Co. (manufacturers of automobile fans), Perforate Hone Co.(manufacturing hones for razors), the E.W. Jeffress Co. (manufacturers of extracts and other bottled goods), the Wilt Twist Drill Co. (manufacturing drills of all descriptions), and the Heinz Company of Milwaukee (manufacturer of electrical fixtures and loose-leaf ledgers). 4 Later, another fourth storey was added to the original east 1911 portion.
The Walker Power Building was often mistaken as the Peabody Building, which was actually an attached building to the west which manufactured uniforms for the British Army during the War. The Peabody was bombed by German sympathizers on June 21, 1915. 5 The force of the explosion blew out windows, crumbled concrete and damaged the frame of the Peabody Bridge, 6 but the building was subsequently repaired.
The 1924 Fire Insurance Plans shows the Walker Power Building, and the Grand Trunk Railway Western Division and Lake Erie, Essex & Detroit River Railway renamed after a change in ownership to the Canadian National Railway and Pere Marquette respectively. Walker Power Building was municipally addressed as 22 Devonshire Road and served for various factories and offices.
In 1957, the Walkerville/Pere Marquette Train Station to the south of the Walker Power Building was demolished. The Peabody Building to the west of Walker Power Building was also demolished in 1985 leaving the lands west of the Walker Power Building vacant. Then in the 1990s, the Peabody Bridge was also removed making the Walker Power Building even more visible from Riverside Drive. 7 A 1994 Windsor Star article reported Philip Howe as the owner of the building since 1975. He operated a post packaging business on the ground floor and had several small business tenants from the arts/craft-maker industries including several art galleries, art studios, woodworking, and furniture refinishing. 4
As decades passed, the Walker Power Building fell out of favour as an industrial building, no longer supported by active rail lines adjacent to the building. In 2005 Windsor Fire prevention officer declared the structure to be unsafe due to the lack of a fire alarm system, lack of emergency exists, lack of proper lighting, electrical hazards and lack of exit signs. There were also makeshift living spaces that were against zoning laws. At that time, the building owner anticipated to sell the building to a potential buyer and did not update the building. However, the deal fell through and the building was not sold and left vacant until the current redevelopment. 8
4 “The Walkerville Power Building.” The Evening Record, May 16, 1913.
5 “Walkerville Landmark Bombed.” Magazine Times. November 2001.
6 “Sabotage at the Peabody Building.” Postcard by Mike Skreptak Collection. 1915.
7 “Landmark’s Tenants Out.” Windsor Star, written b y Dalson Chen, 2005.
8 “From Cheap to Chic.” Windsor Star, written by John Laycock, 1994.