Historical Winnipeg discussion

[rgalston]

This is a thread to discuss Winnipeg's history, which has seemed to seep into discussion on other threads a number of times recently. Western Canada's oldest city, and one with an exciting history, I thought it deserved a thread of its own.

So, if you're excited about the Corydon streetcar line, think the Paris Building is going to give Portage Avenue a real boost, or excited that the Casa Loma will give Winnipeg another apartment building that exceeds three storeys, post here!

---

At http://www.mhs.mb.ca/data/census/1911/winnipeg/ there is a list of hotels in Winnipeg in 1911, which by my count, is a remarkable 84 hotels across the greater Winnipeg area. Today 14 of them are still in operation, though some have different names, and one with a new building. They are:
1) Mariaggi
McDermott [McDermot] corner Albert and Arthur

2) Northern
826-828 Main

3) Occidental
631 Main

4) Ontario
860 Main
(Now the Yale)

5) Richelieu
114 Higgins
(Now the King's, but would be more appropriately titled the Queen's)

6) Riverview
322 Nairn (Elmwood)

7) Stock Exchange
910 Logan
(Now in modern, motel-style building)

8) Sutherland
785 Main corner Sutherland

9) Vendome
308 Fort

10) Wellington
287 Garry
(Now the Garrick)

11) West
786 Main
(Now the "New" West)

12) Winnipeg
214-216 Main

13) Wolseley
186-188 Higgins
(Now named the Mount Royal. "Wolseley Hotel" is still inscribed in stone below the cornice)

14) Woodbine
466 Main

Absent from this list, though I'm certain they were in operation in that year, the Bell, the Windsor and the McLaren.

[Greco Roman]

Corydon streetcar line??????????????????

[1ajs]

84 hotels wow... wonder how many of them were dives back then lol

anyhow

metro meats one of the few local corners stores with a butcher shop in it including a smoke house at the corner of euclid and grove
http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/1688/metro1al0.jpg

now thats somthing thats missing from the burbs corner stores.......

and then theres ross house witch was the first post ofice in western canada
http://www.pointdouglas.com/plugins/p17_image_gallery/images/717.jpg



as for the hotels mentioned i got pics of them now... i gota sort threw 2000 pictures betweem my webserver and what i got on image shack :S


stublmed across this pic of barber house
http://www.westlandconstructionltd.com/img/project/general0180.jpg

The Barber House
Client
City of Winnipeg

Project Type
Historical

Challenge
Construct a new foundation, move the structure, replace the oak logs and stabilize the structure. The roof was repaired using cedar shingles and moccasins were discovered in each rafter space.

Results
Another excellent opportunity to meet and work with the people of Point Douglas


and this one of ross house
http://www.westlandconstructionltd.com/img/project/general0170.jpg

The Ross House
Client
City of Winnipeg

Project Type
Historical

Challenge
Construct a new foundation, relocate the 1st Winnipeg Post Office, replace oak logs and restore the interior. The original Red River frame construction tools & methods were used to produce perfect duplicates of the log components, square nails and horse hair binder.

Results
An incredible experience for all concerned.

gee nutyclubs sign looks better today
http://www.manitobaphotos.com/1950/079.jpg

http://www.manitobaphotos.com/1950/039.jpg

[Only The Lonely..]

I always wondered what this hotel would be like if it still stood today.

Would it have become a dodgy welfare den like the McLaren, Empire, and Leland, or would it be a premier place to stay like the Hotel Ft.Garry.

http://bbhilda.topcities.com/MbHotel1890s.jpg


The Manitoba Hotel, built by the Northern Pacific Railway in the early 1890s on the southeast corner of Main and Water, was considered the finest hostelry between Montreal and Vancouver. With the hotel's spacious rotunda, excellent dining room, elaborate ballroom and well stocked wine cellar, it was the centre of Winnipeg social life. The rotunda, 150 x 40 ft and 25 ft high, was extremely handsome, wainscotted in oak, with glittering electric and gaslit chandeliers, rich carpets and handsome furniture.


http://bbhilda.topcities.com/ManitobaHotelAfterFire1899_343x265.jpg

[Only The Lonely..]

They sure knew how to build cities back then..

http://bbhilda.topcities.com/ClementsBlockAngusTaylor.jpg

[LilZebra]

Corydon streetcar line??????????????????

Yes, till about 1948. It ran from downtown to Cambridge St.

Winnipeg Tribune - September 1948 - Streetcar Track on Corydon To Go (http://uwto.org/trib/transit_1948corydon.html)

WECo. 332 North Main streetcar (http://uwto.org/photos/weco332.jpg)

[Greco Roman]

Yes, till about 1948. It ran from downtown to Cambridge St.

Winnipeg Tribune - September 1948 - Streetcar Track on Corydon To Go (http://uwto.org/trib/transit_1948corydon.html)

WECo. 332 North Main streetcar (http://uwto.org/photos/weco332.jpg)

Oh, I thought they were thinking of putting one back on Corydon. Never mind. :cool:

[Andy6]

Absent from this list, though I'm certain they were in operation in that year, the Bell, the Windsor and the McLaren.

The St. Regis opened in 1911, as well.

[LilZebra]

Oh, I thought they were thinking of putting one back on Corydon. Never mind. :cool:

Maybe one day on Corydon and/or on Grant.

[rgalston]

http://bbhilda.topcities.com/ClementsBlockAngusTaylor.jpg

The first two floors of one of these buildings still stands, and is where McDonald Shoes was, and where the Glass Onion is now (facing the back). And which one was the Clement's Block? A Randy R. Rostecki had these remarks to make about it in in 1972
Constructed in 1884, the present-day Clements Block stands on the site of Winnipeg's first court house. Originally, the upper floors of the 1873 structure were devoted to a hall of justice and the sheriff's office. The cellar served as a detention center, complete with cells for the inmates. When the Police Court was finished in 1882, the structure was sold to Henry Brown and Dan Rodgers. One portion became the Royal Theatre, and, presumably, the cellar became the rooms of the Hub Hotel! This situation continued until the old building was razed for the construction of the Clements Block in 1884.

