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Tuesday 11 October 2011

A Winnipeg building demolition derby underway

Starland Theatre Demolition

It's going to be a lavish Christmas in the Imrie household as 2011 is finishing off with a 'bang' for a number of large buildings. Here are a few of the goners, or soon to be goners, and a little information about each of them before they slip from our memories forever.

Oh, may I say that it appears that the city has some serious issues updating or maintaining the "meeting agenda" portion of their website. For 764 Main, 390 Sherbrook and 292 Fort there is nothing at all in any minutes or agendas, which is hard to believe. At the very least, 390 Sherbrook had to go to numerous committees as it had a heritage designation but the record for it stops in July 2011.


292 - 294 Fort Street - Former Orpheum Billiards
Circa 1922 (Map)
Fort Street
Summer 2011
Former Orpheum Billiards
October 2011


Built in 1921-22, Orpheum Billiards was an original tenant, though I am not sure if it was a direct relation to the Orpheum Billiards that was there a few years back when the building was shut down. There was also a cafe located on the premises that went by a number of names including Kit Kat Lunch and Orpheum Grill.

272 Fort Street

On October 1 I saw this notice on the window indicating that an application had been made to tear it down for a surface parking lot. The building is now gone.


764 Main Street - The Yellow Warehouse
Circa 1909 (Map)

764 Main Street

Also known as the Stuart Machinery Building. Its first owner was James Stuart who came here in 1883 and is considered one of the 'fathers' of electrification in Winnipeg. In the 1930s a wholesale king Joe Werier bought it. A division of his company rechristened it The Yellow Warehouse in 1971.

Empty since 1999, it is now being prepped for tear down, apparently for condition issues (though again, I cannot find any record of in city hall minutes.)

764 Main Street
764 Main Street

My next post will be a detailed history of The Yellow Warehouse. For more photos of the building.


354 Sherbrook Street - Former Fire Hall No.5
Circa 1904 (Map)
Former Fire Station
Former Fire Hall
Above: October 2010

Demolition is underway on former Fire Hall No. 5 on Sherbrook Street.

Former Fire Hall No. 5
Former Fire Hall No. 5
Sherbrook Street Fire Hall demo
Above: October, 2011

Built in 1904, it served the city as a fire hall until 1919 when it became the City Hydro meter building. The city leased out the space and in the 1970s C.A. Killeen and Sons, a ca. 1918 window and door company, moved in. Killeen morphed into a Speedy Auto Glass and vacated it in 2007. The city then declared the building, which had an historic listing, surplus and Lion's Seniors Housing purchased it.

Sherbrook Street Houses
Sherbrook Street Houses
1890s houses before and after


(Lions also owned the four circa 1890s houses immediately to the north of the hall which they tore down in September 2010.)

With the fire hall, Lions was cited for violations under the vacant building bylaw in July but informed the city that they had already applied for a demolition permit but it was taking a while because the building was on the historic buildings list. Presumably it was de-listed and a demo permit granted, though I can't find any reference to either in city meeting minutes.


T
his parcel of vacant land is adjacent to Lions' parking lot. Can I assume a bigger parking lot is coming ?

For more photos of this block of Sherbrook over the years.



390 Selkirk Avenue - The Regminal Block
Circa 1907 (Map)
Regnimal Block demo
October 2011

I won't be seeing this building on my next photo walk of Selkirk Avenue. The Regminal Block is in the process of coming down, (the top floor already gone).

Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg
Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg
Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg
Above: Summer 2010, looking worse for wear

Mr. E. Cole had this block built in 1907 to house his family and dry goods store. It was vacated in 2009 and this summer cited under the vacant buildings bylaw, the owner ordered to fix it up or demolish (read all about it here).

Regnimal Block demo

On a bright note, the building next to it is new construction, not sure if it is the same owner or not.



15 Chester Street - Sir Sam Steele School
Circa 1921 (Map)




The site was purchased by Habitat for Humanity in 2007 who hived off the school fields for a housing project facing Narin. In 2008 they sold the building and 1.2 acres to the College of Immigrants Inc. but the building sat empty and unheated and it deteriorated badly.

Sir Sam Steele School
Sir Sam Steele School
Habitat repurchased the property and applied to have it de-listed as a heritage site. They will knock it down and continue with an extension of the adjacent housing project.

