Early Agricultural
Industry Buildings
& Agricultural Machinery Warehouses
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Agricultural Industry Buildings & Agricultural Machinery
Warehouses
Following the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway in
1881. The Exchange District became the centre of the agricultural
industry in Western Canada. Companies based in Eastern Canada
which served the industry opened branches in the District.
Massey manufacturing Co. and Harris implement Co. which merged
to form the Massey-Harris Co., John Deere Plow Co. and the
Cockshutt Plow Co. all had warehouses in the area around City
Hall and the Civic Market. These warehouses, which were shared
with locally based agricultural businesses, had large showrooms
and storefront windows for the display of the latest machinery.
With the construction of the Exchange Buildings on Princess
Street in 1892 and 1898, the importance of the business area
west of Main Street had been established. But with the move
to the new Grain Exchange Building on Lombard Avenue in 1908,
the centre of the grain trade shifted back to the east side
of Main Street.
1. OLD CITY HALL
1883-86 Charles A. & Earle W. Barber
Demolished 1962
The second Winnipeg City Hall was constructed to replace
an earlier building on the site. This new Victorian 'Gingerbread'
structure featured a rough-faced stone foundation and dark
reddish-brown clay brick walls with heavy detailing and contrasting
light-coloured stone bands. There were four towers at each
corner and two grand staircases which led to the main entries
below the clock tower in the centre. Officially opened in
1886, the building became the home of Winnipeg City Council
and the Board of Trade, of which many of the District's most
powerful businessmen were to serve as Mayor and President.
This City Hall, thoroughly Victorian but thought ugly by some,
was demolished in 1962 together with the Civic Market to make
way for the new Civic Centre.
2. CIVIC MARKET
1889-1890 George Browne
1919-1920 Conversion to offices
Demolished 1964
The first Market Building was constructed on a site to the
west of City hall in 1877 and reconstructed in 1889-1890.
Managed by the Market Committee or Market Court of City Council,
the two-storey building with its three-storey central tower
was an important meeting place for Winnipeg's buying and selling
produce. The market was closed in 1919 as many stores had
by then opened throughout Winnipeg to serve the public's needs.
There was also political pressure from businessmen for its
closing because the Market had become the gathering place
for workers involved in the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919.
The Victorian building was converted to civic offices though
produce continued to be sold in the square around the building
until its demolition.
3. LELAND HOTEL
218-222 William Avenue
1883-84 Possibly Charles A. & Earle W. Barber
1892 Four storeys added, Charles A. Barber
1913-14 Three storeys removed
Centrally located across from City Hall, the three-storey
Leland House was owned by Archibald Wright, a prominent businessmen
and alderman and one of the city's first school trustees,
and managed by Captain William Douglas, a hotelier and former
steamship captain. The name of the hotel was famous throughout
the United States for providing first class accommodation.
This Victorian Italianate structure was given a brick and
wood addition with mansard roof together with cast iron porticos
on William Avenue and at the ladies' entrance on Albert Street.
The larger hotel could accommodate over one hundred commercial
travelers and businessmen and had all the modern dining rooms,
and an oyster bar. Following a fire in 1913, the upper removed
and in 1956, the porticos were removed.
4.EXCHANGE BUILDING I / BAWLF BUILDING II
164-166 Princess Street
1892 Charles A. Barber
1902 One storey added Samuel Hooper
The second home of the Winnipeg Grain and Produce Exchange,
this building was erected by one of its founders, Nicholas
Bawlf, who became a prominent businessman in the city. The
Victorian Commercial structure was the centre of the grain
industry upon its opening. The trading room was located on
the third floor of the building, offices were on the second
floor and the main floor contained showrooms, spanned by metal
trusses, for agricultural implements. A central wall illuminated
the interior of the building. The Board of Trade, which later
became the Chamber of Commerce also occupied the building,
and the Hudson's Bay Company fur exchange did business here
from 1930 to 1950.
5. EXCHANGE BUILDING II
160 Princess Street
1898 Samuel Hooper
The third home of the Winnipeg Grain and Produce Exchange,
this Victorian Commercial structure contained the offices
of many businesses involved in the grain industry. The trading
room contained businesses involved in the grain industry.
