© 2017, Christian Cassidy (Update 2024)
Greyhound Canada put Brandon’s inter-city bus terminal located on 6th Street at Rosser Avenue up for sale in May 2017. The company is not leaving town, just looking to relocate to a smaller, yet-to-be-identified space.
Given the impending sale, I thought I would take a look back at Brandon’s bus terminal history. (Note that the facility was originally called a bus "depot", the use of "terminal" came in the late 1930s after Greyhound became involved.)
Inter-city bus transportation between Manitoba communities started in 1912 but its heyday began in the 1930s when the former cart trails connecting communities began to transform into proper graded roads and highways. This change was thanks to the advocacy of groups such as the Manitoba Good Roads Association and the Manitoba Bus Owners’ Association.
The Depression also helped as road building was a great way to put large numbers of men to work in the form of Depression relief projects, the cost of which were heavily underwritten by the Federal government.
Urged on by the bus owners and supported by the city and its business leaders, the matter of constructing a central bus terminal for Brandon was raised at the Municipal and Public Utility Board hearings held there in April 1932.
It took more than a year to get approval from the board but bus companies were already busy at work ready to see it open. Just days after the June 1933 approval it was decided to: “...open the new premises immediately with a competent staff in charge of ample waiting rooms and comfort and wash room facilities.”
The location chosen for the city's first bus terminal was 112 - 10th Street. It was wedged into a rented space in the Olympia Block between the Olympia Cafe and Olympia Candy Shop. An image of the premises cannot be found but the above photo shows the space where it was located.
The terminal served the city well for the remainder of the Depression. One interesting note is the cost of a round-trip fare to Winnipeg during this time. It was initially advertised by bus companies at $6.00 or more when the terminal first opened but soon dropped to $5.00. By 1935, you could get a ticket for as little as $2.70.
Whether this was a sign of increased competition between bus companies or desperation to sell tickets during difficult financial times, or both, is not clear.
As the Depression ended, the need for a larger bus terminal was apparent. Not only were there more customers but the buses themselves were getting larger with some able to hold up to 40 passengers.
This time, it was Trans-Continental Coach Lines that financed the $25,000 terminal project on Princess Avenue at 11th Street. It was a prominent location that shared the intersection with the court house, post office, and the Brandon Club.
Trans-Continental was formed earlier in the decade to run from Winnipeg to Swift Current and had an agreement with Greyhound Bus Lines in Manitoba that allowed its passengers to tap into Greyhound's national system. In 1938, Trans-Continental was absorbed by Greyhound though it continued to run under its own name through the 1940s.
E. C. Higgins of Brandon was the contractor for the new terminal, which measured 120 feet x 65 feet. The building's art deco-inspired exterior was finished in white stucco with black trim.
Inside, the building was divided into three main areas: a garage that held three buses; the company offices; and a main hall containing a waiting area, restaurant, and ticket booth. It was finished in Trans-Continental's corporate colours of ivory with blue trim.
Eventually, the Curio Shop gift shop was added to the space and the cafe became known as the Maxwell House Grill.
Though it was owned by Trans-Continental, any inter-city bus serving Brandon could use it for a fee. The passenger loading area was at the rear of the building.
Greyhound approached the city in April 1975 with plans to build a new bus depot on the site of an abandoned Safeway at the intersection of 6th Street and Rosser Avenue. The plan included a promise that Brandon Transit could use the new building as its downtown terminal if it wished.
The city decided that the request needed more study but later that year, before the study even began, the building was leased to a furniture retailer and the site was no longer available.
In 1980, the existing bus terminal's management made a $300,000 offer to purchase the former Prince Edward Hotel site, which at that time was just a surface parking lot. The city rejected the offer hoping for a more substantial development on that prime piece of real estate.
The following year, the former Safeway site became available again. Greyhound purchased it, demolished the store, and this time got approval from the city to build a new terminal.
Brandon Bus Terminal III, Rosser Avenue, (1982 - Present)
As for the old terminal building, it sat empty for more than a year.
There were some who wanted it saved as a landmark. One 1983 letter to the editor of the Brandon Sun noted the uniqueness of its art deco architecture: “Its streamlined façade and its entrance portico are relics of a style seen entirely too rarely in Brandon.”
