On Main Street
My Interest In Where All The Old Theatres In Winnipeg Were,
Also Got Me Interested In Some Of The Still Standing Older Buildings and Their Architecture
The Confederation Life Building is next door to Pantages Playhouse. The Union Bank Tower is believed to be the country’s oldest surviving steel frame and reinforced concrete “skyscraper”.
The Union Bank Tower became The Royal Bank Tower in 1925.
The Main Street Entrance of the Confederation Life Building Union Bank Tower under construction in 1904
Looking North down Main Street
The Crocus Building is actually Ashdown's Department Store which was re-faced and added onto in 2001.
James Henry Ashdown (31 March 1844 – 5 April 1924), the "Merchant Prince of Winnipeg", arrived in Winnipeg, in 1868.
In 1870 he purchased two lots on the corner of Main Street and Bannatyne Avenue, the location of the Ashdown retail store for over one hundred years.
In 1904, the J.H. Ashdown store in Winnipeg burned down and was immediately replaced with a new one.
Ashdown died in 1924 and his son Harry carried on the business until his death in 1970 marked the end of Ashdown's.
Precariously close to demolition, the century-old landmark, was brought back to life by Prairie Architects Inc. in 2001,
with a $6 million transformation that restored the building’s exterior and incorporated as much of its old interior layout as possible.
Ted Motyka Dance Studio is partially visible on the far left at 460 Main Street.
460 Main Street was originally the Royal Bank of Canada Building, and was built in 1900,
and was re-developed in 1911.
The Royal Bank of Canada Building became part of Winnipeg's "Bankers Row" which was between Portage Avenue and William Avenue.
Although the address for the "Ted Motyka Dance Studio" is 460 Main,
you must enter from the parking lot entrance to the south, off McDermot.
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