Home / Accueil

Crown Inn

378-396 Devonshire Road, City of Windsor, Ontario, N8Y, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1980/12/08

Built in 1892-93, this former hotel is now used for offices and apartments.; City of Windsor, Nancy Morand
Crown Inn Facade, 2002
No Image
No Image

Other Name(s)

n/a

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1892/01/01 to 1893/01/01

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2007/06/19

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

Formerly a hotel, the Crown Inn is a late 19th century, four-storey, red brick structure with both Queen Anne and Romanesque Revival style design elements.

Located on Devonshire Road in the heart of early Walkerville, it is recognized by City of Windsor Bylaw 6795, 1980.

Heritage Value

The Crown Inn was the first hotel built in Walkerville. It was a reflection of the town's rapid expansion in the late 1800s due to the development of Walker's distillery. Constructed by the Walkerville Land and Building Co. for Hiram Walker and Sons, its 32 sleeping rooms and other amenities accommodated railroad travellers and the growing number of visitors to Walker's nearby business operations. Strategically located, when it opened in 1893, directly across from the railroad depot (subsequently demolished), the hotel operation ceased in 1921 and the building was converted to a combination apartment building (upper floors) and commercial facility (ground floor).

Designed by Mason and Rice of Detroit for the Walkerville Land and Building Co., the structure combines elements of both Queen Anne and Romanesque Revival styles. Although altered inside with the 1921 conversion, its exterior appearance has changed little. Noteworthy features include the hipped roof which projects over the bay windows, original dormers on the fourth storey with triangular hoods, broad-arched first floor windows with glazed transoms and radiating brick voussoirs, and a central balconette on the third floor of the facade.

It's strategic location on Devonshire Road in the heart of early Walkerville, which was developed by the Walkerville Land and Building Co. where massive management-level semi-detached houses, a train station and numerous industrial buildings already lined the street. A bank and post office followed a few years later and, today, the Crown Inn forms part of a streetscape of heritage buildings.

Sources: Building Analysis Form, January 3, 1997, and City of Windsor Bylaw 6795, 1980.

Character-Defining Elements

Key character defining elements that express the cultural heritage values include:
-Queen Anne and Romanesque Revival style elements
- four-storey, red brick construction and L-shape plan
- hipped roof projecting over bay windows with wood trim on the second and third floors of facade
- five single chimneys
- broad-arched first floor windows with glazed transoms and radiating brick voussoirs
- central balconette on third floor of facade
- arcading on ground floor of facade and south-west corner
- three-paned transoms
- large window with semi-circular surround head on north-west corner
- original dormers on west and north roof slopes with triangular hoods
- double-hung windows with plain trim and transoms, including a few with semi-circular heads
- string course around the building at the second and third levels
- its location on Devonshire Road in the heart of early Walkerville, which was developed by the Walkerville Land and Building Co.
- its proximity to other residential and commercial heritage properties, which include three massive Richardsonian Romanesque residences (circa 1890), the former Walkerville Town Hall (1904) and the former Walkerville Post Office (1914).

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Ontario

Recognition Authority

Local Governments (ON)

Recognition Statute

Ontario Heritage Act

Recognition Type

Municipal Heritage Designation (Part IV)

Recognition Date

1980/12/08

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Function - Category and Type

Current

Commerce / Commercial Services
Office or Office Building

Historic

Commerce / Commercial Services
Hotel, Motel or Inn

Architect / Designer

Mason and Rice

Builder

Walkerville Land and Building Co.

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

Office of Heritage Planner, City of Windsor

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

HPON05-0559

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

SEARCH THE CANADIAN REGISTER

Advanced SearchAdvanced Search
Find Nearby PlacesFIND NEARBY PLACES PrintPRINT
Nearby Places