Manufacturing
and Wholesale Agents
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and Wholesale Agents
The Exchange District was the home base for thousands of
salesmen who travelled throughout Western Canada selling wholesale
goods manufactured or stored in warehouses in the city. The
Northwest Commercial Travellers Association, an organization
providing services to travelling salesmen based in Western
Canada, was founded in Winnipeg in 1882. Association members
were provided with office space, club and dining rooms, reduced
train and hotel rates and insurance policies. The Association
had two thousand members when the Travellers Building, its
new headquarters, was erected on Bannatyne Avenue in 1906.
Today, it has approximately 10,000 members.
GALT BUILDING
103 Princess Street / 290 Bannatyne Avenue
1887 Charles H. Wheeler
1901 One storey added, Four-storey addition James H. Cadham
The first Romanesque Revival style warehouse in the District
was built for the G.F. & J. Galt Company, one of Canada's
leading grocery wholesalers. This firm was well-known for
its Blue Ribbon brand of Manufacturing Company which sold
teas, coffees, spices and baking products. He was also a founder
and Vice-President of the Winnipeg Grain and Produce Exchange.
The English Romanesque Revival style of the original warehouse
pre-dated the American version in the District. It has a rounded
corner entrance and round-head arched windows typical of the
Romanesque style which were extended when additions were made
to the building. These additions remain the best in the District,
in keeping with the character of the original three-storey
building. This company also built a second warehouse at 82
Arthur Street / 87 King Street in 1901.
CAMPBELL-WILSON BUILDING
92-100 Princess Street
1903 John H.G. Russell
1913 Two storeys added
This Romanesque Revival warehouse in the style of Chicago
architect H. H. Richardson was constructed for one of Western
Canada's largest grocery wholesalers. Campbell Brothers and
Wilson was founded by R. J. Campbell and his brother in 1885
and later joined by R. R. Wilson. The original building was
one of the most fully-serviced warehouses in the District
with a railway spur line running immediately behind it. Goods
could be shipped directly to the warehouse from th main line;
a driveway entered from Princess Street (now closed) provided
for protected loading and unloading within the building. The
later addition to the three-storey building which did not
extent the round-head arches to the roof, was not as successful
as some others in the District. J. M. Sinclair, another grocery
wholesaler purchased the building in 1945 and occupied it
until 1958. The building is now a retail store.
GAULT BUILDING AND ANNEX
92-100 Arthur Street / 93-99 King Street
1900 George Browne
1903 Two storeys added, Six-storey addition James H. Cadham
One of the finest Richardson Romanesque warehouses in the
District, this building was constructed for Gault Brothers
Company Ltd.. The company was a branch of A. F. Gault and
Company, a Montreal-based dry goods wholesaler. Gault Brothers
occupied the eastern section of the original four-storey building
and Clark Brothers & Co., a wholesale stationer, occupied
the western section. The Gault Brothers Company Ltd. grew
rapidly- the Winnipeg warehouse at one time contained over
twice the stock of its Montreal partner. An annex which included
a covered driveway was added and leased to wholesale tenants.
Notable is the rooftop sign fence, one of the few remaining
in the District, on which the name "Gaults Ltd. Wholesale
Dry Goods" was once advertised. Gaults Ltd. occupied
the building until 1973 when it merged with another company.
The building is now the home of Artspace Inc., a visual and
literary arts centre.
WHITLA BUILDING II AND ANNEX
54-70 Arthur Street / 264-266 McDermot Avenue
1899 James H. Cadham
1906 Two storeys added
1911 Six-storey addition John H. G. Russell
This massive warehouse is among many built in the District
for the wholesale dry goods firm, R. J. Whitla & Co..
The Winnipeg-based company was begun by Robert J. Whitla as
a retail and wholesale dry goods store on Main Street in 1879.
He built his first wholesale warehouse at 70 Albert Street
during 1882-1884 and the second, the Imperial Dry Goods Building
at 460 Main Street (now 91 Albert Street) in 1889-1900. One
of the largest Richardson Romanesque warehouses in the District,
this one features and enclosed driveway which provided for
protected loading and unloading of goods within. The various
additions to the original four-storey building, some of which
have cast iron frames, reflect the rapid growth of this important
company. A prominent businessman and politician, Whitla also
served as President of the Board of Trade.
TRAVELLERS BUILDING
283-285 Bannatyne Avenue
1906 Darling & Pearson, Toronto
The Northwest Commercial Travellers Association constructed
this building to provide business offices and services for
its members. The six-storey building originally included a
barbershop and Turkish baths in the basement; a restaurant
on the main floor; the Association's offices together with
dining, club, smoking and reading rooms on the second floor;
members offices on the fourth and fifth floors; and, showrooms
on the sixth floor. Typically Edwardian, it is of concrete
construction with red clay brick facades, a restrained dressed
stone arch at the entrance and marble and oak on the interior.
The building was occupied from 1945 until the 1970s by the
Government of Canada. Today it contains offices with restaurants
on the main floor and in the basement.
MAW GARAGE
112-114 King Street / 109 Princess Street
1906-07 H. C. Stone, Montreal
Joseph Maw was a prominent businessman who built Western
Canada's largest automobile showroom with space for sale and
service of 140 cars. Maw has come to Winnipeg from Ontario
as an agent for the Massey Manufacturing Co.. Following a
move to Calgary, he returned to Winnipeg in 1882 and opened
a carriage business under the same name Ross & Maw. This
partnership later dissolved and the business continued on
under the new name Joseph Maw & Co. at 128 William Avenue.
The new Maw Garage was built with steel trusses that allowed
a free span of the showroom floor. Large plate glass windows
provided a view of the many automobiles on display. As an
amateur automobile racing enthusiast, Maw won the five-mile
Winnipeg Industrial Exhibition race of 1905 travelling at
an average speed of 35 miles per hour. Part of the building
is now used as a restaurant.
MALTESE CROSS BUILDING
286 McDermot Avenue / 66 King Street
1909 John D. Atchinson
This fireproof warehouse was constructed for the Gutta Percha
and Rubber Co. Ltd. of Toronto, manufacturer of 'Maltese Cross'
and 'Lion' businesses in Winnipeg under the name Winnipeg
Rubber Co. Ltd. and at one time operated from the Peck Building
at 33-41 Princess. This Edwardian building has characteristic
red clay brick facades with dressed stone on the main floor.
Details in the shape of the maltese cross are featured throughout.
There is no wood used in the building- it is constructed only
of steel and reinforced concrete and is completely fireproof.
Through the King Street entrance with its bronze canopy, custom-fabricated
metal stairs incorporating tiny maltese crosses lead to the
upper floors of this modern warehouse.
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