Historic building at risk after fire next door By: Scott Billeck Posted: 1:37 PM CST Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025 Last Modified: 5:00 PM CST Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025 Updates

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Once the hub of Winnipeg’s Black community, a 19th-century building with a past unknown to many now faces an uncertain future.

The Craig Block, a two-storey brick building that was once home to North America’s first Black labour union, could suffer the same fate as its former neighbour. Fire tore through the boarded-up Sutherland Hotel on Tuesday, and the vacant piece of Winnipeg’s early history was later demolished.

The Craig Block, which sustained fire and water damage in connection with the hotel blaze, still needs to be inspected by the city. A city spokesperson wouldn’t confirm whether it was a total loss.

“The Craig Block is a building you’ll pass by 100 times and never give it a second look,” city historian Christian Cassidy said.

Built in 1894 for fruit wholesaler George Craig, the Craig Block became a bustling hub for the Black community.

The Order of the Sleeping Car Porters, believed by many to be North America’s first Black labour union after it incorporated in Winnipeg in 1917, set up its offices and meeting hall on the second floor at 795 Main St. in 1922.

“For many of the porters, they might not have been here for a long time — perhaps just passing through or here for a couple of years before moving on to other cities,” Cassidy said. “It was really kind of a welcoming centre and a place for the Black community to congregate.”

The Porters’ band used upstairs space to practice, and more Black organizations began to gather there, including the Universal Negro Improvement Association, a U.S. entity that set up an office in the city.

“It was really kind of a welcoming centre and a place for the Black community to congregate.”–Christian Cassidy

 

Black businesses spread to the main floor of the 4,650-square-foot building, including a pool hall and a barber shop.

Another group called the Coloured People Social and Charitable Association held office space in the building until the 1980s.

“It’s a really long association, and arguably one of a handful — or less than a handful — of buildings that help tell the story of the early Black community (in Winnipeg),” Cassidy said.

The landscape in North Point Douglas has watched plenty of its history go up in flames in recent years.

The former Vulcan Iron Works building was gutted in July 2023, while Holy Ascension Greek Orthodox Church was destroyed a couple of weeks ago.

Charred rubble and empty lots have replaced parts of the city’s history.

“The streetscape looks terrible,” Cassidy said, pointing to the stretch of Main Street north of the underpass near Higgins Avenue. “There’s more missing teeth in a not-very-nice smile to begin with.”

If the buildings were located a few blocks south, Cassidy believes, they’d have been better preserved with historical designations from the city.

Neither the torn-down former hotel nor its still-standing neighbour holds any historical status, although the Sutherland Hotel was on the city’s commemorative list.

“It was only listed for commemorative sake, with no obligations for the building or to the owner,” Coun. Jason Schreyer, who chairs the city’s historical buildings and resources committee, said.

The city does not have a notable budget for funding to assist with historically designated buildings, with about $50,000 each year earmarked for such ventures.

“So, the issue is also how can we help owners to do preventative maintenance,” Schreyer said. “This may be larger than one level of government.”

The situation is a shame, Heritage Winnipeg executive director Cindy Tugwell said. She was surprised the Craig Block didn’t even make it on the city’s commemorative list.

“It’s just really indicative of how many properties haven’t been recognized by the city,” she said. “When we talk about losing bricks and mortar, we talk about erasing history because there’s nothing really tangible to remember it by.”

Tugwell said the city is failing its own history.

“It’s a process, and the city needs to become a lot more humble and start putting together committees with other bureaucrats and other stakeholders,” she said.

Mayor Scott Gillingham, during an unrelated event at Carnegie Library on Friday, said he was sorry to see the Sutherland Hotel go up in flames.

“One of the unique and beautiful things about Winnipeg is our historic buildings, so any time we lose an historic building, frankly, no matter the shape it’s in, it’s a loss to the city of Winnipeg,” he said.

Gillingham said he had a discussion with Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Chief Christian Schmidt and Winnipeg Police Service acting chief Art Stannard not long ago about fires plaguing the city’s vacant buildings, particularly in the Point Douglas area.

He plans on bringing up the subject again.

“We have to have a really serious conversation about the sheer number of fires and addressing the sheer number of fires that are taking place in that part of the city,” Gillingham said.

The mayor believes each vacant property represents potential residential housing units, something the city needs more of.

“Our vacancy rate remains below two per cent, which is a really tight market for people trying to find a place to live,” he said.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca