For several years, the National Trust for Canada identified buildings and other structures around the country that were deemed to be at risk “due to neglect, lack of funding, inappropriate development or weak legislation.” Not surprisingly, most of its identified structures were in Ontario or other heavily populated provinces. However, in 2019, two items made in Manitoba made it to their list.
The MHS has been active for over a dozen years in tracking historically-significant buildings around Manitoba. We were inspired to produce our own list of endangered structures around Manitoba. We started with the National Trust’s two buildings and added seven more, plus a rare, old bridge, to offer a top-10 endangered structures in Manitoba. Our list was announced on 6 July 2019 for Canada Historic Places Day and it consisted, in chronological order, of:
- York Factory Depot Building (1831-1838, Northern Manitoba)
- Kennedy House (1866-1870, RM of St. Andrews)
- Elva Grain Elevator (1897, RM of Two Borders)
- Leary Brickworks (1901, RM of Lorne)
- Rapid City Consolidated School (1902, RM of Oakview)
- Ninette Sanatorium (1909, RM of Prairie Lakes)
- A. E. McKenzie Building (1910, Ninth Street, Brandon)
- Rubin Block (1914, Morley Avenue, Winnipeg)
- Turtle River Bowstring Bridge (1921, RM of Ste. Rose)
- Birtle Residential School (1930, RM of Prairie View)
In 2020, we added another ten structures:
- Fairbanks House (1881, Emerson)
- Masonic Temple (1895, Donald Street, Winnipeg)
- Flat Grain Warehouse (1902, Brookdale, Mun. of North Cypress-Langford)
- First Baptist Church (1904, Lorne Avenue, Brandon)
- Gordon House (1909, Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg)
- International Harvester Building (1911, Pacific Avenue, Brandon)
- Tree Planting Car (1920, RM of Reynolds)
- Mallard Lodge (1932, RM of Portage la Prairie)
- St. Vladimir’s College (1941, Roblin, Municipality of Roblin)
- Manitoba Pool Grain Elevator (1948, Tyndall, RM of Brokenhead)
Ten more were added in 2021:
- Bathgate Block (1883, Princess Street, Winnipeg)
- CNR station (1908, Fisher Avenue East, Portage la Prairie)
- Holmfield Concrete Bridge (1925, RM of Killarney-Turtle Mountain)
- Hudson’s Bay Company Building (Portage la Prairie, Winnipeg)
- Telephone Exchange Building (1930, Seventh Avenue South, Virden)
- CKX Radio Building (1941, Eighth Street, Brandon)
- Port Staff House (1950, Churchill)
- Manitoba Pool Grain Elevator (1951, Homewood, RM of Dufferin)
- L9 Building (1955, Churchill)
- Fallout Reporting Post KE4 (1962, Southeastern Manitoba)
Finally, 2022 saw another ten structures added:
- Small cemeteries of southern Manitoba (1870s onward)
- Manitoba Development Centre (1890, Third Street NE, Portage la Prairie)
- Salvation Army Citadel (1901, Rupert Avenue, Winnipeg)
- CPR North Transcona Grain Elevator (1912, RM of Springfield)
- Whetter Barn (1918, Municipality of Grassland)
- Valleyview Building (1941, First Street, Brandon)
- Transcona Winter Vault (1932, RM of Springfield)
- Winnipeg Fire Hall No. 9 (1957, Marion Street, Winnipeg)
- MS River Rouge (1967, Selkirk)
- Swistun Budda (1978, Municipality of Harrison Park)
Inevitably, there will not be a happy ending for some of the structures on our top-10 lists of the past four years. So far, five of them are now gone:
- Elva Grain Elevator – destroyed by fire (April 2022)
- Gordon House – demolished (November 2020)
- Tyndall Grain Elevator – demolished (May 2022)
- Holmfield Concrete Bridge – demolished (November 2022)
- Homewood Grain Elevator – demolished (August 2021)
On the other hand, there have been at least two successes. The Flat Grain Warehouse at Brookdale and the Tree Planting Car in the Sandilands were moved to the grounds of the Manitoba Agricultural Museum where they will be protected and enjoyed for years to come.
This year, the MHS top-10 list of endangered structures will be announced on 15 July 2023. Watch for it in this blog.
Suggestions for future lists are welcome and should be sent to me at gordon@mhs.mb.ca.
Gordon
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