Manitoba Historical Society
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Memorable Manitobans: Thomas Sinclair (1877-1913)

Architect.

Born at Edinburgh, Scotland on 20 January 1877, he was educated there and at the University of Edinburgh. He served an architectural apprenticeship in Scotland before coming to Brandon. Here he designed the Brandon Arena, the largest indoor arena in Canada in its day, along with buildings elsewhere in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. On 21 March 1908 he married Mary Clarke, daughter of John and Isabelle Clarke of Ednam Kelso, Scotland. He died at Brandon on 19 December 1913 and was buried in the Brandon Cemetery.

Some of his architectural works in Manitoba included:

Building

Location

Year

Status

Alexandra School

College Avenue, Brandon

1906

Demolished (?)

Harding School No. 1352

Harding, RM of Woodworth

1906

Demolished (?)

Brandon Armoury

1116 Victoria Avenue, Brandon

1907

 

St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church

Elva, RM of Arthur

1909

Demolished (?)

Kenton Municipal Hall

Kenton, RM of Woodworth

1909

 

Aikenside Methodist Church

Justice, RM of Elton

1909

 

Dauphin School No. 2 (addition)

Dauphin

1909

Demolished (?)

A. E. McKenzie Building

30 Ninth Street, Brandon

1910

 

King George School

430 Victoria Avenue East, Brandon

1911

Demolished (?)

Park View Apartments

1330 Princess Avenue, Brandon

1912

 

Brandon Winter Fair Building

Eleventh Street, Brandon

1912-1913

Demolished (1970)

Gordon-Mackay Warehouse

638 Pacific Avenue, Brandon

1913

 

Sources:

The Story of Manitoba by F. H. Schofield, Winnipeg: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1913.

Death registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

“Bright young Brandon architect dead,” Manitoba Free Press, 20 December 1913, page 13.

“Shepley Construction Company erect handsome building at Brandon,” Winnipeg Tribune, 28 February 1914, page 11.

Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.

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

We thank Keith Davies Jones for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 7 April 2023

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

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