It was purchased in 1984 in part by local law office Patterson Dubois which also wanted to see the building saved. In the end, the building was gutted inside and out and given an unsympathetic exterior renovation. The only hint of what was there is the curved corner facing the intersection.
The building became Patterson Dubois law office with other commercial space. It continues as a law office to this day.
Brandon Bus Terminal in 2016, (Google Maps)
Greyhound Canada put Brandon’s inter-city bus terminal located on 6th Street at Rosser Avenue up for sale in May 2017. The company is not leaving town, just looking to relocate to a smaller, yet-to-be-identified space.
Given the impending sale, I thought I would take a look back at Brandon’s bus terminal history. (Note that the facility was originally called a bus "depot", the use of "terminal" came in the late 1930s after Greyhound became involved.)
December 1935 ad, Brandon Sun
The Depression also helped as road building was a great way to put large numbers of men to work in the form of Depression relief projects, the cost of which were heavily underwritten by the Federal government.
April 2, 1932, Brandon Sun
Urged on by the bus owners and supported by the city and its business leaders, the matter of constructing a central bus terminal for Brandon was raised at the Municipal and Public Utility Board hearings held there in April 1932.
It took more than a year to get approval from the board but bus companies were already busy at work ready to see it open. Just days after the June 1933 approval it was decided to: “...open the new premises immediately with a competent staff in charge of ample waiting rooms and comfort and wash room facilities.”
Brandon Bus Depot I, 10th Street, (1933 - 1939)
Top: image taken 1939, (McKee Archives)
Bottom: June 29, 1933, Brandon Sun
Top: image taken 1939, (McKee Archives)
Bottom: June 29, 1933, Brandon Sun
The terminal served the city well for the remainder of the Depression. One interesting note is the cost of a round-trip fare to Winnipeg during this time. It was initially advertised by bus companies at $6.00 or more when the terminal first opened but soon dropped to $5.00. By 1935, you could get a ticket for as little as $2.70.
Whether this was a sign of increased competition between bus companies or desperation to sell tickets during difficult financial times, or both, is not clear.
Brandon Bus Terminal II, Princess Street, 1939 - 1982
Image: ca. 1940s, (Peel's Prairie Provinces)
As the Depression ended, the need for a larger bus terminal was apparent. Not only were there more customers but the buses themselves were getting larger with some able to hold up to 40 passengers.
This time, it was Trans-Continental Coach Lines that financed the $25,000 terminal project on Princess Avenue at 11th Street. It was a prominent location that shared the intersection with the court house, post office, and the Brandon Club.
Trans-Continental was formed earlier in the decade to run from Winnipeg to Swift Current and had an agreement with Greyhound Bus Lines in Manitoba that allowed its passengers to tap into Greyhound's national system. In 1938, Trans-Continental was absorbed by Greyhound though it continued to run under its own name through the 1940s.
Interior ca. 1940s, (McKee Archives)
E. C. Higgins of Brandon was the contractor for the new terminal, which measured 120 feet x 65 feet. The building's art deco-inspired exterior was finished in white stucco with black trim.
Inside, the building was divided into three main areas: a garage that held three buses; the company offices; and a main hall containing a waiting area, restaurant, and ticket booth. It was finished in Trans-Continental's corporate colours of ivory with blue trim.
Eventually, the Curio Shop gift shop was added to the space and the cafe became known as the Maxwell House Grill.
Though it was owned by Trans-Continental, any inter-city bus serving Brandon could use it for a fee. The passenger loading area was at the rear of the building.
Top: ca. 1950s, after re-branding to Greyhound, (commercial postcard)
The new bus terminal served Brandon well but by the 1960s the waiting room was constantly overcrowded and there weren't enough bays to hold all of the buses serving it. There was also no on-site parking for those seeing off or picking up passengers.
This all meant that for blocks around, streets were clogged with idling buses and cars. Because of St. Hedwig's church to the south, the terminal was landlocked and could not expand.
This all meant that for blocks around, streets were clogged with idling buses and cars. Because of St. Hedwig's church to the south, the terminal was landlocked and could not expand.
In 1981, showing the crowded bus apron, (McKee Archives)
The city decided that the request needed more study but later that year, before the study even began, the building was leased to a furniture retailer and the site was no longer available.
