This three-storey brick block on Toronto Street in Winnipeg was designed by local architect Pall Melsted “Paul” Clemens and constructed in 1913 by Jon Jonsson Bildfell at a cost of about $50,000. The 48 feet by 76 feet building, containing 14 apartments, was originally named Sylvia Apartments for one of Bildfell’s daughters. It was renamed Glenora Apartments in 1936.
The building was destroyed by fire on 5 March 2024.
Glenora Apartments (August 1961) by Bjorn Hallgrimson
Source: Blair Bingeman
Glenora Apartments (April 2012)
Source: Blair Bingeman
Ilford Apartments at left and Glenora Apartments at right (April 2012)
Source: Blair Bingeman
Ilford Apartments at left and Glenora Apartments at right (October 2020)
Source: George Penner
Glenora Apartments after the fire (March 2024)
Source: George PennerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.90186, W97.16380
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Pall Melsted “Paul” Clemens (1870-1966)
Memorable Manitobans: Jon Jonsson Bildfell (1870-1955)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Hrefna Apartments / Verbena Apartments / Ilford Apartments (768 Toronto Street, Winnipeg)
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 42/1913, City of Winnipeg Archives.
Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.
“Early Icelandic builders in Winnipeg” by S. Aleck Thorarinson, Logberg Heimskringla, 30 March 1967, page 7.
Architect Paul Melsted Clemens (Part 2) by Christian Cassidy, West End Dumplings.
Find a Postal Code, Canada Post.
“Fire guts 111-year-old apartment block,” Winnipeg Free Press, 5 March 2024.
Preparation of this page was supported, in part, by the Gail Parvin Hammerquist Fund of the City of Winnipeg.
This page was prepared by Blair Bingeman, Nathan Kramer, George Penner, Gordon Goldsborough, and Jordan Makichuk.
Page revised: 6 March 2024
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