Exchange District in Winnipeg, Manitoba — Canada’s Prairie Region (North America)

The Confederation Building / L'édifice de la Confédération

The Confederation Building /<br>L'édifice de la Confédération Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 16, 2022

1. The Confederation Building /
L'édifice de la Confédération Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

[English]
This ten story steel-framed office block is representative of early high-rise building construction technology in Winnipeg. Designed in the Chicago style of architecture by J. Wilson Gray of Toronto, it was erected in 1912 by the Carter-Halls-Aldinger Company of Winnipeg at a cost of $400,000. The building was owned and occupied by the Confederation Life Association for over 50 years. Its style, use, and placement within Winnipeg's commercial core make it an enduring symbol of the city's great economic and spatial growth in the early twentieth century.

[Français]
Cet édifice de dix étages à charpente d’acier est typique des premières gratte-ciel à Winnipeg. Conçu dans le style architectural de Chicago par J. Wilson Gray de Toronto, il a été érigé en 1912 par la Carter-Halls-Aldinger Company de Winnipeg, au coût de 400 000$. L'édifice a été la propriété de la Confederation Life Association qui l’a occupé pendant plus de 50 ans. Son architecture, son utilisation et son emplacement a cœur du centre commercial de Winnipeg en font un symbole permanent

Paid Advertisement

Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.

Click or scan to see
this page online

de la croissance économique et géographique de la ville au début du XX^e siècle.

Erected 1976 by Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada/Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Industry & Commerce • Notable Buildings. In addition, it is included in the Canada, Historic Sites and Monuments Board series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1912.

Location. 49° 53.92′ N, 97° 8.327′ W. Marker is in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is in the Exchange District. Marker is on Main Street (Manitoba Route 52) just south of Market Avenue, on the right when traveling north. Marker is mounted at eye-level, near the northwest corner of the subject building, facing Main Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 457 Main Street, Winnipeg MB R3B 1B5, Canada. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Union Bank Building (within shouting distance of this marker); First Headquarters • International Brotherhood of Magicians (within shouting distance of this marker); Union Bank Building / L’édifice de la Union Bank (within shouting distance of this marker); West Clements Block (Bijou Theatre) (within shouting distance of this marker); Bloody Saturday

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 16, 2022

2. The Confederation Building /
L'édifice de la Confédération Marker

(marker is on north corner of the front facade, facing Main Street)

(within shouting distance of this marker); Court House (within shouting distance of this marker); Imperial Bank of Canada (within shouting distance of this marker); Rowand Block / Canada Life Building (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Winnipeg.

Regarding The Confederation Building / L'édifice de la Confédération. Canada Register of Historic Places (1988/08/29), as Confederation Life Building. National Historic Site of Canada (1976).

Also see . . .
1. Confederation Life Building, Canada Register of Historic Places.

The Confederation Life Building is an excellent example of the form and technology that defined Chicago School skyscrapers in the pre-World War I era of Winnipeg's development. Designed by Toronto architect J. Wilson Gray, the building is a superior expression of the style, named for the city in which it received its fullest interpretation. Enveloped primarily in a sheath of creamy terra cotta featuring low-relief ornamentation over a steel frame, the structure's grand facade is divided into a base and midsection crowned by an elaborate
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 16, 2022

3. Confederation Building (east/front elevation)
cornice. The designer exploited the strategic site on Main Street, which bends at this point, to create a gently curved facade that gives the building even greater presence.

(Submitted on January 29, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. Confederation Building National Historic Site of Canada.

The Confederation Building was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1976. The key elements that relate to the heritage value of the Confederation Building include its convex-curved façade, matching the curve of the street. Surviving interior fixtures on the first two storeys include: oak doors with pebbled-glass inserts; marble-tiled floors in the public areas; chain-suspended, elliptical, milk-glass fixtures, and original elevator surrounds on Main and fourth floor elevator entrances.

(Submitted on January 29, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Confederation Building<br>(<i>northeast elevation</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 16, 2022

4. Confederation Building
(northeast elevation)

Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on January 28, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 80 times since then and 22 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on January 29, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.