Paterson Global Foods Institute – Red River College (Former Union Bank Tower)

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/05/2013 (4555 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg’s first skyscraper, the Union Bank Tower was the architectural marvel of its time.

It is an example of the Chicago Style. Using technology that was cutting edge for its time, the building was constructed with a network of steel and reinforced concrete that provide support for the brick and terracotta walls. Previously, building support systems were of wooden beams and posts or masonry.

It is believed to be Canada’s oldest surviving steel and concrete-reinforced skyscraper.

The design of the building is based on a classical column. The bottom two storeys form the base and are highly ornamented. The middle storeys form the body of the column and are less ornamented, and the upper levels have similar embellishment to the ground floor.

Designed by two of Canada’s top architects, Frank Darling and John Andrew Pearson, it was built for $420,000 by the New York construction firms of Thompson and Starrett, and George A. Fuller. Construction of the 10-storey tower began in 1903, and the bank opened in November 1904.

The city had rebounded from Winnipeg’s first boom (1881-82) and subsequent crash and was thriving as the financial, grain marketing, warehousing and transportation hub of the west. The Union Bank of Lower Canada survived and had established itself in Winnipeg’s rapidly growing market, providing small-scale mortgages and loans.

The tower was a sign the city was coming into its own and that investors were bullish about its future.

But a slowing of economic growth on the Prairies and the trend to consolidation saw the Royal Bank of Canada buy the Union Bank in 1925. The Royal Bank operated out of the tower until 1992, when it relocated to Portage and Main.

The Union Bank Tower was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1996.

The building has been restored to its former glory by Red River College. It now proudly bears the name of the Paterson family, whose business also spans a century and whose roots are firmly planted in the grain industry.

The Paterson GlobalFoods Institute will help foster round-the-clock activity through continuing education programs, an upscale restaurant, Jane’s, and the college’s first student residence.

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