This metal statue of merchant Timothy Eaton (1834-1907) was unveiled on 8 December 1919 by employees of his Winnipeg store to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of T. Eaton & Company. Through the years, the toe of his left boot became shiny from being rubbed by thousands of people who thought it would bring them good fortune. In 1989, the statue became a provincially-designated heritage object.
The statue stood in Eaton’s Winnipeg department store until the building’s demolition to make way for a sports arena then was moved for a time to an Eatons store at the Polo Park Mall. Put into storage in 2003, when the arena was completed, the statue was moved into one of its hallways along with two plaques for employees of the Eaton’s store who were killed during military service in the First World War and Second World War.
Timothy Eaton Statue (2010)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.89311, W97.14424
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Manitoba Business: T. Eaton Company
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Eaton’s Department Store (320 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Eaton’s Power House Building (260 Hargrave Street, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Eaton’s Mail Order and Catalogue Building / City Place Building (333 St. Mary Avenue, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Timothy Eaton Statue (320 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Eaton’s Employee War Memorial (320 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Eaton’s Printing Plant and Warehouse (130 Galt Avenue, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Polo Park Racetrack / Polo Park Shopping Centre (1485 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Ramsay-Wright Building / Eaton’s Department Store (Main Street North, Dauphin)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Emerson Customs Building / Emerson Hospital (26 Main Street, Emerson, Municipality of Emerson-Franklin)
Manitoba Organization: Eaton Curling Club
A Store Like No Other: Eaton’s of Winnipeg by Russ Gourluck, Winnipeg: Great Plains Publications, 2004.
“New Bay store exiles Timothy Eaton statue,” Brandon Sun, 29 October 2003, page 50.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 29 April 2024
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