The trading room was extended from the third floor of the
adjacent building and is marked on the exterior by a wrought
iron balcony. Upon the relocation of the Grain and Produce
Exchange to the new Grain Exchange Building on Lombard Avenue
in 1908, the Chamber of Commerce took over the structure.
It occupied the building until 1943.
6. HARRIS BUILDING
154 Princess Street
1882 James Chisholm
The oldest agricultural implement warehouse in the District
was constructed for A. Harris. Son & Co. This Ontario-based
agricultural implement manufacturer opened a Winnipeg branch
in 1872 to service the growing grain industry. It built this
Victorian Electric warehouse with details of sheaves of wheat
on the facade. An arch in the cornice once contained a statue
of Ceres, a Roman goddess, carrying a sheaf of wheat. A. Harris
& Son merged with Massey Manufacturing Co. in 1891 to
form the Massey-Harris Co. It then moved to its warehouse
at 296 William Avenue. The Harris Building was subsequently
leased to the Cockshutt Plow Co. which occupied it until 1903.
Since then, it has served mainly as a boot and shoe wholesale
warehouse.
7. BAWLF BUILDING I
148 Princess Street
1882 Charles A. & Earle W. Barber
8. BENSON BUILDING
146 Princess Street
1882 Charles A. & Earle W. Barber
These two buildings were erected by businessmen Nicholas
Bawlf and Joseph Benson as revenue properties. Bawlf was a
feed supplier and Benson owned a stable on the site of the
buildings. The Victorian Electric buildings had numerous uses-
the Bawlf Building was used mostly as a warehouse and the
Benson Building was used as a hotel.
9. MASSEY-HARRIS BUILDING
294 William Avenue
1885 George Browne
1904 Four-storey addition, S. Frank Peters
This warehouse was constructed for the Massey Manufacturing
Co., an Ontario-based agricultural implement manufacturer.
The company established a branch office in Winnipeg in 1881,
the year the transcontinental railway reached the city. The
Victorian Commercial building was constructed in a traditional
style- its Italianate influences are more restrained than
with earlier buildings in the District. Unfortunately, the
original metal cornices have been removed. The Massey Manufacturing
Co. merged with Harris. Son & Co, in 1891 and later, a
simple addition was constructed to the east of the original
building. The Massey-Harris Co., which became Canada's largest
farm implement manufacturer, remained in the building until
1944. Today, the building is used for government offices.
10. FAIRCHILD BUILDING
110-120 Princess Street
1906-07 John D. Atchison with Herbert B. Rugh
This modern warehouse was among the last to be constructed
in the District. It was built by the F.A. Fairchild Co. which
was established in Winnipeg in 1877 as Westbrook and Fairchild,
one of the first farm implement dealerships in the city. The
building is an excellent example of the Chicago School style
as influenced by architect Louis Sullivan. Constructed of
steel and reinforced concrete, it also makes use of cast iron
columns. The structure has characteristic Sullivanesque terra
cotta detailing including Fairchild Co. monograms on the facade.
Most of the rear of the building is glass, providing extensive
light to the interior; the main floor with its large windows
was once used to display machinery. During the Fairchild Company
merged with the John Deere Plow Co. which remained there until
1953.
11. ODDFELLOWS HALL
72-74 Princess Street
1883-4 Hugh McCowan
The Independent order of Oddfellows constructed this three-storey
building with a metal cornice showing the initials IOOF and
ML No.1 (Manitoba Lodge No.1) together with the cryptic symbols
of the mystic order- a crescent moon with seven stars and
three-link chain. The Victorian structure was partially leased
to commercial tenants to provide revenue to the order. Its
first tenant was the clothing wholesaler, Carscadden &
Peck, which later built its own building at 33 Princess Street.
The meeting hall for the OddFellows, including a mezzanine,
was located on the third floor. Its walls and ceiling are
completely covered in embossed tin, a common material of the
day which can still be found in many buildings. Following
a fire in 1930, the main floor facades were substantially
altered.
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