Some expense was saved by the builders of the Clements Block, for they merely retained and built over the foundations of the courthouse. The walls, which are two feet thick, still exist below the concrete surface of Main Street. One cell, now devoid of its hardware, awaits any further inmates. Other cells have probably been destroyed because a large furnace was installed in the basement. Dorothy Garbutt described the old cellar in an August, 1967 [7] newspaper article, but she failed to discover several other interesting facts concerning that dark hole. I discovered a tunnel mouth behind the huge, disused furnace. It had been walled in many years ago. On the other side of this wall, under what was formerly the Empire Photo Salon is another cell. This section is smaller than its counterpart in the north portion of the basement. Here, the old-style pyramid footings on the foundation are exposed to the eye of the observer. A half block south of the Clements Block is Birt Saddlery, which has its own dungeons. Perhaps this too was an early jail.

The Clements Block was once one of the finer and more unusual office buildings in Winnipeg. But the actions of time and owners have taken their toll. The Clements Block was a dollar a night lodging house until its closure by the Health Department a few weeks ago. The Clements Block is in poor condition, and the closure will probably mean the demolition of this building. But if it is razed, then the historic cellar will disappear. The City of Winnipeg does not know of the cellar's existence, or, if it does know, it could not care less. The civic centennial is coming up late next year, and the plans which have so far emerged from the centennial committee are the usual sham and hypocrisy involved with commercializing our past. The true elements of our history lie not in the beer garden or the "Fort Apache" complex which are planned for 1974. But it is these two items which will be given preference over the real history which lies, forgotten in the cellar of a decaying office building.

Found here: http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/transactions/3/winnipegbuildings.shtml

[rgalston]

I always wondered what this hotel would be like if it still stood today.

Would it have become a dodgy welfare den like the McLaren, Empire, and Leland, or would it be a premier place to stay like the Hotel Ft.Garry.

http://bbhilda.topcities.com/MbHotel1890s.jpg



That would have certainly been the city's tallest in its time. If it did not burn down in 1899, I suspect that, given its size and close proximity to Portage and Main, that it would not have survived the Juba years.

[1ajs]

heres a crude cad drawing i just did of the sadldery building basement

http://www.pointdouglas.com/plugins/p17_image_gallery/images/810.jpg

[dennis]

http://www.manitobaphotos.com/1950/079.jpg
other than the water - and quality, that picture could have just been taken today

[Andy6]

Absent from this list, though I'm certain they were in operation in that year, the Bell, the Windsor and the McLaren.

Is the Nicolett Inn the same as the Couture Hotel, I wonder?

[Andy6]

I labelled one of my historic photos of Winnipeg today. The yellow-labelled buildings are still there and the blue-labelled ones not. I hadn't been able to date this photo before but on looking closely I could see that the Wheat Board building is under construction (and nearly finished) on Main Street. Also the Grain Exchange has finally taken its complete form, with the upper four floors on the south side lighter coloured than the older floors below (you can still see a tiny difference in the colour today, I believe). Those facts suggest that this was taken in mid-1928.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1152/602106521_1e3c6a6e44_b.jpg

If you want to scroll around at a much larger, though less distinct, size, click here (http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1152/602106521_0d3b48ebf9_o.jpg).

[Andy6]

...nudge...

[rgalston]

All the Hydro buildings in the world aren't going to make Portage Avenue look as urban as it did in 1928.

[Andy6]

I'm wondering if the tower structure at the bottom left might be a radio mast on the Free Press building belonging to the original CKY (I think it was) that was later radio station CKRC. Just a theory.

[rgalston]

The Norlyn Building on Hargrave you have listed as still standing, though I've never seen it. It's where Wagon Wheel Lunch is today, but that building is modern, and less than five storeys. Was the Norlyn Building partly demolished and re-clad?

[Andy6]

The Norlyn Building on Hargrave you have listed as still standing, though I've never seen it. It's where Wagon Wheel Lunch is today, but that building is modern, and less than five storeys. Was the Norlyn Building partly demolished and re-clad?

It was mostly ruined in the Time Building fire. I believe that what's now there is part of the original. It was a close call whether to go blue or yellow on that one.

[trueviking]

All the Hydro buildings in the world aren't going to make Portage Avenue look as urban as it did in 1928.


no kidding...
http://www.manitobaphotos.com/Postcards/p111.jpg


heres a cool one of the avenue building in its pre-pink days.

http://www.manitobaphotos.com/Postcards/p101.jpg

http://www.manitobaphotos.com/postcards.htm

[Andy6]

Yes, as it says in the Going Downtown book, the building is actually the same structure as Mitchell Copp. The bank part of it (that became Mitchell Copp) just wanted a fancier facade. The top stories on the west side were lost to fire.

The Kensington Building on the corner of Portage and Smith ("Lambert's Clothes" in the last postcard) burned down too ... I remember that fire. Unfortunately the result was the horrible new Kensington Building.

[trueviking]

^^oops...sorry, i made a new post


check out this photo of portage avenue from 1960...the building that currently houses o' calcutta (the affleck building?) appears to be the first floor of what was a much larger building....i wonder what happened to the rest of it?

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/9471/untitled1iv0.jpg

[1ajs]

I labelled one of my historic photos of Winnipeg today. The yellow-labelled buildings are still there and the blue-labelled ones not. I hadn't been able to date this photo before but on looking closely I could see that the Wheat Board building is under construction (and nearly finished) on Main Street. Also the Grain Exchange has finally taken its complete form, with the upper four floors on the south side lighter coloured than the older floors below (you can still see a tiny difference in the colour today, I believe). Those facts suggest that this was taken in mid-1928.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1152/602106521_1e3c6a6e44_b.jpg

If you want to scroll around at a much larger, though less distinct, size, click here (http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1152/602106521_0d3b48ebf9_o.jpg).

.. thats was you? i just stumbled across that pic on flickr lol

[1ajs]

^^oops...sorry, i made a new post


check out this photo of portage avenue from 1960...the building that currently houses o' calcutta (the affleck building?) appears to be the first floor of what was a much larger building....i wonder what happened to the rest of it?

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/9471/untitled1iv0.jpg
weird wonder why they shortend it or was it a victom in that hudge fire in that area?

[Andy6]

I have a shot of the same block in my horde, although it's a few years earlier since what is CIBC in your shot is still the Imperial Bank in mine (the Canadian Bank of Commerce and the Imperial Bank of Canada merged in 1955).

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1310/606543560_ef252fab77_b.jpg

According to Going Downtown, the upper storeys of the Affleck Building burned in 1973. The two buildings together were originally called the Kennedy Block.

[Andy6]

Oops...sorry -- for accuracy's sake, the CIBC was created in June 1961. So trueviking's shot must be from after that date while mine looks like maybe 1956 or 1957, given the look of the cars.

