Vacation in Canada, eh? 4: The Exchange District, Winnipeg, Manitoba
By Peter Coffman
Thinking of going to Chicago to see the famous historic skyscrapers? Fuhgeddaboudit – go to Winnipeg instead! Winnipeg has one of the best collections of early 20th-century skyscrapers and commercial buildings on the continent – and you don’t have to cross any unfriendly borders to get there.
At the start of the last century, Winnipeg was western Canada’s biggest city, its commercial centre, and its transportation hub. As the ‘gateway to the West’, it was the conduit for the ambition, aspiration, and wealth that flowed along the railway to the prairies and beyond. That energy remains palpable in the architecture of the Exchange District, its historic commercial core.
If you think of monotonous glass rectangles when you hear the word ‘skyscraper’, go to Winnipeg. You’ll see that it doesn’t have to be that way – and in fact, it didn’t used to be that way. The early years of the skyscraper produced some of the most eclectic and exciting architecture the world has seen.
Pride of place goes to the Union Bank Tower, built in 1904. The use of steel frames and the invention of the elevator made radically tall buildings like this possible. But even though it’s at the vanguard of modernity, it still keeps one eye on the past. Its clearly delineated lower, middle and top sections allude to the Classical column’s base, shaft and capital – and to the latest thought in skyscraper design by people like Louis Sullivan. The effortlessness with which it fuses rich historical ornament with modern form is breathtaking.
If you prefer something a little less regular in its outline, then just cross the street to the Confederation Life Building, built in 1912. Its elegant curving front follows the line of the road, giving it a unique footprint. That gleaming white façade results from the material used: terracotta.
The cornice across the top of the building, which looks as if it’s on steroids, is also terracotta. We’ll be meeting this material again soon.
The title of Tallest Early Skyscraper in Winnipeg goes to the Union Trust Tower, built in 1913. From an irregular, trapezoidal footprint rises a marble and (what else?) terracotta façade (and as you can see from the photo, it’s just that – a façade).
The terracotta detailing is nothing short of stunning, although sadly the original cornice was removed in 1953 and eventually replaced with this much plainer one.
One of the things driving all this commerce was the West’s most important agricultural product: grain. The grain industry needed a place for buyers and sellers to meet, conduct business and regulate their trade. The first Grain Exchange Building (the corner building to the right of the photo) was built in 1892, but just six years later more space was needed so the red brick-faced building abutting it was added.
Wheat production quadrupled in Manitoba between 1896 and 1911. The industry outgrew its Exchange Buildings yet again, resulting in the construction of this behemoth in 1908.
Clearly, there was a lot of money in Winnipeg at this time. And where there’s money, there’s banks. Not just their office towers (like we’ve already seen), but their branches. Branches that use the Classical style to proclaim their wealth, stability and permanence.
The most famous of these is the Bank of Montréal, built between 1909 and 1913. It’s an Ancient Roman temple and basilica rolled into one, realized in granite applied to a steel skeleton.
Not to be outdone, the Bank of Commerce built this branch not even half a block away from the B of M in 1912. The glorious banking hall inside has a glass dome 15 metres above the floor level.
Good things also come in much smaller packages in Winnipeg. The Criterion Hotel, built in 1903, was never a luxury destination – rooms were only nine feet square. But it’s still one of the most stunning examples of terracotta ornament in the city, thanks to the tiles added to its façade in 1915.
By 1930, The peak of Winnipeg’s economic might was behind it, but beautiful commercial architecture continued to be built. This understated Art Deco gem is the Canadian General Electric Building, which housed a showroom, offices, and storage space.
Canadian General Electric Building, 1930, by Northwood and Chivers
The ornament is carved in Tyndall limestone, a creamy, fossil-rich stone quarried nearby. Tyndall is one of the signature materials of Manitoba architecture, also found in churches, public buildings, and wherever a grand statement needed to be made.
I’ve barely scratched the surface of what the Exchange District has to offer. And of course, there’s a lot more to Winnipeg than just the Exchange District. Expect the city to make a few more appearances in this blog.
For more information on these and many other great Winnipeg buildings, be sure to check out the website of the Winnipeg Architecture Foundation.
Peter Coffman, History & Theory of Architecture program
peter.coffman@carleton.ca
@petercoffman.bsky.social