In 1894, Winnipeg merchant James Henry Ashdown commissioned local architect Samuel Frank Peters to design a large warehouse at 167 Bannatyne Avenue for his growing hardware business, and successfully obtained permission to have a railway spur line constructed behind the building erected in 1895. The original structure, built by contractor Sinclair Balsor Ritchie, was four storeys high.
In 1899, architect John Hamilton Gordon Russell designed a four-storey warehouse for Ashdown at 179 Bannatyne, to serve the grocery wholesale firm of Codville and Company. Initially separated from 167 Bannatyne by a vacant lot, over the next 11 years, Russell designed various additions that connected the two buildings and increased its height to six storeys.
The Ashdown company was sold in 1971 and the building, a municipally-designated historic site, has been renovated into commercial and residential space. These renovations were recognized with a Heritage Winnipeg Conservation Award in 1989.
Ashdown Warehouse (circa 1903)
Source: An Illustrated Souvenir of Winnipeg
Ashdown Warehouse (April 2011)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Ashdown Warehouse (February 2021)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Ashdown Warehouse (February 2021)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Ashdown Warehouse (February 2021)
Source: George Penner
Aerial view of the Ashdown Warehouse (September 2024)
Source: George PennerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.89764, W97.13670
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Samuel Frank Peters (1847-1926)
Memorable Manitobans: Sinclair Balsor Ritchie (1855-1933)
Memorable Manitobans: James Henry Ashdown (1844-1924)
Memorable Manitobans: John Hamilton Gordon Russell (1863-1946)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Ashdown House (529 Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Ashdown Building (476 Main Street, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites
Ashdown Warehouse (167 Bannatyne Avenue), City of Winnipeg Historical Buildings Committee, August 1984.
We thank George Penner for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 27 September 2024
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