[1ajs]

Oops...sorry -- for accuracy's sake, the CIBC was created in June 1961. So trueviking's shot must be from after that date while mine looks like maybe 1956 or 1957, given the look of the cars.
update the tittle on flickr lol

[newflyer]

I have a shot of the same block in my horde, although it's a few years earlier since what is CIBC in your shot is still the Imperial Bank in mine (the Canadian Bank of Commerce and the Imperial Bank of Canada merged in 1955).

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1310/606543560_ef252fab77_b.jpg

According to Going Downtown, the upper storeys of the Affleck Building burned in 1973. The two buildings together were originally called the Kennedy Block.

Yeah I believe the Kennedy block was actually one continous building on the inside. I think they may have even shared the same address at that time. I also think it contained the Bank of Commerce before the merge.

[1ajs]

heres a fairly old shot well to me it is..... first skyline shot i have ever seen of td rising
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/canada/images/jwcp_01_img0038.jpg

[Andy6]

I added some more labels and a clarification re the Norlyn Bldg.:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1065/612635528_f923b62496_b.jpg

supersized version (http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1065/612635528_d5c2934cc8_o.jpg)

[Calgarian]

There goes Winnipeg, livin in the past again.

Just kidding, I wish Calgary had half the history Winnipeg does, and I wish we didn't tear down all of our history to build a bunch of 20 storey concrete boxes and empty parking lots.

Cool thread.

[Andy6]

I started labelling another one from 1928. This time the demolished buildings are in italics:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1080/624823971_dd52fa4ed8_b.jpg

supersize (http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1080/624823971_f000c110f6_o.jpg)

[updated with a few more labels]

[newflyer]

There goes Winnipeg, livin in the past again.

Just kidding, I wish Calgary had half the history Winnipeg does, and I wish we didn't tear down all of our history to build a bunch of 20 storey concrete boxes and empty parking lots.

Cool thread.

I do agree that Winnipegers do seem to ponder the past much to often, but with its very rich history it is easily expalined.

As far as Calgary goes... it disappoints me that Penny Lane is coming down. One of the few remaining historic blocks in downtown... turning to rubble. There seems to be absolutely no interest in Calgary at retaining any of its history. Its a 180 from Winnipeg where even 100 year old crap is deemed more worthy than any thing new. The future seems to take a backseat to the past far too often, even when there is little to nothing to save. Ex: the 100 Main arguement.

I believe it was Mark Twain that said the history of a city defines its character, but its future is defined by its ambition.

[trueviking]

I started labelling another one from 1928. This time the demolished buildings are in italics:


damn...that photo is awesome....what a city....all those buildings on the left side that came down for the trizek building make me sick to my stomach....funny that a couple of those little houses on the bottom right are still there....used to be tokyo joes.

the frontenac hotel looks cool....never seen that before.

[Winnipegger]

heres a fairly old shot well to me it is..... first skyline shot i have ever seen of td rising
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/canada/images/jwcp_01_img0038.jpg

Wow, I really like that one. I'd like to see modern winnipeg, but without the portage and main towers. That'd be different...

[trueviking]

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1143/616868363_a8f16659d5_b.jpg


interesting to compare...

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/7486/dsc0086zu4.jpg

[newflyer]

I started labelling another one from 1928. This time the demolished buildings are in italics:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1143/616868363_a8f16659d5_b.jpg

supersize (http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1143/616868363_3d9884baa6_o.jpg)

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/7486/dsc0086zu4.jpg


In the top pic .. the Grain Exchange building is a huge tower.

In the seond pic .. its invisible.

The scale of the new buildings are huge compared to the old.

[newflyer]

I started labelling another one from 1928. This time the demolished buildings are in italics:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1143/616868363_a8f16659d5_b.jpg

supersize (http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1143/616868363_3d9884baa6_o.jpg)


Did Norte Dame ever go all the way through .. from where it is now to what is now Pioneer Ave? It sure looks like it may have in its history, but I don't have a map which shows it.

I will keep looking. The streets are in alinement. Just wondering if any of you knew.

[newflyer]

damn...that photo is awesome....what a city....all those buildings on the left side that came down for the trizek building make me sick to my stomach....funny that a couple of those little houses on the bottom right are still there....used to be tokyo joes.

the frontenac hotel looks cool....never seen that before.

Keep in mind that the Richardson building lot was a gas station at the time too. So there were some positives through the passage of time too.

Also keep in mind that the industrial powerhouse of Winnipeg's former downtown no longer applies today. Thus vacant lots are abundant.. waiting for new oportunities in today's knowledge economy. Part of the problem is nobody wants to be near the rail line.


I agree the Frontenac Hotel is cool..... but relitively unknown today.

[1ajs]

its a shame the ogilive mill shut down... seems stupid to ship the grain to toronto and then ship it back as flower.........

but yea theres a bunch of stupid this that have happend in our econimy that have seen alot of the industries that made cities self seficent......

[Andy6]

Forgot about Tokyo Joe's...I'll need to revise this now! Never thought of that as the remnant of an old residential neighbourhood.

I don't believe that Notre Dame ever actually cut across the Portage and Main corner, no. It was named Notre Dame during a brief period when a bridge connected it to Notre Dame Street in St. Boniface.

[rgalston]

I don't think Notre Dame ran across Main st. either. By the time they surveyed Notre Dame, there were buildings at the SW corner of Portage and Main. It would be interesting to think of what it'd be like if it did.

Frontenac Hotel was built in 1881, and if I'm correct, it was home to St. Mary's Academy before they moved to Academy Road. I also had heard that Notre Dame was named thusly because of St. Mary's.

[Andy6]

I don't think Notre Dame ran across Main st. either. By the time they surveyed Notre Dame, there were buildings at the SW corner of Portage and Main. It would be interesting to think of what it'd be like if it did.

Frontenac Hotel was built in 1881, and if I'm correct, it was home to St. Mary's Academy before they moved to Academy Road. I also had heard that Notre Dame was named thusly because of St. Mary's.


You're right...it is the old St. Mary's Academy.

I didn't really realize that there were so many buildings in this part of the Exchange at one time. It seems as though this was sort of a second-tier commercial district, featuring plainer buildings that lacked the prestigious lead tenants that the buildings closer to Portage and Main had. Maybe they were thrown up pretty quickly on spec during the boom period when office space would have been as short as it is in Calgary today. Aside from the Nutty Club buildings, the Keewayden is the only major survivor of the district...now I understand what it's doing there.

