Heritage Winnipeg would like to thank long time heritage supporter Helen Leeds for her generous donation of a Tribune Building shard. The terracotta head, known as a grotesque, was originally on the facade of the 1914 Tribune Building at 257 Smith Street. We are delighted to have a new friend at the office and take our stewardship of this important piece of Winnipeg’s history seriously.

In 1914, the Winnipeg Tribune, a prominent newspaper in the city, opened their brand new six storey building at 257 Smith Street. Designed by John D. Atchison in the Chicago Style, the facade was decorated with Gothic Revival ornamentation: 14 heads projecting from the columns between the first and second floors while 14 figures peered down from the roofline. The curious decorations were made by the American Terra Cotta and Ceramic Company, in their factory near Chicago, Illinois. The figure’s designs were six repeated characters representing different newspaper jobs: city editor (holding scissors and a sheet of paper), printer (holding an antiquated printing press), fish story teller (holding a fish), reporter, proofreader, newsboy and member of the public. Dressed in medieval clothing, the figures were a lighthearted and mischievous addition to the handsome building. It has been speculated that the heads or figures were modeled after senior staff of the newspaper or prominent Winnipeg citizens.

An undated photo of the Tribune Building at 257 Smith Street.
Source: Winnipeg Building Index (CC BY-NC 3.0 via University of Manitoba Libraries)

Conflicting stories are told about the heads and figures being removed from the facade of the Tribune Building in 1969. Some say it was because they were at risk of falling off the building, crashing down on unsuspecting pedestrians. The jackhammers needed to remove them would beg to disagree! It was during this removal process that the head donated by Leeds was chipped. Others say they were removed because the building was being updated, and the curious faces did not fit the sleek new modern aesthetic. Gifted or sold to people working at or connected to the newspaper, the creatures are almost all in private collections today, with the exception of a few that are at the Manitoba Museum and the one at the Heritage Winnipeg office. Concrete was used to fill the voids on the Tribune Building’s facade where the heads and figures were removed.

The Tribune Building shard donated by Helen Leeds.
Source: Heritage Winnipeg

On the morning of August 27th, 1980, the presses at the Tribune Building abruptly stopped printing as the final issue was delivered. By the end of the day 375 people had lost their jobs and Winnipeg lost a newspaper, all due to corporate downsizing and negotiations between competitors. Demolition of the Tribune Building started in October of 1983 and was completed in a month, with the heads and figures being the only shards of this historic building still remaining. Scattered far and wide, the shards seems to slowly be making their way back to Winnipeg, with Leeds’ head having just returned from Calgary!