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September 18, 2019
LOST! Winnipeg’s Spectacular Streetcars
Winnipeg’s streetcars have vanished – sold, scrapped, crushed, burned and buried – erased from history with only the fading memories of an aging generation to cling to. Once the height of modernity which made Winnipeg a desirable place to live and drove its development, today the streetcars have disappeared without a trace, without a single…
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/ Blog Entries
September 10, 2019
Main Street’s Bankers’ Row – An Historically Significant Streetscape
At the close of the First World War an informed pedestrian walking south on Main Street from the gingerbread style city hall to Portage and Main would have marvelled at Winnipeg’s magnificent bank architecture representing most of Canada’s major financial institutions. Along the west side of Main Street our pedestrian would have passed the Union…
September 4, 2019
Flexibility for Sustainability: The St. Boniface Normal School
Tucked away at the corner of Masson Street and Aulneau Street, in the center of St. Boniface, is the St. Boniface Normal School building. An old teaching college repurposed and adapted to the fit the changing needs of the community, it still stands today as a landmark of the area’s history. Several years after the…
August 28, 2019
Majesty on Main Street – The McLaren Hotel
The McLaren Hotel opened to great acclaim in 1911, said to be one of the finest hotels in Canada. An unmistakable red brick building in the downtown, the hotel has long outlived many of its contemporaries, still standing over 100 years later at the intersection of Main Street and Rupert Street. It was the final…
August 20, 2019
The Masonic Temple: From Secrets to Success
The Masonic Temple in downtown Winnipeg is a little piece of the 19th century, still standing proudly at the corner of Donald Street and Ellice Avenue. It is a beautiful reminder of early Winnipeg life, when no expense was spared to construct buildings that would stand the test of time. Many Winnipeggers may remember it…
August 14, 2019
The Challenge of Change: The Reliable Service Station
Change is a challenging but inevitable fact of life. In a rapidly transforming world, adapting is the only means of remaining relevant. For heritage buildings, that means walking a fine line between conserving the past while constantly reinventing themselves to remain functional and vibrant. The building known to many Winnipeggers as the former Reliable Service…
August 7, 2019
The Making of a Memorable Millennium: The Canadian Bank of Commerce
Grandiose is the word that best describes the Canadian Bank of Commerce, now known as the Millennium Center. Although it rises only six storeys above the sidewalk, a person standing in front of the building cannot help but feel its dominating presence. An early 20th century bank reborn as a 21st century event space, it…
August 1, 2019
A Creative Construction Conversion: The Gregg Building
The Gregg Building is a Romanesque warehouse located at 52 Albert Street in the Exchange District. It was built in 1902 for the George R. Gregg and Company, the largest company in Canada to sell Japanese Silks and other oriental luxury goods in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Geo. R. Gregg &…
July 24, 2019
From Storage Space to Artspace: The Gault Building
Once upon a time, the magical building known as Artspace, which has been home to over 15 artist groups for the last 30 years, was a dry goods warehouse. Originally called the Gault Building, it was constructed in 1900 and later expanded in 1903. Featuring one of the most beloved rooftops in the cities, it…
July 17, 2019
A Walk Through Winnipeg’s Wondrous Warehouse District
In the heart of downtown Winnipeg sits the Exchange District, frozen in time, forever paying homage to the golden era of a young prairie city. Shaped by the railway that once shipped grain from Canada to the world, the Exchange is filled with early 20th century warehouses that were strategically located around spur lines, which…