Recognizing Tokyo Joe's as a weird survival from the area's short-lived residential period is neat as well. You never know what you're going to find. I guess that Tokyo Joe's is actually a combination of 151 Water and 132 Notre Dame East? I can't really remember what it looks like.

I am not sure what the large building on the south (or east) side of Victoria (Westbrook) was. I have only a 1922 Henderson Directory to work with and it doesn't seem to list this structure, so maybe it had been erected between then and 1928.

[1ajs]

man its nice to live in the past and injoy what we had and still have :)

[rgalston]

I am not sure what the large building on the south (or east) side of Victoria (Westbrook) was. I have only a 1922 Henderson Directory to work with and it doesn't seem to list this structure, so maybe it had been erected between then and 1928.

You don't mean the Codville Warehouse that stood on Westbrook at the foot of Portage Ave. E?
http://wbi.lib.umanitoba.ca/WBImages/medium/CBS-50.jpg

Amazingly, that building was demolished in 1993.


Editions of the Henderson Directories seem to be pretty expensive. I found one from 1959 in a store on Osborne for something like $75. I think I'll just stick to photo-copying pages at the library.

[Andy6]

Yes. It is listed in 1922 as Codville property, but it's not clear that there's a building there yet. I had no idea we were still demolishing Exchange Distict warehouses as recently as 1993.

I don't have the physical directory but there is an online 1922 edition available through my (paid) ancestry.com subscription. I don't think the National Library's digitization project has done any Henderson's directories yet, although they have done some from other cities.

[1ajs]

think this shot is from atop union tower

http://ca.epodunk.com/images/MB/mb_winnipeg05.jpg

[DizzyEdge]

There goes Winnipeg, livin in the past again.

Just kidding, I wish Calgary had half the history Winnipeg does, and I wish we didn't tear down all of our history to build a bunch of 20 storey concrete boxes and empty parking lots.

Cool thread.

Dude, haven't you heard? that's called "progress" :)

[DizzyEdge]

I do agree that Winnipegers do seem to ponder the past much to often, but with its very rich history it is easily expalined.

As far as Calgary goes... it disappoints me that Penny Lane is coming down. One of the few remaining historic blocks in downtown... turning to rubble. There seems to be absolutely no interest in Calgary at retaining any of its history. Its a 180 from Winnipeg where even 100 year old crap is deemed more worthy than any thing new. The future seems to take a backseat to the past far too often, even when there is little to nothing to save. Ex: the 100 Main arguement.

I believe it was Mark Twain that said the history of a city defines its character, but its future is defined by its ambition.

There has been a new found appreciation to retain Calgary's history in the past few years, unfortunately all the original permits and such for Penny Lane had gone through without trouble before this new found interest presented itself. For example, there's a bunch of interest in restoring this dilapidated block: http://www.calgaryheritage.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=903#903
Sadly though in the past 30+ years many gems have gone.

Seeing these Winnipeg pics are kinda sad.. I love the way cities used to have like 10 buildings per block side, narrow but several stories high.. if I ever end up a billionaire I'm going to make sure to buy some downtown parking lot and only sell it off as small area parcels.

[h0twired]

There has been a new found appreciation to retain Calgary's history in the past few years, unfortunately all the original permits and such for Penny Lane had gone through without trouble before this new found interest presented itself. For example, there's a bunch of interest in restoring this dilapidated block: http://www.calgaryheritage.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=903#903
Sadly though in the past 30+ years many gems have gone.

The difference is also that most of downtown Calgary was actually houses up until the 60s. Most buildings were under 5 stories tall. Calgary didnt exactly have a ton of heritage buildings to begin with.

The population of Calgary was also a tenth of the size of Winnipeg when most of the Exchange District was developing in Winnipeg.

The difference is that of the remaining heritage buildings in Calgary most of them have been completely renovated and are fully occupied. Whereas in Winnipeg most of the buildings are vacant and quickly deteriorating. The costs of maintaining the empty buildings is becoming cost prohibative for those that own them and there aren't enough people or businesses willing to invest in the properties.

[IntotheWest]

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/9471/untitled1iv0.jpg

The tallest of these buildings in the middle (with the large columns...sorry, don't know the name, only remember it as Comic World at one point), looked to have a caved-in roof several years ago when I was staying at the Radisson across the street and had a great view to the north.

Was this building destroyed in a fire? Or, were my eyes just decieving me?

BTW - Andy, thanks for posting all the cool old aerials...extremely cool. Are these all out of that book you mention, or some other archive?

So, here's a question to "poll" everyone here - what is the building lamented the most after being torn-down? One of my favourites was the old city hall...

On doing a quick search, this site came up with a whole bunch of fantastic "post cards" from way back:

http://www.manitobaphotos.com/postcards.htm

[IntotheWest]

^On that site, there's a picture of Main Street about half way down the page...could've been a shot of Chicago or NY - amazing.

[DizzyEdge]

The difference is also that most of downtown Calgary was actually houses up until the 60s. Most buildings were under 5 stories tall. Calgary didnt exactly have a ton of heritage buildings to begin with.

The population of Calgary was also a tenth of the size of Winnipeg when most of the Exchange District was developing in Winnipeg.

The difference is that of the remaining heritage buildings in Calgary most of them have been completely renovated and are fully occupied. Whereas in Winnipeg most of the buildings are vacant and quickly deteriorating. The costs of maintaining the empty buildings is becoming cost prohibative for those that own them and there aren't enough people or businesses willing to invest in the properties.

It's really a shame, although falling apart tends to happen slower than being bulldozed which has happened here during past booms. I'm hoping to go to winnipeg this year, never been.
Question, what is the office space market like in downtown Winnipeg? healthy? a glut of class A space? shortage?

[flatlander]

The tallest of these buildings in the middle (with the large columns...sorry, don't know the name, only remember it as Comic World at one point), looked to have a caved-in roof several years ago when I was staying at the Radisson across the street and had a great view to the north.

Was this building destroyed in a fire? Or, were my eyes just decieving me?


http://www.manitobaphotos.com/postcards.htm

Are you sure that was Comic World? It was Mitchell Copp Jewellers as well and is usually known as the Mitchell Copp Building. There was a fire, I don't remember when, and it's basically just the facade left at this point. The owner is holding out for $$$ . . .

