This red brick and Tyndall stone building on Main Street in Winnipeg, measuring 28 feet by 94 feet, was designed by the architectural firm of Darling Pearson and Over. It was built in 1904 by contractors Francis Powell and John Alexander Girvin at a cost of about $18,000 for pharmacist John Cram Gordon. Originally a three-storey structure, it contained a single retail space on the main floor that hosted a pharmacy operated by Gordon and William James Mitchell, while the upper two floors contained offices.
In 1929, a branch of the Bank of Montreal began to occupy the ground floor of the building. Later owned outright by the bank, in 1948 it commissioned the local architectural firm of Northwood and Chivers to design extensive alterations and renovations that included a new Tyndall Stone facade and removal of the third floor.
The building was later used by Lighthouse Mission.
Lighthouse Mission (January 2018)
Source: George Penner
Lighthouse Mission (March 2021)
Source: Jordan Makichuk
Lighthouse Mission (September 2024)
Source: George PennerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.90415, W97.13511
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Walter Percy Over (1874-1944)
Memorable Manitobans: Francis “Frank” Powell (1842-1937)
Memorable Manitobans: John Alexander Girvin (1851-1931)
Memorable Manitobans: John Cram Gordon (1855-1923)
Memorable Manitobans: William James Mitchell (1843-1907)
Manitoba Business: Northwood and Chivers / Northwood Chivers and Casey
Manitoba Business: Bank of Montreal
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Zimmerman Block / Lighthouse Mission (669 Main Street, Winnipeg)
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 527/1904, City of Winnipeg Archives.
“Bank purchases indicate faith in city’s future,” Manitoba Free Press, 8 June 1929, page 36.
676 Main Street, Winnipeg Architecture Foundation.
Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.
We thank George Penner for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Jordan Makichuk and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 17 June 2025
Historic Sites of Manitoba
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