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New illustrated book tells the colourful stories of Winnipeg buildings. Peter Caulfield April 6, 2026 Winnipeg Stories Our Buildings Tell is a new book that uses words and drawings to describe the city's history as one comprised of its vast array of buildings. Published by Heritage Winnipeg, the book is full of original artwork by Winnipeg artist Robert Sweeney and contains 120 stories written by Sweeney and Heritage Winnipeg (HW) president Greg Agnew. HW calls the book "a celebration of the heritage buildings, vibrant communities and diverse cultures that have shaped our city." The 120-page book will be of interest to Winnipeggers and anyone who is familiar with the city as well as those who know there is more to River City than Portage and Main at 40-below. What makes Winnipeg - and its architecture - unique is that it is an eastern Canadian city in a western Canadian province. The illustrated stories are in rough chronological order, starting with the 19th century Red River Settlement and ending with the rebuilt Disraeli Bridge. In between there are plenty of interesting stories and handsome illustrations. For example, the Woodbine Hotel (page 11), named after the Woodbine racetrack in Toronto, was built on Main Street in 1878. Although it is no longer operating, the building still stands. It is a municipally-designated historic site and, in 2019, the owners received a Preservation Award from Heritage Winnipeg. The Medical College (page 22) opened on McDermott Avenue in 1883 as the first of its kind in Western Canada. The first female graduate was Hattie Foxton, who graduated in 1892 with a Doctor of Medicine degree and a master of surgery. The building housing the college is long gone and the site is now part of the campus of the University of Manitoba's Max Rady College of Medicine at the Health Science Centre. In 1901, the Evangelical Association commissioned the design of a church on Alexander Avenue, near the Canadian Pacific Railway passenger station, an area of new immigrants to the city. Over the years, the church has been home to a variety of different congregations. Today it houses the Hui Thanh Tin Lahn Viet Nam Vietnamese Mennonite Church (page 39). The book also contains illustrations of some architecturally notable fire halls (pages 51-53) that have gone on to other uses, such as Talbot Fire Hall #8 in Elmwood (now a church), Dorchester Fire Hall #12 in Crescentwood (condominiums) and Lipton Fire Hall #14 in Wolseley (a private residence). The James Avenue Pumping Station (page 54) was built in 1906 to feed the city's new pump house near the city centre so that high-pressure water would be available to the city's fire-fighters. The book is a follow-up to Winnipeg 150 Stories Our Buildings Tell, which was published in 2024, the 150th anniversary of the city's incorporation. In the words of Mayor Scott Gillingham, who wrote the foreword, "This book takes us on a journey through time, from 1874 to 2024, chronicling the evolution of Winnipeg through its unique architectural treasures...As you turn the pages, you will be transported through the decades, from the great real estate rush of the late 1800s, to the boom of the early 1900s, large city building projects of the 1960s and 1980s to today." The Hudson's Bay Company (page 16) relocated its store at Main Street and York Avenue to compete with the T. Eaton Company's store on Portage Avenue, which had shifted the city's retail centre. The new HBC store on Portage Avenue opened in 1926. Today the six-storey building is being redeveloped as an Indigenous residential, commercial mixed-use project. Riel House (page 20) is where Metis leader Louis Riel was born in 1844. The building still stands as a National Historic Site and has been restored to its 19th century condition. The Canadian Pacific Railway station (page 23) was built in 1906 and 1915. It was attached by tunnel to the luxurious Royal Alexandra Hotel. The station was closed in 1978 and is now the Aboriginal Centre of Winnipeg. The Carnegie Library (page 52) was built on William Avenue in 1904-5, and was made possible by a grant from American industrialist-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. It was Winnipeg's first purpose-built library. When the downtown Centennial Library was opened in 1977, the Carnegie Library was taken over by the City of Winnipeg archives. The University of Manitoba's Administration Building (page 27) on the Fort Garry campus was built in 1913. The university was established in 1877 and was western Canada's first institute of higher learning. To find out more about the book click here.

On Friday, the Hudson's Bay Company announced an update to its Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), which it filed earlier this month.