[trueviking]

yup it was comic world briefly....it moved there from the exchange when i was a kid.

i didnt know it was only a facade....i remember when the guy bought it there was a big to do in the paper about how he was confident in the renewal of portage avenue so he was taking a chance on this building....taking a chance by letting it rot for 15 years.

[trueviking]

The difference is that of the remaining heritage buildings in Calgary most of them have been completely renovated and are fully occupied. Whereas in Winnipeg most of the buildings are vacant and quickly deteriorating. The costs of maintaining the empty buildings is becoming cost prohibative for those that own them and there aren't enough people or businesses willing to invest in the properties.


it is a misconception that our heritage buildings are mostly empty...the vast majority are not.

there are very few empty buildings in the exchange district.

[newflyer]

The difference is also that most of downtown Calgary was actually houses up until the 60s. Most buildings were under 5 stories tall. Calgary didnt exactly have a ton of heritage buildings to begin with.

The population of Calgary was also a tenth of the size of Winnipeg when most of the Exchange District was developing in Winnipeg.

The difference is that of the remaining heritage buildings in Calgary most of them have been completely renovated and are fully occupied. Whereas in Winnipeg most of the buildings are vacant and quickly deteriorating. The costs of maintaining the empty buildings is becoming cost prohibative for those that own them and there aren't enough people or businesses willing to invest in the properties.

As far as Calgary goes I'd love to see the old Grain Exchange building across from Encana Place on 1st SW, near the Palliser Hotel. Its a fabulous building, but its age is showing, with wiring running outside the walls and such. It is full of lowend tenants, but it would be great if it recieved some much needed attention inside and out.

Winnipeg does have a large pool of heritage buildings in the exchange. The fact that the exchange was not just commercial office buildings, but also very large warehouses, industrial and manufacturing buildings were a part of the makeup of the area. Today's reality, many of these buildings are finding new life as condos, lofts and office space. It must be remembered it takes a significant investment to bring a 100 year old building up to modern codes for residence. Old lead pipes, cancer causing insolation and murcury switches are all commonly found in old builings such as these. They need to be gutted and then introduced to modern utilities, wiring as well as digital technology. Its not just a simple process of buying are leasing them out.

[DizzyEdge]

As far as Calgary goes I'd love to see the old Grain Exchange building across from Encana Place on 1st SW, near the Palliser Hotel. Its a fabulous building, but its age is showing, with wiring running outside the walls and such. It is full of lowend tenants, but it would be great if it recieved some much needed attention inside and out.

Winnipeg does have a large pool of heritage buildings in the exchange. The fact that the exchange was not just commercial office buildings, but also very large warehouses, industrial and manufacturing buildings were a part of the makeup of the area. Today's reality, many of these buildings are finding new life as condos, lofts and office space. It must be remembered it takes a significant investment to bring a 100 year old building up to modern codes for residence. Old lead pipes, cancer causing insolation and murcury switches are all commonly found in old builings such as these. They need to be gutted and then introduced to modern utilities, wiring as well as digital technology. Its not just a simple process of buying are leasing them out.

The reason I asked if downtown winnipeg could use some more class A office space, is here in Calgary Neil Richardson and his company have restored several properties (Lorraine apts, Lougheed building) into office space, his general modus operandi is to gut most of the building and bring up to the highest spec, while restoring the outside and maybe the lobby and first couple floors back to original. He's recently been buying properties in smaller town outside calgary as he's sorta run out of projects in town, I wonder if Winnipeg could use his touch.

[trueviking]

http://www.cbre.ca/NR/rdonlyres/C68A2360-97CD-4843-A040-B22D1FCB64EF/0/winnipeg1q07ofc.pdf

class A 8% vacancy

the indicators are all there for greater demand for office space...job growth, economic growth, population growth, but it doesnt ever seem to come to fruition....18 months ago CBRE predicted 1 million square feet of new office space would be needed in winnipeg....still waiting.

http://www.dcnonl.com/article/20051007200

[IntotheWest]

DizzyEdge - The Exchange District wasn't in the best shape 15-20 years ago from what I recall...could be mistaken though. However, when I worked/lived at Portage and Main in 03/04 and went there a lot in the evening, etc...it is indeed in nice shape, and very little vacancy (as TV mentioned). It's very much worth while to check out - as it is unique on the Prairies (for its size)...and, I'd take a guess that it's even larger (and IMO, much nicer) than Gastown area in Van.

[flatlander]

The reason I asked if downtown winnipeg could use some more class A office space, is here in Calgary Neil Richardson and his company have restored several properties (Lorraine apts, Lougheed building) into office space, his general modus operandi is to gut most of the building and bring up to the highest spec, while restoring the outside and maybe the lobby and first couple floors back to original. He's recently been buying properties in smaller town outside calgary as he's sorta run out of projects in town, I wonder if Winnipeg could use his touch.

I've honestly had a tough time making the distinction between Class A, B and C space. Isn't most converted heritage space usually Class C?

I think if you take all the abandoned/vacant buildings out of the equation there is a very low vacancy rate in the Exchange. These Class C buildings are great inexpensive business incubators.

I know there are a lot of developers interested in Winnipeg lately, from out of town. As there are fewer opportunities in other cities, ours finally are becoming more attractive.

[newflyer]

http://www.cbre.ca/NR/rdonlyres/C68A2360-97CD-4843-A040-B22D1FCB64EF/0/winnipeg1q07ofc.pdf

class A 8% vacancy

the indicators are all there for greater demand for office space...job growth, economic growth, population growth, but it doesnt ever seem to come to fruition....18 months ago CBRE predicted 1 million square feet of new office space would be needed in winnipeg....still waiting.

http://www.dcnonl.com/article/20051007200

Doesn't the new Hydro Building count as new office space??

Once they vacate the other buildings there could be a glut of new space.

[Archiseek]

yup it was comic world briefly....it moved there from the exchange when i was a kid.

i didnt know it was only a facade....


its not... it's a shell...
it has four walls and an intact roof - the interior is a blank canvas

[1ajs]

yea its a shell prity much there was pics of its interior on flickr... that i posted the forums last year...

