Memorable Manitobans: Balston C. Kenway (1844-1909)

Architect.

Born in England, he emigrated to Canada and was working as a civil engineer by 1871, but soon switched to architectural work. He moved to the United States in 1875 and worked at Minneapolis, Minnesota. In early 1878, he came to Winnipeg and designed many buildings before and during the land boom of 1881-1882, either alone or in partnership with Robert McNicol. From 1882 to 1888, he worked as an architect, contractor, and lumber dealer. His office was severely damaged in a fire in 1886.

His wife Nellie Louise Kenway died in May 1885 at the age of 35 years and was buried in the Stony Mountain Cemetery. He left Winnipeg to take a position as supervising architect with the federal Department of Public Works at Lethbridge, NWT (now Alberta). By 1889, he was in Vancouver as a supervising architect for the provincial government. He moved to Tacoma, Washington in 1892 then to Seattle in 1899. He worked in various businesses there then returned to Tacoma, where he died on 6 November 1909.

Some of his architectural works in Manitoba included:

Building	Location	Year	Status
Radiger Block	Main Street near Bannatyne Avenue, Winnipeg	1878
Morris Block	Main Street near Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1880	Demolished (1975)
J. S. Dennis Residence	Hargrave Street, Winnipeg	1880
St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Cathedral	353 St. Mary Avenue, Winnipeg	1880
St. Boniface College	rue de la Cathedrale, St. Boniface	1880-1881	Destroyed by fire (1922)
Hudson’s Bay Company Store	Main Street at York Avenue, Winnipeg	1880-1881	Demolished (1930)
Bank of Montreal Building	346 Main Street, Winnipeg	1880-1881	Demolished (1973)
Manitoba Club Building	Garry Street, Winnipeg	1881	Demolished (?)
H. M. Howell Residence	Carlton Street, Winnipeg	1881
J. S. Lynch Residence	Garry Street, Winnipeg	1881
McMicken Block	Main Street, Winnipeg	1881
Knox Presbyterian Church	Portage Avenue at Fort Street	1884	Demolished (?)

Sources:

Death registration [Nellie Louise Kenway], Manitoba Vital Statistics.

Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950 by Robert G. Hill, Toronto.

We thank Lise Markus for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 24 January 2020

Memorable Manitobans This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations. Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text: Custom Search Browse surnames beginning with: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z Browse deaths occurring in: 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 Send corrections and additions to this page to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.ca Criteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements Help us keep history alive!