Leddy Library, recognized today as two large buildings linked by a catwalk, began its life as a much more modest structure originally named University Library.

The section of Leddy now known as the West Wing was built for Assumption University in 1959, four years before its federation as the University of Windsor. The original building’s modern design was the brainchild of prolific Windsor architect James Carlisle Pennington and his partner William Carter.

Pennington was a Windsor native who spent his entire professional life in the city, designing such buildings as the former Grace and Metropolitan Hospitals, Hotel Dieu and Leamington Hospitals, and the Masonic Temple on Ouellette Avenue.

His earliest professional partnership in 1908 was with internationally recognized Detroit “theatre architect” C. Howard Crane, known for his design of such buildings as the Fox Theatre; Detroit Opera House; the Lafayette Building; and Olympia Stadium. Pennington died in 1963.

Ground-breaking on the library’s east wing took place in 1969 with various renovations over the years giving the building the look it has today. In 1977, University Library was re-named in honour of UWindsor’s longest-serving president, J. Francis Leddy, who held the office from 1964 to 1978.

Dr. Leddy was a generous donor to the library’s collection, a long-serving member of the Canada Council for the Arts and the recipient of many honorary degrees in recognition of his academic service.

—Tanya Michel