[Andy6]

I've updated my Main Street shot even more. Any smugness one might feel about Winnipeg's preservation of its historical buildings is kind of deflated by this. I remember when they demolished that entire block of Main Street south of Portage all at once, to be replaced with nothing. Not to say that it looked that great by the 70s, but if you could imagine it restored in the way that Princess Street has been restored, the city would have an amenity worth a lot more than a crappy looking office tower (and a whole block's worth of ventilation shafts and emergency exits from the underground mall). Also, this pic makes the demolition of the TD-Childs-Nanton corner appear to verge on the criminal. The irony is that most of that office space wasn't really needed anyway. TD was gone from the city within a few years.

I think the lesson is that when you build a few buildings that are totally out of scale with the rest of the city, you can end up making the whole look smaller rather than larger.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1266/690014972_148d727b27.jpg

Large (http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=690014972&size=l)
Huge (http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=690014972&size=o)

I still have a way to go with this, and am not sure about everything yet.

Here is Main Street south from Portage in 1900. By comparison with the above picture, you can see that by 1928 only the first few buildings south of Portage have been replaced with much larger ones. The pressure to build bigger buildings quickly dissipated and this block remained much the same for decades.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1383/690015000_143182940a_o.jpg

[rgalston]

I've updated my Main Street shot even more...


That aerial photo amazes me every time I see it. It seems like every modern tower at Portage and Main took out chunks of the city, with demolition eventually extending far beyond the new skyscraper's floorplate. It wasn't for the growing need for a greater concentration of office space, but for the city's general pre-occupation with winning that golden ticket and being "like other cities" that allowed them to demolish--even into the late '80s and early '90s--what would be the southern HALF of the Exchange District.

Here's a photo of Portage and Main from the south, c. 1948:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1309/699074458_4157bc65a4_o.jpg

[newflyer]

That aerial photo amazes me every time I see it. It seems like every modern tower at Portage and Main took out chunks of the city, with demolition eventually extending far beyond the new skyscraper's floorplate. It wasn't for the growing need for a greater concentration of office space, but for the city's general pre-occupation with winning that golden ticket and being "like other cities" that allowed them to demolish--even into the late '80s and early '90s--what would be the southern HALF of the Exchange District.

Here's a photo of Portage and Main from the south, c. 1948:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1309/699074458_4157bc65a4_o.jpg

While it is true that some of the old buildings were very impresive. The fact is the tenants of some of those buildings wanted newer, larger and more modern work environments. TD who leased a good part of that corner required new office space. Winnipeg's highly recognized intersection was is high demand by those same leading tenants. Either way, the probability of those buildings being occupied beyond levels of the Union Building (old Royal Bank Building) today, is not very high. Winnipeg may have only forgone its place in the modern advancement of commercial space.

[rojasrod]

While it is true that some of the old buildings were very impresive. The fact is the tenants of some of those buildings wanted newer, larger and more modern work environments. TD who leased a good part of that corner required new office space. Winnipeg's highly recognized intersection was is high demand by those same leading tenants. Either way, the probability of those buildings being occupied beyond levels of the Union Building (old Royal Bank Building) today, is not very high. Winnipeg may have only forgone its place in the modern advancement of commercial space.

Sadly, you are probably right.

I still don't understand why europeans can appreciate and embrace old buildings and we can't. Even for office space.
Somehow we can't stand a little crack here and there or the minor inconvenience. The Grain Exchange Building for example, had it's interior butchered with cheap drywall and linoleum floors. Why can't we love the old and worn wooden floors like a European would? Why can't we love the old cracked ceilings?
Somehow when we go to Paris and a building has a dirty facade with rusted iron balcony fences it's okay. If we go to Italy and the roof tiles show their age we find it cute. But here at home we have no understanding for a building's right to age with dignity.

[Andy6]

If you go to Europe, you'll find many large companies working out of buildings similar in size to the old ones in Winnipeg. The City in London is more on the scale of the Exchange District than New York, for example. So I'm not totally convinced that these things were impossible.

[Brokenhead]

I was reading a book printed in 1983 about Winnipeg's history. Some awesome pictures. Although I forgot what the name of the book was.

It also claimed the Trizec Building was taller than the Richardson Building.

[rojasrod]

If you go to Europe, you'll find many large companies working out of buildings similar in size to the old ones in Winnipeg. The City in London is more on the scale of the Exchange District than New York, for example. So I'm not totally convinced that these things were impossible.

Oh I agree, it's completely possible, and the building does not have to undergo a costly and comprehensive restoration either. In many cases you basically just need a cleaning, energy efficiency and code compliance.

If business owners run their shops/offices with pride, the population will get the point.

[someone123]

If you go to Europe, you'll find many large companies working out of buildings similar in size to the old ones in Winnipeg. The City in London is more on the scale of the Exchange District than New York, for example. So I'm not totally convinced that these things were impossible.

Winnipeg's buildings are also fairly large, new, and modern. Presumably they all would have had electricity and running water when built. The original wiring wouldn't have been that great, but at least there is a place to put wiring. Many older buildings did not even have that and have been reused.

There was an Icelandic bank that opened here (Landsbanki) and I heard that they will also have an office in Winnipeg. In Halifax they occupy an office building that was constructed in 1820. Maybe they have also set up shop in an older building in Winnipeg.

[1ajs]

Winnipeg's buildings are also fairly large, new, and modern. Presumably they all would have had electricity and running water when built. The original wiring wouldn't have been that great, but at least there is a place to put wiring. Many older buildings did not even have that and have been reused.

There was an Icelandic bank that opened here (Landsbanki) and I heard that they will also have an office in Winnipeg. In Halifax they occupy an office building that was constructed in 1820. Maybe they have also set up shop in an older building in Winnipeg.

no they have an office in the richardson building

[Andy6]

Time to revive this thread. I have been looking around in the back issues of the Winnipeg Free Press, looking for historical bits of interest. Here are some:

Opening of the first Broadway Bridge announced, April 15, 1882:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2040/2203271634_7728956338_b.jpg

Collapse of the Bricklayers' Union Bldg., July 15, 1905 (corner James & Louise, now James & Lily):

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2131/2203271576_3b66246d4c_b.jpg

Very interesting item showing that people were quite conscious of the changes that Eaton's, then under construction, was bringing to downtown (July 9, 1904). Donald St. would be the "New McDermot" (today, a century later, McDermot is the new Donald St.):

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2046/2202479785_84c7d26cfc.jpg?v=0

Part of Eaton's advertisement for its very first day, which was just to go and look -- no sales would take place (July 15, 1905):

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2420/2202479703_eed7a8bf1d.jpg

April 9, 1910 -- the Kenmore Apartments (now known as the Princeton) has opened, with very substantial rents of $40-70 per month:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2042/2202479453_6e62f50e6d.jpg

July 9, 1904: sketch of the new Allman Block on Main Street (across from the Disraeli Freeway),.designed by J.H.G. Russell:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2110/2203270312_74906757d9.jpg

[1ajs]

kool andy forgot about this thread..

anyhow was this the building that collapsed?
http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/5648/buildingcollapsec064630ke2.jpg

[Andy6]

Yes, I'm sure it must be. That must have been quite a storm.

