Willistead Manor

Willistead Manor is a historic house located in the former town of Walkerville, Ontario now Windsor, Ontario. Willistead Manor was designed by renowned architect Albert Kahn. The house was built in 1904-1906, and was commissioned by Edward Chandler Walker, the son of Hiram Walker. It is named after E.C. Walker's late brother Willis Walker, who was a lawyer in Detroit, MI, and who died young.

Contrary to popular belief, Hiram Walker never lived in the home. One of the unique features of the mansion is that it contained only one bedroom. Mr. and Mrs. Walker never had any children, and the coach houses to the manor provied ample room for guests. After Edward passed on, Mrs. Walker didn't care to keep living in the big home alone, and she left the house and grounds to the town of Walkerville. When Walkerville was amalgamated with Windsor in 1935, it obtained ownership of Willistead.

Hiram Walker was the founder of Hiram Walker Distillers which is the producer of Canadian Club Wiskey.

Kahn later designed, in 1917, the massive half-mile-long Ford River Rouge Plant. The Rouge grew into the largest manufacturing complex in the U.S., with a work force that peaked at 120,000 workers. Then in 1928, Kahn became famous for designing the landmark 28-story Art Deco Fisher Building in Detroit, considered one of the most beautiful elements of the Detroit skyline.