Heritage Winnipeg would like to thank The Old House Revival Company at 324 Young Street for donating beautiful historic door hardware to the Millennium Centre! The hardware was unexpectedly found at the antique store by Heritage Winnipeg’s President, Greg Agnew, and matches the other hardware already found in the 1912 Millennium Centre at 389 Main Street. The donated hardware has been installed on a door of the Tapestry Room which previously had a replacement knob. It was a fortuitous discovery with a happy ending, the community helping conserve a magnificent heritage building. Thank you to The Old House Revival Company for their generous donation!

Agnew is a dedicated volunteer caretaker of the Millennium Centre, very familiar with all the building’s details, big and small. This intimate knowledge was particularly useful on a recent visit to the The Old House Revival Company. Agnew was at the antique store shopping for some materials for home improvement projects when his eyes fell upon the aforementioned door hardware. Without a doubt, Agnew immediately knew the hardware matched that found in the Millennium Centre. Surprised by his discovery, Agnew had a hunch. There was an old key at the Millennium Centre which did not seem to open any of the locks in the building. Could this be the key to the hardware at the antique store? Agnew returned to The Old House Revival Company, key in hand. He inserted it into the hardware, and much to everyone’s shock and amazement, the key worked!

How the door hardware and its key parted ways in the past is unclear. The Old House Revival Company did not know where the hardware came from originally and had no key for the lock. It had mostly arrived at the antique store mixed in with a lot of other goods. Upon the revelation that the hardware’s key was at the Millennium Centre and there was a door at the building missing its hardware, The Old House Revival Company kindly donated the hardware so it could return home. Agnew installed the hardware on a door of the Tapestry Room, which had previously been functioning with a replacement knob. The “new” hardware not only looks incredibly handsome, it also improves the functionality of the door which had not been lockable with the replacement knob.

Now an event space, the Millenium Centre was built between 1910 and 1912 as the Bank of Commerce. Costing about $750,000 to construct, the lavish neo-classical building was designed by renowned architects Darling and Pearson, and built with some of the best Canadian materials available. The imposing main floor marble banking hall features twenty fluted Doric columns, four decorative bronze urns sitting high atop marble pedestals and a stained glass dome 52 feet in diameter. Adjacent to the main banking hall is the bank manager’s office, now known as the Tapestry Room. The nearly 900 square foot room was a grand space with 10 foot high ceilings, walnut fireplace and tapestry covering all four walls. Once a busy office, the room features three doors – two leading out to the banking hall and one to an anteroom. With the donation of hardware from The Old House Revival Company, all three Tapestry Room doors are now complete and the mystery key finally has a lock!