This three-storey brick block on Sherbrook Street in Winnipeg, measuring 65 feet by 123 feet, was built in 1931 by contractor Sigurdur Arnasson Sigurdson at a cost of about $100,000.
Firms that participated in the building’s construction included Vulcan Iron Works, Brown and Rutherford, Winnipeg Paint and Glass Company, Winnipeg Electric Company, Safety Electric Company, Builders Mutual Supply Company, Townsend Plumbing and Heating Company, MacDonald Brothers Sheet Metal and Roofing Company, H. Skaftfeld, James Reid, Tile Supply Company, Carter and Scorer, Green’s Wrought Iron Works, and Smith Agency.
The building contained 32 three-room apartments in its original configuration, each equipped with electric refrigerators and ranges. It featured western Canada's first rooftop garden, a playroom for children, and laundry room.
Gainsborough Apartments (November 2020)
Source: George Penner
Gainsborough Apartments (May 2022)
Source: Jordan MakichukSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.89407, W97.15889
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Sigurdur Arnasson Sigurdson (1884-1935)
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 416/1931, City of Winnipeg Archives.
“Gainsborough Apartments,” Manitoba Free Press, 31 August 1931, page 7.
Find a Postal Code, Canada Post.
Preparation of this page was supported, in part, by the Gail Parvin Hammerquist Fund of the City of Winnipeg.
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer, Jordan Makichuk, George Penner, and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 14 June 2024
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