Polson House, built in 1894, demolished

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This article was published 20/02/2025 (199 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Luxton-area house, which was one of Winnipeg’s oldest homes, was torn down Wednesday after the city and heritage advocates agreed it was beyond repair.

The Alexander Polson House, at 94 Cathedral Ave., was built by the grandson of one of the Selkirk Settlers in 1894 and was named after its first owner, who sat on Winnipeg’s city council in 1887-88. Council voted to tear down the home in May to allow for two new homes to be built in its place.

At the time, the home had been vacant for about five years and heritage advocacy groups co-signed a letter supporting the demolition because of its derelict state, but criticized its end as an example of “demolition by neglect.”

The Seven Oaks Historical Society hopes to install a commemorative marker on the property after the new homes are built.

“I think the point of it is so that even though the house is gone, it’s not there to look at and talk about, that the history is still alive,” historical society president Kenneth Ingram said Thursday.

“For people in the area who may move in years down the road and not know what was there before, it’s important to know the history.”

The project’s developer was initially Tajinder Pal Singh, head of Anand Infrastructure and Consulting Ltd., who said Thursday the development had been taken over by Chippy Contracting. Its management did not respond to a request for comment.

In May, Singh said the cost to save the home would be upwards of $350,000 and that the land would be split into two 25-foot lots, which would each have a two-storey single-family home and attached secondary suite.

Ingram said the historical society believed demolition was the best option based on the state of the home, the cost to repair and concerns from people living in the area.

“It’s a shame to lose it, but we weren’t surprised,” he said.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca