In 1895, salesman George Robinson Gregg (1863-1938) established an import-export business at Winnipeg, specializing in buying Japanese silks, tailor-made wear, china, matting, curios, and toys from Japanese and Chinese suppliers. Gregg moved his head office to Toronto in 1904 but maintained branch offices at Winnipeg and Vancouver. In 1902, Gregg commissioned architect James Henry Cadham to design this office and warehouse on Albert Street between Notre Dame and McDermot avenues. The four-storey brick and stone structure, erected by the Kelly Brothers, was completed in 1903. A fifth storey was added in 1922 on a design by Frank Evans.
The Gregg firm was the primary occupant of the building prior to the First World War, with some space leased to various textile manufacturers’ agents. A more diverse group of businesses used the building by the 1920s. The Gregg Company survived into the mid-1950s, marketing scarves and handkerchiefs through a Winnipeg agent in the period after the Second World War.
The building is a municipally-designated historic site.
Gregg Building (June 2011)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Gregg Building (November 2020)
Source: George Penner
Gregg Building (June 2024)
Source: Greg Petzold
Gregg Building (June 2024)
Source: Greg PetzoldSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.89624, W97.14036
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: James Henry Cadham (1850-1907)
Manitoba Business: Kelly Brothers / Manitoba Construction Company / Kelly Brothers and Mitchell / Thomas Kelly and Sons
Memorable Manitobans: Frank Robert Evans (1865-1949)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites
Obituary [George Gregg], Winnipeg Tribune, 7 December 1938, page 5.
Gregg Building (52 Albert Street), City of Winnipeg Historical Buildings Committee, January 1986.
George Robinson Gregg, FamilySearch.
We thank George Penner and Greg Petzold for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 15 July 2024
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