Carnegie Library: Heritage At Risk
FROM CBC:
Winnipeg's Carnegie Library called one of Canada's most endangered historic sites
City of Winnipeg hasn't decided what to do with former city archives building
A Winnipeg library that is more than a century old and houses the city's archives has been named among the most endangered historic sites in Canada at a time when the future of the building hangs in limbo... read the full story
FROM National Trust for Canada:
Top Ten Endangered List
As of May 23, 2018, The National Trust for Canada launched the 2018 Top Ten Endangered List of historic buildings. This year, the former Carnegie Library and City of Winnipeg Archives is on the list. The Carnegie Library, built in 1905 with a $75,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie, was severely damaged by a rainstorm in 2013 while undergoing renovations. Although a designated heritage building, its future is uncertain - express your support for the preservation of this building by emailing us at info@heritagewinnipeg.ca.
Carnegie Library at the National Trust
Heritage Winnipeg makes bid to save lavish Oak Room at the St. Regis Hotel: UPDATE
Heritage Winnipeg is proud to have worked with Brock Coutts in successfully preserving the Oak Room from the St. Regis Hotel! The Oak Room will be incorporated into Coutts' purposed whisky distillery, Patent 5, which will be located in the Dominion Express Company Building, a heritage building at 108-112 Alexander Avenue. Heritage Winnipeg is grateful for the corporation of Fortress Real Developments and Edenshaw Developments in the removal of the Oak Room from the St. Regis Hotel.From the CBC: Whisky producer eyes warehouse on the edge of Winnipeg's Exchange District
August 3, 2017:
Heritage Winnipeg hopes to preserve the historic Oak Room at the St. Regis Hotel, which is set to be demolished in August.
From the CBC:
Please visit the CBC's website to read the rest the full article.With just weeks before the building is set to be demolished, Heritage Winnipeg is hoping to preserve the grandeur of the St. Regis Hotel's Oak Room.
Just as its name says, the century-old banquet area is extensively panelled in oak, where it has a storied history on the first floor of the old hotel on Smith Street.
Fortress Real Developments plans to build a commercial space and parkade after the demolition of the building begins in August
"What we'd like to see is some help or some support with the city and maybe someone in the private sector to help us dismantle the room, preserve it ... ultimately to be showcased in another heritage building," said Cindy Tugwell, executive director of Heritage Winnipeg
Crocus Building renamed the McKim Building
Heritage Winnipeg is very pleased to announce the Crocus building, located at 211 Bannatyne Avenue, in the Exchange District, a national historic site, (formerly named the J.H. Ashdown Hardware Store) is now officially called The McKim Building, named for McKim Communications Group - www.mckimcg.ca. For years many Winnipeggers have been waiting patiently for this historic building to be renamed. A brand new sign is now shining high above the sidewalk on the Main Street facade. Congratulations!McKim Communications Group Media Release - dated January 11, 2017:
McKimBldgRenaming
Links to media coverage:
CBC News
Winnipeg Sun
City of Winnipeg historical report
Save 514 Wellington Crescent!
This historic and stunning home has stood on the corner of Wellington Crescent and Kingsway, adjacent to St. Mary’s Academy since 1909. The home’s official name is the Gordon residence, named for its first owner James T. Gordon, who worked in the meat packing business. It is a beautifully built home, and Winnipeg will likely never see the likes of it again if it is demolished.
It not only has great architectural value, but a rich social history, with many prominent families calling it home over the years. During the 1920s the Bawlf family, who founded the Grain Exchange owned the home, and the Grain Exchange had a huge impact on the development of Winnipeg as a City. During the 1940s, Victor Sifton, the owner and publisher of the Winnipeg Free Press, lived in this home and until earlier this year, the home was owned by former Senator Douglas Everett who maintained it meticulously. Currently Leader Equity Partners, a Winnipeg development firm, have purchased the 107-year-old, 8,000-square-foot home, and potentially want to demolish it to build a new condo development on the property.
Along with Heritage Winnipeg many people in the heritage community are outraged, and many of the residents of the Crescentwood Association are rallying to help save the home. Visit save514wellington.com for more information, and click here to add your name to the petition to help save this beautiful historic home. Click here to go to blog.
Upper Fort Garry Project Update
The "Friends of Upper Fort Garry" recognize the immense importance of this historic site (lands at 100 Main Street), which are now currently surplused and for sale by the City of Winnipeg. This site is the birthplace of Winnipeg and Manitoba and recognized as such in the EOI submission. We will continue to update this site as this project progresses. Further information is available through the office at Heritage Winnipeg or Friends of Upper Fort Garry at 204-947-5073 and www.upperfortgarry.com.
Reports for Download:
Heritage Buildings At Risk Update:
The Ryan Building - 104 King Street -
Following a fire in 1991, the boarded-up King building has been left to the elements—a classic case of demolition by neglect.
Located smack in the middle of Winnipeg's stunning Exchange District—an area declared a National Historic Site in 1997 and a location for films like the Oscar-winning “Capote”—is the four-storey 19th-century warehouse. Vacant for the past 15 years, it sits at a prominent intersection, kitty-corner to Old Market Square in the heart of the Exchange where summer festivals are held. The city of Winnipeg designated the King Building as a Grade 2 heritage structure in 1988. Its owner, Bedford Investments, appears determined to raze it for a parking lot.
Its resilience is a testament to its robust construction. Built in 1895 of brick, large timber beams, and Tyndall stone, the King Building was one of the first Winnipeg warehouses built in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, a Chicago-derived style that reflected Winnipeg's desire to become the “Chicago of the North.”
The warehouse is being watched by Heritage Winnipeg, and the city enforces some basic protection using the “Vacant and Derelict Buildings Bylaw.” A 2005 city report found the roof leaking, floors and ceilings collapsing, the fire alarm inoperable, and bricks loose on its exterior. Bedford Investments claims redevelopment of the property is not economically viable, but refuses to sell it. The owner would like to combine the King Building site with the surface parking lot it owns next door, possibly to erect a parkade.
(Information Courtesy of)
Heritage Canada website at www.heritagecanada.org - Top Ten list of endangered places in Canada
Currently CentreVenture Development Corporation is working with the City of Winnipeg to stabilize the building and the cost will be put on the owner's (Bedord Investments) tax bill.
