Historic Sites of Manitoba: Broadway Methodist Church / St. Stephen’s-Broadway United Church (396 Broadway, Winnipeg)

Link to:
Clerics | Photos & Coordinates | Sources

The Broadway Methodist Church in Winnipeg was constructed by contractor Sinclair Balsor Ritchie at the southeast corner of the intersection of Broadway and Kennedy Street, from 1906 to 1907. Following the 1925 unification of the Methodist, Presbyterian, and Congregationalist faiths in Canada, the congregations of St. Stephen’s Presbyterian Church (Portage Avenue and Spence Street) and Broadway Methodist merged in 1927 to form the St. Stephen’s-Broadway United Church, based in the former Broadway Methodist building.

The building was destroyed by fire on 9 March 1968 and was replaced on the same site by the present structure. Designed by architect James Hamilton Christie, it was built by the Bird Construction Company between 1969 and 1970.

Plaques inside the church list parishioners of Broadway Methodist Church and St. Stephen’s Presbyterian Church who served during the First World War. The Methodist plaque was unveiled on 30 May 1920 by General Huntley Douglas Brodie Ketchen.

Clerics

Period	Cleric
?-1913	G. H. Williams
1913-1922	?
1922-?	Louis Wilfred Moffit (1887-1959)
?-1927	?
1927-?	George A. Woodside (c1871-1955)

Photos & Coordinates

Postcard view of Broadway Methodist Church (circa 1910) Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2015-0056 St. Stephen’s-Broadway United Church (October 2021) Source: George Penner First World War service plaque for the St. Stephen’s Presbyterian Church (September 2022) Source: George Penner First World War service plaque for the Broadway Methodist Church (September 2022) Source: George Penner Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.88625, W97.14500 denoted by symbol on the map above

First World War (Broadway Methodist)

Name	Occupation	Service	Rank	Birth Date	Death Date
John McCreary Elliott [Kelvin, Next of Kin]	Student	60th Squadron, Royal Flying Corps	Lieutenant	7 June 1897	16 April 1917
Harry Finney Gibson [Knox]	Farmer	8th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	29 October 1885	30 March 1918
John Barker Gould [Masonic, Eatons, Next of Kin]	Manager	44th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Captain	12 June 1883	21 October 1918
Robert Stacey Rice [Next of Kin, Wesley College]	Student	1st Canadian Mounted Rifles	Lieutenant	16 November 1893	15 September 1916
Fred Irwin Simpson [Fort Rouge Methodist, Law Society, Next of Kin, Virden, Virden Methodist, Wesley College]	Law Student	1st Canadian Mounted Rifles	Captain	15 April 1893	12 March 1917

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Stephen’s Presbyterian Church / Elim Chapel (546 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg)

Memorable Manitobans: James Hamilton Christie (1929-2014)

Manitoba Business: Bird Woodall and Simpson Construction / Bird Construction Company

Sources:

“Bids farewell to his congregation,” Manitoba Free Press, 2 June 1913.

“Honor memory of war heroes,” Winnipeg Tribune, 31 May 1920, page 19.

“Weekend blaze hits city church,” Winnipeg Free Press, 11 March 1968, page 3.

We thank George Penner and Darryl Toews for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 31 July 2023

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