[rgalston]

Very interesting item showing that people were quite conscious of the changes that Eaton's, then under construction, was bringing to downtown (July 9, 1904). Donald St. would be the "New McDermot" (today, a century later, McDermot is the new Donald St.):

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2046/2202479785_84c7d26cfc.jpg?v=0


That's very interesting. The overall decline of downtown aside, I don't think people a century ago (or even 50 or 25 years ago) could have envisioned that in 2008, Portage Avenue Avenue would be lined with bargain outlets (Hakim Factory Outlet, Red Apple, Bargain World) and marginal enterprises (O'Calcutta), while McDermot around Albert--the wholesale district--would be where downtown's trendy retail was concentrated.

[trueviking]

i didnt realize that mcdermot was a retail street in the past....were the store fronts that exist there today original?....i always assumed that they were retrofits of the more typical exchange district building....was it an important street in the past?

one thing i have always wondered and maybe you guys have an answer....why does the building that now houses the mayberry gallery have two facades?....there used to be a building right beside that fronted main street, so why is there a detailed facade on both the street side and to the east?....now that the lot is open, it is exposed, but i wonder why it wasnt designed more typically with only a single facade....did the street pattern change?....what used to be in front of it?

http://www.virtual.heritagewinnipeg.com/jpgs/window/featured/049-2.jpg

[flatlander]

^^I don't have my maps handy but i thought there was a lane in to the east of the Lake of the Woods building?

[Andy6]

i didnt realize that mcdermaot was a retail street in the past....were the store fronts that exist there today orginal?....i always assumed that they were retrofits of the more typical exchange district building....was it an important street in the past?

Well, if this was being written in 1904, there might still have been a lot of the older wood frame buildings around, prior to the construction of all of the warehouses and other large brick structures we see today, although some of the larger buidlings, such as the Telegram Building, had already been around for many years at that point. So perhaps it was more of a retail street then. Or else the writer simply meant a more general sort of importance, in terms of real estate values.

one thing i have always wondered and maybe you guys have an answer....why does the building that now houses the mayberry gallery have two facades?....there used to be a building right beside that fronted main street, so why is there a detailed facade on both the street side and to the east?....now that the lot is open, it is exposed, but i wonder why it wasnt designed more typically with only a single facade....did the street pattern change?....what used to be in front of it?

As you can see below, the Dominion Bank didn't abut Lake of the Woods House. Maybe there was a laneway that serviced a delivery area at the rear of the McIntyre Block? Even then it wouldn't really have been necessary to spend so much on the second facade.

http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/features/winnipegthennow/dominionbank1.jpg

I have a photograph from sometime around 1900 or 1901 showing the Dominion Bank before either of its immediate neighbours was built (the Bank of British North America - Royal Trust - Newmac Bldg on Main and the Lake of the Woods Bldg). Between the Dominion Bank and the two-storey frame commercial building that occupied the Lake of the Woods Bldg lot there is either a tiny one-storey structure or a one-storey extension of the Dominion Bank. There doesn't appear to be a gap for a laneway or driveway. Maybe when the old frame buildings on the block were demolished in order to build the LOTW Bldg and the Criterion Hotel, some sort of access route to something was needed. Another possibility is that the company wanted more light in the building and created a small space in order to allow for windows, which the architect (John H.G. Russell) persuaded it to finish in the opulent style we now see.

[rgalston]

Here's a picture I found from around 1909 or 1910, looking west from the top of the McIntyre block. It amazing how dramatically the skyline of this view would change by 1915--a span of only five years. I have indicated where significant buildings would go up in that time.

Most of the remants of the early era of growth in Winnipeg that are seen here would dissapear. The wood framed block on Portage Avenue (with back yards) would be replaced by the Curry building. The house on the corner of Albert and Notre Dame would be replaced by the Electric Railway Chambers. The house on the far right looks like the house from 1878 still standing--and I thought it was at first--but it is too close to Notre Dame to be it. This house looks like it would have made way for the St. Charles Hotel.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2164/2204637246_cf241a7ce5_o.jpg

[rgalston]

The upper floors of the Dominion Bank building appear to run a funny angle from McDermot.

[1ajs]

yea i noticed that to rob must be angled a bit or somthing..

when did that building get demolished?

[Andy6]

yea i noticed that to rob must be angled a bit or somthing..

when did that building get demolished?

1968 (http://apollo.lib.umanitoba.ca/viewBuilding.action?id=330). Built 1899 and designed by Darling & Pearson. Not surprising, since it has a very Ontario-ish look to it, notably the (what appears to be) sandstone, which I think you see in downtown Winnipeg only on that building on Garry Street just down from the old Bank of Nova Scotia.

That was a big loss, especially for an empty lot. It was a very elegant building and something of a contrast in its Victorian heaviness to the more classical style of some of the other bank buildings.

[1ajs]

shame it was demolished wonder why they did that? it would be

[Andy6]

The upper floors of the Dominion Bank building appear to run a funny angle from McDermot.

Yes, the upper floors appear to be square to the Main Street facade, while the ground floor is allowed to follow the angle of McDermot.

[Andy6]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2164/2204637246_cf241a7ce5_o.jpg

Nice labelling, Rob.

[Andy6]

I happened to find this reference to the construction of the Dominion Bank branch in the June 7, 1899 Free Press (p2), in an article about the Bank's shareholder meeting in Toronto:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2177/2204310815_ca3820c8ec.jpg

This City of Winnipeg report (http://winnipeg.ca/ppd/historic/pdf-consv/Main678-long.pdf) concerning the 1907 Dominion Bank Building at 678 Main Street is interesting.

[1ajs]

they need to update that thing since its not ocupied... had no idea about the offices on the 2nd floor its like a time capsul i hope it is looked after.....

