Landmarks

A regular series that looks at the structure and spaces that shape Winnipeg.

Ruth Bonneville / Free Press ENT - 269 Main. Federal Building, aka Dominion Public Building, aka Victory Building, at 269 Main. Architecture type photos of elaborate building built in the 1930’s. Outside photos. entranceway, closeups of the bison heads, elevator doors and full exteriors. For Alison’s architecture series. Aug 1st, 2024
                                Photos by Ruth Bonneville / Free Press
                                The architecture type of the Dominion Public Building at 269 Main St. is elaborate.

Art deco civic building bears signs of the times

Main Street office tower built with depression-era public perception and government priorities in mind

Alison Gillmor 5 minute read Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024
RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS
                                The building’s facade is shrouded in eyelid-like window frames.

Rock solid

Concert hall restoration brings lustre back to local gem

Alison Gillmor 9 minute read Tuesday, Jul. 2, 2024
Rae and Jerry’s–See Marion Warhaft review- April 18, 2013 (JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)
                                JOE BRYKSA / FREE PRESS files

Aged to perfection

Timeless design, harmony of contrasts keep Rae & Jerry’s relevant, revered

Alison Gillmor 7 minute read Monday, Mar. 11, 2024
The Esplanade Riel — 'the bridge people didn't want to build' — has become quite popular, especially on Instagram, and serves its purpose well as a pedestrian link between Provencher Boulevard and The Forks. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press files)

A feast for span fans

Fusing prudent engineering and impactful design, city’s bridges do much more than get us from here to there

Alison Gillmor 5 minute read Friday, Jan. 19, 2024
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES
                                ‘Rehabilitating the theatre was a challenge and a wonderful experience,’ Susan Algie, now the director of the Winnipeg Architecture Foundation, says of the 1990s work on what would be renamed the Burton Cummings Theatre in 2002.

Hunting for ghosts and grandeur at the Burt

Work in the 1990s revived Burton Cummings Theatre’s craftsmanship, but no sign of ill-fated actor-spectres

Alison Gillmor 7 minute read Monday, Oct. 23, 2023
JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES
                                Way back, when Portage Avenue was the new retail frontier, ‘The Hudson’s Bay Company had to do something, and so in 1925 they bought some property on Portage,’ Greg Agnew of Heritage Winnipeg says of the building seen here in 2021.

The power and glory in a new story

Rising again, Hudson’s Bay building is six storeys of potential in the hands of Southern Chiefs’ Organization

Alison Gillmor 9 minute read Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023
JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
                                The BDI sign adheres to a midcentury design style known as Googie.

The architecture of ice cream

BDI’s appeal combines modernism, sense of fun

Alison Gillmor 7 minute read Monday, Jul. 10, 2023
Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press
                                Bob Somers was one of the key designers The Plaza skatepark at The Forks. See Alison Gilmore story 230510 - Wednesday, May 10, 2023.

Skateboarding The Forks

From counterculture to civic pride

Alison Gillmor 6 minute read Wednesday, May. 10, 2023
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
                                Holy Trinity Anglican Church’s design is a remarkably well-preserved example of the Gothic Revival style, also called Neo-Gothic.

Holy Trinity of function, form and faith

‘Stone and wood and glass to make a beautiful structure that speaks to the world about God’

Alison Gillmor 7 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 28, 2023
RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
                                The multi-level Manitoboggan at St. Vital Park features an accessible ramp and metal grates on walkways to reduce snow accumulation.

This brrrrrrrilliant city

Public City’s Manitoboggan and Crokicurl are exactly what Winter Cities Shake-up Conference hopes to encourage

Alison Gillmor 7 minute read Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023
RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
                                The current modernist St. Boniface Cathedral, designed by Étienne Gaboury, sits behind the ruins of the 1906 building.

Phoenix of the Prairies

St. Boniface Cathedral’s creative revitalization pays homage to building’s 200-year history

Alison Gillmor 6 minute read Monday, Dec. 5, 2022
doublespace photography
                                Solar cladding generates energy for the Red River Polytech campus.

Illuminated by sun, spirit and knowledge

RRC Polytechnic innovation centre glows into Anishinaabemowin name Manitou a bi Bii daziigae, ‘where the Creator sits, brings light’

Alison Gillmor 7 minute read Monday, Oct. 3, 2022
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
                                The newly renovated Cornish Library in Winnipeg on Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022. For Alison Gillmor’s Landmarks series. Winnipeg Free Press 2022.