In 1980, the existing bus terminal's management made a $300,000 offer to purchase the former Prince Edward Hotel site, which at that time was just a surface parking lot. The city rejected the offer hoping for a more substantial development on that prime piece of real estate.
The following year, the former Safeway site became available again. Greyhound purchased it, demolished the store, and this time got approval from the city to build a new terminal.
Brandon Bus Terminal III, Rosser Avenue, (1982 - Present)
Architects Smith Carter Partners from Winnipeg were hired to design the $1.3 million terminal that measured 11,000 square feet and could seat 110 people.
When the drawings were unveiled in September 1981, Greyhound management said that this would be a template for the redevelopment of their collection of aging, run-down terminals in smaller cities across the West. (It is unclear if the design was used anywhere else.)
Contractor E. C. Higgins and Sons of Brandon, (the same firm that built the 1939 bus depot), began construction in December 1981 and Greyhound moved in by the end of September 1982. The company held off on a formal grand opening until the restaurant space could be filled.
The Gold Prairie Restaurant, which served Canadian and Chinese food, eventually opened in the space but it is unclear if that formal opening ever happened.
When the drawings were unveiled in September 1981, Greyhound management said that this would be a template for the redevelopment of their collection of aging, run-down terminals in smaller cities across the West. (It is unclear if the design was used anywhere else.)
Contractor E. C. Higgins and Sons of Brandon, (the same firm that built the 1939 bus depot), began construction in December 1981 and Greyhound moved in by the end of September 1982. The company held off on a formal grand opening until the restaurant space could be filled.
The Gold Prairie Restaurant, which served Canadian and Chinese food, eventually opened in the space but it is unclear if that formal opening ever happened.
Top: December 10, 1984, Brandon Sun
Bottom: Google Street View
As for the old terminal building, it sat empty for more than a year.
There were some who wanted it saved as a landmark. One 1983 letter to the editor of the Brandon Sun noted the uniqueness of its art deco architecture: “Its streamlined façade and its entrance portico are relics of a style seen entirely too rarely in Brandon.”
It was purchased in 1984 in part by local law office Patterson Dubois which also wanted to see the building saved. In the end, the building was gutted inside and out and given an unsympathetic exterior renovation. The only hint of what was there is the curved corner facing the intersection.
The building became Patterson Dubois law office with other commercial space. It continues as a law office to this day.
Source: 2018 'For Sale' brochure
In recent years, the number of inter-city bus companies and routes that serve the prairies has decreased dramatically and there is little need for such a large facility in a city the size of Brandon.
The building was listed as for sale at just shy of $1 million in May 2017. If you think an old bus terminal might be something you can put to use, check out the listing here!
2024 UPDATE:
Greyhound Canada ceased service in Western Canada on October 31, 2018 and in all of Canada in 2021. The bus depot remained on the market.
In March 2024, the Brandon Sun reported that Wuskwi Sipihk First Nation (WSFN) in partnership with Mahihkan Bus Lines acquired the building in October 2023. Some inter-city bus service will resume from the building once renovations are completed.
Related:
Transit History of Manitoba Communities David Wyatt
Dusty Trails to Divided Highways: A History of Intercity Bus Lines in Manitoba
Manitoba Transit Heritage Association
For more of my Brandon, Manitoba posts
7 comments:
very interesting - I enjoy these types of history posts with old photos and the present use of said buildings.
Buses heading west and pulling into the alley between the Depot and what was then Western Motors seemed like a scary situation. Passengers on the drivers side of the bus almost seemed like the bus was going to rub up against Western Motors west wall.
This was a great read... I've read a lot of prairie railway station histories, but not nearly as many about bus stations. It seems to be a somewhat neglected field. Really interesting to find out about Brandon's bus stations.
After Safeway and before Greyhound the building was owned by Pue's Interior Furnishings Limited.
Back in the early 1980s, I was pleased to learn that the old 1939 depot was to be kept. I simply assumed that the art moderne exterior (and maybe the interior too) would be cleaned and restored as it was, cos hey...here we had an extant example of a sleek and handsome style! When I came into town to visit, boy was I disappointed! They'd renovated it to look like some strip mall, or something! Oh well.
An incorrect address is mentioned a few times within the article. The correct address is 6th Street and Rosser Ave, not 6th and Pacific.
Thanks. Updated to read Rosser.
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