The five-storey Mount Royal Hotel was designed by local architects Daniel Smith and William Bruce and built in 1906-1907 for businessman Olivio Biollo at a cost of over $60,000. There were twelve guest suites each comprising a bedroom, bathroom, and sitting room; and 35 single rooms. On the main floor was a guest parlor and dining hall. An electric elevator provided access to the upper levels and each floor had a bathroom and lavatory.
Unable to obtain a liquor permit, Biollo leased the building to the proprietors of the neighbouring, and dry, Wellington Hotel. The two buildings operated under that name until 1922 when the building was sold and the name changed to the Garrick Hotel. The iconic neon was erected in the mid 1940s when Shea’s Brewery owned the hotel. In April 2017, it became a municipally-designated historic site.
Garrick Hotel (June 2011)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Garrick Hotel (November 2020)
Source: George PennerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.89372, W97.14045
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Biollo House (494 College Avenue, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Wolseley Hotel / Mount Royal Hotel (186 Higgins Avenue, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites
Memorable Manitobans: Daniel Smith (1840-1913)
Memorable Manitobans: William Bruce (1852-?)
287 Garry Street - The Garrick Hotel, Winnipeg Downtown Places
The Castle of College Avenue (2). The Biollos’ Fall by Christian Cassidy, West End Dumplings.
“Apartment buildings and hotels,” Manitoba Free Press, 21 November 1907, page 28.
Garrick Hotel, Historical Buildings Inventory, City of Winnipeg, 2004.
We thank George Penner for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Christian Cassidy and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 30 September 2022
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