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Historic Sites of Manitoba: Boyd Building (384 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg)
Built in 1912 for Winnipeg businessman William J. Boyd, on a design by local architect J. D. Atchison, this nine-storey steel structure with its attractive terra cotta exterior sat on the western periphery of the downtown business district until the Hudson’s Bay Company built its department store west of it, in 1925. It had retail space on the street-level floor: Hollinsworth Ladies’ Wear (1917-1972) and later Willson’s Business Services. Offices in its upper levels were typically dominated by the medical profession, including physicians and dentists, as well as support services such as laboratories, x-ray clinics, medical libraries, and the administrative offices of the Manitoba Medical Association. Other occupants through the years have included the Monarch Life Assurance Company, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Great West Life Assurance Company, and the publications branch of the Manitoba Department of Agriculture. There were also manufacturers’ agents, artists, dance teachers, architects, and real estate agents. Designated in November 1981 as a municipally heritage site, all but the main floor of the building was closed as of December 2017, in anticipation of future renovations.
Postcard view of the Boyd Building (circa 1912) by Lyall Commercial Photo
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2015-0103
Boyd Building (June 2015)
Source: George PennerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.89216, W97.14713
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: William James Boyd (1862-1943)
Memorable Manitobans: John Danley Atchison (1870-1959)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Abandoned Manitoba
Sources:
384 Portage Avenue, Boyd Building, Winnipeg Historical Buildings Committee, March 1981.
“New lease on life for Boyd Building,” Winnipeg Free Press, 26 December 2017, page 26.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 13 January 2020
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