Formerly located on King Street between Pacific and Alexander avenues in Winnipeg, this two-storey brick building, measuring 94 feet by 150 feet, was built in 1883 for owner John Higgins. In its original configuration it contained seven retail spaces on its main floors while the second floor contained 36 offices/apartments.
Between 1883 and 1886, the building was occupied by the Winnipeg city council and Mayor. Known originally as the Robert Block, it was eventually renamed the Coronation Block. Home to the Shanghai Restaurant from the 1940s to 2011, the building was demolished in 2012.
Coronation Block (no date)
Source: PC 18/7128/18-6191-086, Winnipeg Tribune Collection, University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections
The former Shanghai Restaurant (January 2012)
Source: George PennerSite Location (lat/long): N49.90205, W97.13815
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: John Higgins (1807-1884)
Winnipeg fire insurance map #207, December 1917, Library and Archives Canada.
The Year Past 2009 by City of Winnipeg Historical Buildings Committee.
“Double standards and old buildings,” The Rise and Sprawl, 7 December 2010.
“238 King Street: Coronation Block / Shanghai Restaurant” by Christian Cassidy, Winnipeg Places, 2 January 2011.
“Coronation Block — a tragedy unfolds in rooms rented to those down on their luck” by Bruce Cherney, Winnipeg Real Estate News, 22 January 2016.
“Bathgate Block, 242 Princess Street,” City of Winnipeg Historical Buildings Committee, October 2004.
This page was prepared by Jordan Makichuk and George Penner.
Page revised: 29 October 2023
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