Annual Preservation Awards 2015 Nominations - Insurance Tips

Article by Laura McKay, on behalf of Heritage Winnipeg Corp.
To follow up on this or any other articles on the blog, contact Heritage Winnipeg's Executive Director.

Thank you to everyone who submitted nominations for this year's awards! 

Heritage Winnipeg's Annual Preservation Awards are coming up next week! Here are the nominations we have received for the building awards:

Nominee #1

Heritage Winnipeg is very pleased to be recognizing…

Loftworks on James
128 James Avenue

Built in 1912, Loftworks on James was originally the De Laval Company Warehouse and has since been occupied by many businesses, including James Richardsons. The rear of the building is adjacent to Elgin Street, where people were rounded up during the General Strike of 1919. The building is now known as the Ingaldson Building, named after Winnipeg Olympic basketball player Fred Ingaldson. 

The building is presently used as an architectural engineering office, as well as housing 10 residential condos. Prior to this renovation, the building was a mostly vacant warehouse and office space. 

All exterior brick has been refurbished, cleaned, or sand blasted, as well as the interior heavy timber beams and columns, which are featured and retained in the new renovations. This purchase and renovation was a labour of love and dedication to this historical building from the start, with fantastic results.

Nominee #2

Heritage Winnipeg is very pleased to be recognizing…

District 132 Condominiums

132 James Avenue

 

The buildings that make up this complex were built from 1910-1911 and have been used as warehouse space for Burrows, Stewart and Milne Company, Richards and Brown, and Victor Fox Foods. The buildings are each three storeys tall with Tyndall stone features throughout the front elevation facing James Avenue. 

The building has been renovated to house 49 condominiums. The exterior masonry was repaired and paint removed to expose the original brick and Tyndall stone. 

Great care was taken to maintain the superstructure to ensure the longevity of the building, including maintaining the existing interior heavy timber framing where possible. This conversion has revitalized the building, while still ensuring it fit the character of the surrounding area.

Nominee #3

Heritage Winnipeg is very pleased to be recognizing…

The Bell Block

370 Donald Street

 

What is now known as the Bell Block was originally built in 1905, with the upper two floors later added in 1909. The original owners, including F.C. Bell and Bryce and Company, constructed the building as a mixture of retail and office space, owning and occupying the building until 1960. The building has stood on the outskirts of the Exchange District for 105 years, featuring metal cornice and ceiling tiles consistent with the period of construction.

 

In 2012, the building came into the ownership of the Bell Building Inc., who renovated extensively and converted the interior into 38 rental apartments and a restaurant space. While undergoing major renovation, the original wood posts and beams of the interior were conserved and left exposed along with the exterior cornice. 

The pressed tin ceiling was also salvaged, restored, and reclaimed as accents throughout the building. The extensive work put into this building has potentially added another century of life to a historical building that had been standing abandoned, vacant, and deteriorating for almost a decade.

Nominee #4

Heritage Winnipeg is very pleased to be recognizing…

Fire Hall- Station 8

325 Talbot Avenue

 

Built in 1906, shortly after Elmwood joined the City of Winnipeg, this building is the old Station 8 Fire Hall built to service the area. It was capable of housing 11 horses, 5 fire-wagons, and 16 men. At the time it was the most modern building in Elmwood, boasting steam heat, full plumbing, and electricity. 

 

The building was used as a fire hall until 1957, when it became an ambulance depot until Youth for Christ turned it into a youth centre in the 1980s. Riverwood purchased the fire hall in 2012 and immediately began renovations. Presently used as office space and multi-purpose meeting rooms, the building has undergone numerous renovations, including the repair and restoration of the brickwork, original tin ceiling, and the exposure of the old brick structure.

The front doors were also rebuilt into windows that mimic the original structure. The main floor and basement are now used as ministry space, including a 200 seat auditorium/multi-purpose community space and KidZone space in the basement.

Nominee #5

Heritage Winnipeg is pleased to be recognizing…

Neechi Commons

859 Main Street

Built in the 1920s, this building has long served as a vegetable vendor, most recently for California Fruit. Neechi Commons has taken over the building, which now serves as an aboriginal-based food, art, and social activist centre. 

The two storey brick building represents a typical North Main Street character, particularly as materials from older building were repurposed into new ones.

(sorry for the poor photo quality!)

As part of the renovations done, the brick structure of the building was stabilized along with the wooden floors, roof, and storefront glazing. Neechi Commons represents a large scale reinvestment in the North Main environment with the adaptive reuse of this building, showing a grass roots support of buildings as an element of social cohesion and heritage.

Nominee #6

Heritage Winnipeg is pleased to be recognizing…

Union Station (VIA Rail)

123 Main Street

 

Constructed in 1911, Union Station was the second train station built in Winnipeg. Recently, extensive work has been done to preserve this historic building including the rehabilitation of the rotunda with plasterwork, glazing, flooring, and the reconstruction of a kiosk in the north-east corner of the rotunda based on the original building. 

The passenger tunnel has been rehabilitated and features a heritage exhibition of historic images of the station. Numerous other renovations were also completed to make the building accessible and secure, as required by VIA Rail company standards. 

 
Union Station is a renewed, vibrant and accessible gateway to the Forks and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. The space has been transformed, with careful reinvestment in the values and purpose of this grand heritage space. For more information about the history of union station, you can check out our blog post featuring the building here.

Nominee #7

Heritage Winnipeg is pleased to be recognizing…

The Westend Commons

641 St. Matthews Avenue

 

Originally built as a church in 1913, the interior of this building was destroyed by fire in 1944. The original walls were rebuilt in 1946 and it now serves as a church, neighbourhood resource centre, and 26 low income apartments. The exterior façade has been maintained and the eves extended to protect the walls from runoff. 

The original wooden doors have also been refinished and reinstalled and many of the original interior architectural features have been incorporated in the apartments or public areas. 

 

Throughout Winnipeg’s history, this building has helped to define the character of its neighbourhood, first as a prosperous middle class suburb, then as a home for immigrants, and most recently as both a symbol and a resource in a poor, inner-city neighbourhood. The renovations have given new life to this landmark building. 

We hope to see you at the awards presentation ceremony on Monday, February 16. This is a FREE public event, with a reception and Jane's Walk Tour to follow! 

For more information about the event, click here. 

Are you familiar with any of these buildings? 

Maybe see them on your way to work or have special memories there?

Tell us about your experiences in the comments!

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