[Andy6]

A couple more clippings:

Think vegetarian restaurants are something new? Here's an ad from 99 years ago (July 24, 1909):

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2009/2204710679_863c3f22e9.jpg?v=0

Oldfield Kirby & Gardner ad from August 19, 1910, showing a range of house prices large size (http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=2205499968&size=o):

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2018/2205499968_a3f3ae4d0e_b.jpg

[rgalston]

Here is the side of the LotW building this afternoon. If there was an alley, you can see that the rear of the Newmac building (Empire) terminates it. It sure seems like quite an extra expense to put such effort into the brickwork along a short alley. Perhaps because the funny angle of the Bank of Commerce exposed so much of the east facade?

In any case, it makes it one of the finest little buildings in the Exchange District.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2053/2204768535_547a1a8063.jpg

[trueviking]

oh man, i wish i hadnt seen that dominion bank image...what a horrible loss...imagine tearing that down....

those house prices are awesome....look how expensive wellington is...and interesting that spence and balmoral are two of the more expensive streets...

stabling for horses on wellington....


i love this stuff...thanks for sharing it guys.

[rgalston]

oh man, i wish i hadnt seen that dominion bank image...what a horrible loss...imagine tearing that down....

those house prices are awesome....look how expensive wellington is...and interesting that spence and balmoral are two of the more expensive streets...

stabling for horses on wellington....


i love this stuff...thanks for sharing it guys.

I know. The rounded corner and (apparently) sandstone facade was truely unique in Winnipeg. That block of Main between Portage and McDermot took such a beating in the last few decades--and for no good reason, either. I mean, other than the TD Centre, which took out the Child's and Nanton buildings (the latter of which my great-grandfather worked at from his arrival to Winnipeg from Glasgow in 1919 to his death in 1950), there is no excuse that anyone can use for the destruction of this row of buildings. At least the Newmac building, Winnipeg's other McKim, Mead, and White (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McKim,_Mead,_and_White) creation, is still standing.

[rgalston]

As I sit here, attempting to sober up, here are a few pictures that I've found recently:

One of the more dramatic images of Bloody Saturday, 1919. Mounted police round the bend in front of the Confederation Life building. It is incredible to imagine what that day must have been like. To go back in time and stand on Main Street...

I have heard of some people who were were adults living in Winnipeg in that year, who never talked about it
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2254/2205911534_9941c6efb9_o.jpg

Sir A.M. Nanton--the only knight that I know of that permentantly resided in Winnipeg. The gate-house of his former Roslyn Road estate is now a private residence
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2352/2205881128_1f29473418_o.jpg

Here is a near-mythical view of Portage and Main c.1920s--when Winnipeg was a much, much bigger city than it is today
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2141/2205881132_3baf02ae01_o.jpg

[1ajs]

Yes, I'm sure it must be. That must have been quite a storm.

aparently its not that one andy its other building that colapsed on king and mcdermot of all places lol

source: virtual.heritagewinnipeg
Year of Photo: 1905

Description:
Collapsed building at King St and McDermot Av

Archives of Manitoba Winnipeg Buildings-Business-Business Collection
Item 1 Negative ID N9128

[Andy6]

I scanned a few more photos this afternoon:

Here's my Dominion Bank picture, shortly after completion (1900 or 1901):

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2246/2206800579_ecc4ff623a_b.jpg

Looking down McDermot from the first Bank of Hamilton building. This might be a year after the first photo (probably 1902), since the Lake of the Woods building has now replaced the first wooden structure [correction: it is in the space between the white structure and the bank; the white building is still there, soon to be replaced by the Criterion Hotel (1903)]:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2291/2207592900_bf2edd16aa_b.jpg

Another view, north on Main:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2028/2207591974_02cea35a32_b.jpg

Meanwhile, up at the old CPR station on Higgins:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2222/2207680534_40af3c5be2_b.jpg

Broadway, showing the Broadway Court apartment block under construction where the Cambrian Credit Union now stands. I labelled this one since we don't often see this sort of angle:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2266/2206803043_84912b8f79_b.jpg

What the residential area in the background looked like around 1901. This is what Dalnavert is a remnant of. Most of these houses could be in my neighbourhood in Toronto. They would have appealed to the wealthier emigrants from Ontario for that reason:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2017/2207681350_284ae9b05a_b.jpg

This is a family photo, showing my great grandfather and my great aunt about 1906 or 1907 at their house at 290 Wardlaw (or Wardlow, as it then was). This is part of a neighbourhood that was demolished when the Midtown Bridge was built and Donald Street extended south through Fort Rouge. The house would have been around what was once the intersection of Wardlaw and Clarke, backing onto the CNR mainline by the river:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2332/2206890985_2bf664c6ef.jpg

[1ajs]

This is a family photo, showing my great grandfather and my great aunt about 1906 or 1907 at their house at 290 Wardlaw (or Wardlow, as it then was). This is part of a neighbourhood that was demolished when the Midtown Bridge was built and Donald Street extended south through Fort Rouge. The house would have been around what was once the intersection of Wardlaw and Clarke, backing onto the CNR mainline by the river:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2332/2206890985_2bf664c6ef.jpg
interesting andy the front of my house probly looked simlar back then... as it did have one of thoughs arbors sticking out of it.. but i think mine was 2 stories no clue what posed them to rip it off lol only know it was there cause of a weird shaped closit in the basement thats full of antique computers...

[1ajs]

this was posted on flickr recently

Buildings from the Birds Eye View of the Central Business Portion of Winnipeg, Manitoba (1894) Entered according to Act of Parliament, in the Department of Agriculture, in the Year 1884, by Clarence E. Steele, Winnipeg.
This image is a mosaic of the building images included on the edges of the Birds Eye View of the Central Business Portion of Winnipeg. In order to maintain a higher resolution it was scanned from an image that was an enlargement of a microfilmed copy.
This photo has notes. Move your mouse over the linkl to see them. http://www.flickr.com/photos/manitobamaps/2198447149/

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2030/2198447149_04209dcff1_b.jpg


1894 http://www.flickr.com/photos/manitobamaps/2199216528/


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2408/2199216528_2ce76ac570.jpg?v=0

large version http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=2198819258&size=o
http://www.flickr.com/photos/manitobamaps/2198819258/
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2231/2198819258_f73c177e82_b.jpg


large sizehttp://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=2195562204&size=o
http://www.flickr.com/photos/manitobamaps/2195562204/
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2158/2195562204_bebf28c835_b.jpg

[Pootkao]

Man, these are great boys! Keep 'em coming!