Medical Arts Building

One of Windsor's first “tall” buildings, this seven-storey structure is an excellent example of the Art Deco style of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Characterized by classical symmetry and graceful lines, it was designed by J.R. Sculland of Windsor. The finely detailed limestone facade is crowned by an angular parapet and enhanced by three vertical bays and an arched stone entrance sheltered by a bronze and glass canopy. In keeping with the building's original use, the Corinthian pilasters flanking the entrance feature carvings of the traditional medical symbol of the caduceus, which also appears above the sixth-floor windows. As well, the building's name, “Medical Arts,” is carved above the second floor windows.

The interior lobby is handsomely decorated with marble and decorative plaster. The elevator, automated in 1999, was the last staff-operated elevator in Windsor.

The building is representative of the birthplace of the Windsor Medical Services, the first pre-paid medical plan in Canada and a forerunner of the Ontario Hospital Insurance Plan (OHIP). Dr. Freeman A. Brockenshire, one of Canada's best-known orthopaedic surgeons, moved his practice into the building in 1937. He chaired the committee that developed Windsor Medical Services, and was its first president when it began operating as an incorporated company in 1939.