For more on the building's saga or for a history of the school.


75 Fort Street - The Grain Exchange Curling Club
Circa 1928 (Map)

Grain Exchange Curling Club

This building sits on part of what will be part of Upper Fort Garry historical park and demo begins this week.

Grain Exchange Curling Club demo
Granite Curling Club, Winnipeg

The club reached a deal to sell it to the Friends of UFG and the building closed in 2011.
The membership merged with the Granite Curling Club.


311 Portage Avenue - Clarendon Hotel
Circa 1920 (Map)

Former Clarendon Hotel
Above: 2011

The Clarendon (also known as the former A & B Sound Building or MTS Exhibition Hall) is one of a trio of buildings that will be torn down to make way for Longboat Development's entertainment hub across from the MTS Centre.

Clarendon Hotel, Winnipeg, c. 1950
Above 1950s

The Clarendon will make way for a hotel which will be the fourth on this site since 1880 ! (For my full history of this building.)


310 Donald Street - The Donalda Building
Circa 1951 (Map)

Long-time home to The Orchid Florists, as per the Clarendon Hotel, the Donalda Building is in the footprint of the proposed new hotel. (For my full history of this building.)


309 Hargrave - The Norlyn Building
Circa 1903 (Map)

Norlyn Building

A long-time dry cleaning plant, the Norlyn barely survived the Time Building fire, even losing a floor or two. Worse was that most tenants, including the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, lost everything in the blaze.


Norlyn Building

The Norlyn is going to be a multi-level parkade connected with the Longboat project.
Yes, the Wagon Wheel will have to roll on to another home. (For more on this building's history.)


Stalled Demos ?
868 Arlington Street, Winnipeg

-
868 Arlington has had Imrie signs up all summer but no action.

cIMG_0121
- The development plan for Monte Cassino Court (National Typewriter) on Portage was withdrawn so at the next EPC meeting a vote to keep its heritage designation intact will take place, as per the decision of the Standing Policy Committee on Downtown Development, Heritage and Riverbank Management.

269-273 Princess Street
- I am not sure what's up with 271 Princess. It was to be demolished for the Peace Tower housing complex but that is going up across the street. Perhaps this a phase two or a parking area for the new block ? Noting in the city's meeting minutes or agendas about it.

Late Entries:

Shanghai'd
Someone reminded me about the Coronation Block / Shanghai Building on King Street. It's already had the green light to demolish but it is still standing for now !

Also, keep an eye out for the Winnipeg Airport in the new year.

9 comments:

One Man Committee said...

The more things change...

Buflyer said...

The Winnipeg Airport saga will be interesting with the new one opening at the end of the month.

Building's demolished for surface parking lots. yup, that's the "Winnipeg Way". Cheap and easy to maintain, and you get cash flow.

Christian Cassidy said...

Oh yeah, forgot about the airport. Well, I am sure I will there will be enough to do another round by the end of the year.

Winnipeg Girl said...

I did a bit of asking around to confirm what I was thinking - 390 Selkirk was not occupied by the North End Women's Resource Center, unless it was mannnnnnnnnnny years ago. It has been combinations of boarded and vacant for quite a few years and owned by a dodgy gentleman with a few aliases. The new build next to it is actually being put up by the NEWRC and their office is actually next to it, just out of the frame of your picture.

Looking forward to the post on the Yellow Warehouse!

Christian Cassidy said...

Thanks, I will make that change, then. I was going by the city website which lists that address a number of times as their home.

Eva said...

What paper trail was there for getting rid of the Orpheum building?

Are you going to EPC meetings and/or city council meetings?

And where is Heritage Winnipeg in all this??

Christian Cassidy said...

@Eva. No, I haven't been going to the meetings. If you go to the winnipeg.ca page there's a button that says council agenda and minutes which takes you to the 'City Clerk's Decision Making Information System.'
There is a searchable database there.

Oddly, I find that some addresses I search give me loads of stuff and some none at all. Orpheum there's been absolutely nothing (and I searched both addresses and the company name).

the one I find the oddest is Sherbrook Street. Check the address and you can find it snailing through the system from 2008 when it was declared surplus until July 2011 when it was cited under the vacant buildings bylaw. Then, nothing.

There would have been a demo permit AND an application to de-list it as a heritage structure - both would have appeared at assorted committees.

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