Windsor, Ontario: A Night-Time Look at the Detroit Skyline

Finally it was time for another excursion. As a true architecture buff, Detroit had been on my radar for a long time and I definitely wanted to explore this unique city in detail. So for the last few weeks I had been working with Visitdetroit.com to map out a detailed itinerary of the city that would expose me to all sorts of unique facets of the Motor City.

After a hectic day at the office on October 16 I finally got going at about 2:30 pm and arrived in Windsor shortly before 7 pm. I drove straight to the waterfront to catch the last few rays of sunshine that still lit up the skyline. Orange and purpose hues formed the backdrop of the Ambassador Bridge and a stunning night-time skyline of Detroit was taking shape.

I checked in at the Argyle Manor Bed and Breakfast, a historic Edwardian mansion, actually a former rectory, in the Walkerville area of Windsor. My hosts Dr. Paul and Kerri Thomas welcome me and gave me a few ideas for dinner. Based on their suggestions I drove to Erie Street, Windsors Little Italy, but it was very quiet there, so I made my way to the waterfront where I had a relaxing meal at the Keg, right in front of the panorama windows that featured an impressive skyline of Detroit.

After a good nights sleep I interviewed my hosts and found out that Dr. Paul Thomas is a retired university professor in human kinetics and a renowned expert in ergonomics. Both he and his wife have been involved in competitive sports for many years and Dr. Thomas still coaches basketball at a local private high school and his children are actively involved in high level sports.

Breakfast was fabulous and included a fruit salad, freshly baked muffins made from self-rising flour and ice cream (the flavour was double-churned strawberry) as well as a garbage bag omelette (omelette ingredients that are placed in a clear plastic bag and boiled in hot water).

I had a couple of hours before my planned border crossing to Detroit, so I took a walk in the surrounding Walkerville area, a historic neighbourhood that was developed by Hiram Walker, the distillery owner of Canadian Club Whiskey fame. The distillery started in 1856 and Walkerville was originally a housing development for workers at his distillery and it also featured a number of upscale mansions for managers at Hiram Walker. The workers townhouses were built from 1858 onwards and are still in great shape today.

My stroll in the neighbourhood continued to Willistead Manor, the original mansion of the Walker family that today is a city park. The mansion was built between 1904 and 1906 and was designed by renowned Detroit architect Albert Kahn and is surrounded by coachhouses and a large estate.

After saying goodbye to the Thomas I briefly stopped at the Hiram Walker & Sons distillery on the bank of the Detroit River, east of downtown Windsor. Today Canadian Club Whisky Company is part of the Pernod Ricard beverage empire. The Heritage Centre is a gorgeous early 19th century red brick Italianate building that provides guided tours of the Canadian Club facility.

With my tight schedule of course I had to move on since I still wanted to see the waterfront and the Odette Sculpture Park which features more than 31 large, internationally renowned contemporary sculptures. The views of the Ambassador Bridge and of downtown Detroit from the Windsor waterfront are simply astounding.

Well, it was time to cross the border now. Punctually at noon I rolled through the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel to start my Detroit adventures.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Canada
• Ontario
• Windsor
• Waterfront

[talkwindsor]

Cool video, check more information out at talkwindsor website

[whotolduso]

@KaySkywalker You saw bars on restaurant windows in downtown? Did you get a little lost?

Windsor is great, but after a month of living there you realize that there's not much to do besides go drinking with a bunch of 19 year olds on Saturday night. The two cities are like apples and oranges really. If you want to compare Windsor to any local Michigan city, Royal Oak or perhaps Ann Arbor would be a more suitable match.

[whotolduso]

@Hot80s and perhaps a most interesting one

[1976tech]

@AAsniper14 detroits river front is and will be better than windsor the buildings are bigger their. GM alone in better than Windsors river front.

[1976tech]

The New Pistons and Redwings stadium will held Downtown detroit and windsor.

People dont like to admite it the the casinos helped alot. and they still going strong.

[helpAmerica1]

The bridge and tunnel get you from Canada to the GM FORD Chrysler Ghetto dream

they had no rules and did a bang up job

[maurylaundry]

One of the benefits of Windsor, Ontario. Looking at the beautiful skyline of Detroit, Michigan. It is a unique experience living half a mile from a city of 4.4 million people.

[Hot80s]

Skyline of America's most dangerous city.

[aburg10s]

October 16th, 2008, I think that was around my final days working midnights at Pizza Plus in Windsor, while taking classes at the U. Good times. Actually, not really.

[Byrne27]

Uou made a mistake not eating on erie street! Some of the best restaurants I've ever visited in my life, considering both food and atmosphere