An open book

The Cornish Library’s updated design brings the Carnegie-funded building into the urban present

Alison Gillmor 8 minute read Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022
RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Labour of love

Architectural gem stepped in city’s labour history continues as hub for Ukrainian community

Alison Gillmor 6 minute read Friday, May. 27, 2022
The Manitoba Hydro building on Portage Avenue is not just environmentally friendly, it is a functional, comfortable, healthy and beautiful space. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press files)

Livable efficiency

Manitoba Hydro Place isn’t just kind to the utility’s energy bill, it’s also comfortable for the people who work there

Alison Gillmor 7 minute read Monday, Apr. 25, 2022
Winnipeg Free Press file
Polo Park reopened after a refurbishment on Aug. 13, 1986.

Shop till you drop

One of Canada’s first large-scale malls, Polo Park has weathered the whims of consumer culture

Alison Gillmor 8 minute read Monday, Mar. 7, 2022
Jodi Pratt cross country skiing in Wildwood Park, Sunday, April 14, 2013. (TREVOR HAGAN/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

Wild about Wildwood Park

Quirky Fort Garry neighbourhood combines urban planning and nature, balances private and public spaces while separating pedestrians and cars

Alison Gillmor 8 minute read Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022
JEFF DE BOOY / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Local- Eaton’s Downtown, exterior. Oct.13th/1999.

Downtown destination

Eaton’s department store was a one-stop shop, a social hub and an architectural gem

Alison Gillmor 7 minute read Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021
WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES
The 62M Condo is project located on MacDonald Avenue near the Disraeli Bridge.

Rooms with a view

Futuristic circular condo building looks spacey, but its shape is grounded in practicality

Alison Gillmor 4 minute read Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Precious Blood Roman Catholic Church in Winnipeg on Tuesday, May 22, 2018. This is the 50th year of worship inside the unusual building.

Prairie icon

Etienne Gaboury's Précieux-Sang church fuses together modernist design and religious renewal

Alison Gillmor 5 minute read Monday, Oct. 25, 2021
ken gigliotti  winnipeg free press  dec4 2002 feature on wpg architecture- Winnipeg Art Gallery WAG ,(old beater cars parked  at base  could not get better shot as building is underconstruction )-kg

A pointed statement

The Winnipeg Art Gallery's angular architecture combines form, function in a building that's both timeless and of its time

Alison Gillmor 7 minute read Friday, Sep. 24, 2021
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Winnipeg architect Max Blankstein’s design for the Uptown Theatre referenced the Moorish style, using architectural elements from the western Islamic world mixed with some Spanish forms.

Striking transformation

Poetic luxuries, practical amenities put to many uses during life of Academy Road building

Alison Gillmor 6 minute read Monday, Aug. 23, 2021
The Fort Garry Hotel was one of the tallest buildings in Winnipeg when it was constructed in 1913. (City of Winnipeg archives)

The belle of Broadway

The Fort Garry Hotel's regal facade and grand interior hearken back to a more glamorous time

Alison Gillmor 5 minute read Tuesday, Jul. 20, 2021
ALEX LUPUL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
The Winnipeg Clinic with Its distinctive curved lines and layered canopies make it a familiar landmark in Winnipeg’s downtown.

Back to the future

Affectionately known as the Jetsons Building, the curvy, confident Winnipeg Clinic appears to be reaching for a better tomorrow

Alison Gillmor 5 minute read Monday, Jun. 21, 2021
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILESThe curlicue junction that includes Osborne and Donald streets, Corydon Avenue and Pembina Highway is a planner’s version of Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree: the last urban design anyone would choose but one that has become part of Winnipeg’s psyche.

Lost together

Confusion Corner sign fails miserably as a directional aid, but its twisted arrows point to a particular kind of Winnipeg quirk

Alison Gillmor 6 minute read Monday, May. 10, 2021
Daniel Crump / Winnipeg Free Press.
Now more than ever, Assiniboine Park is a gathering place for people to enjoy warmer weather after being cooped up by the pandemic.

Breathing space

Assiniboine Park has long provided visitors the chance to commune with nature, escape stresses of urban life

Alison Gillmor 7 minute read Monday, Apr. 12, 2021