This large art deco brick and Tyndall stone industrial building on Notre Dame Avenue in Winnipeg, measuring 126 feet by 482 feet, was designed by in-house architects at the Ontario-based cookie manufacturer Christie Brown and Company, with supervision from local architect George Gaspar Teeter. It was constructed between 1931 and 1932, with excavation work contracted to James Murray Reid, structural steel from Dominion Bridge, and the building built by contractors Hazelton & Walin at an initial cost of about $525,000.
Building costs later rose to $750,000 and equipment for the facility cost $250,000, bringing the total investment to $1,000,000. It opened officially on 15 February 1932.
Expanded in 1953 by contractor Gerard Alphonsus “Gerry” Baert, the factory closed in 1978. The following year, the building was taken over by Mid West Garments. The firm moved to the back and the Specialized Services for Children and Youth (SSCY) Centre built an addition and moved in.
Christie Brown Building under construction (1931)
Source: Manitoba Free Press, 27 June 1931, page 25.
Christie Brown Building (1932) by Lewis Benjamin Foote
Source: Winnipeg Tribune, 13 February 1932, page 24.
Christie Brown Building (September 2019)
Source: George Penner
Christie Brown Building (September 2023)
Source: Jordan Makichuk
Christie Brown Building (September 2023)
Source: Jordan MakichukSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.90800, W97.17795
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: George Gaspar Teeter (1874-1949)
Memorable Manitobans: James Murray Reid (1882-1933)
Manitoba Business: Dominion Bridge Company
Manitoba Business: Hazelton & Walin
Manitoba Business: G. A. Baert Construction Company
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 557/1931, City of Winnipeg Archives.
“Biscuit factory permit issued,” Manitoba Free Press, 11 April 1931, page 23.
“Building permits in week represent $607,250 investment,” Winnipeg Tribune, 11 April 1931, page 2.
“Building and construction work in greater Winnipeg for the present season,” Manitoba Free Press, 9 May 1931, page 40.
“Large biscuit co. plant now in construction,” Winnipeg Tribune, 16 May 1931, page 6.
“Sub-contracts awarded for new factory,” Winnipeg Tribune, 16 May 1931, page 6.
“Progress on Winnipeg’s largest 1931 building project,” Manitoba Free Press, 27 June 1931, page 25.
“Christie, Brown & Co. Ltd., the builders,” Winnipeg Tribune, 13 February 1932, page 24.
“Local builders get contracts from 2 firms,” Winnipeg Free Press, 28 July 1953, page 3.
1147 Notre Dame Avenue, Winnipeg Architecture Foundation.
This page was prepared by Jordan Makichuk, George Penner, and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 15 February 2025
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