.
Gervais shared several newsroom stories with his group. He noted how five different Canadian prime ministers walked the halls on their way to a meeting with the Star’s editorial board.
And he recalled how one disgruntled columnist flung his typewriter out a second floor window and onto the street below.
Now the epitome of modern design, the interior space is bathed in natural light from the expansive use of glass.
“This is like going into a different century for teaching spaces,” said John Coleman, now director of public affairs for the university but formerly a senior editor who spent 34 years in the Star’s Ferry St. operation. “I’m amazed at what they’ve done here.”
Coleman said some 200 people wandered through the place Saturday.
