This office-warehouse building was built in 1895 for boot and shoe merchant Thomas Ryan. Designed by the architect Henry S. Griffith, the building was originally three storeys tall. In 1903, a fourth floor was added. Three years later, Ryan moved to a new, larger facility at Princess Street and Notre Dame Avenue and this building was occupied by a series of wholesale merchants. It was vacant for four years before becoming the home of an auction company in 1977. After that firm moved out, the building remained vacant and its maintenance was neglected.
This building, a municipally-designated historic site, was demolished in 2010 to build a parking structure on the site. The façade of the original building was preserved on the parkade’s exterior. It received a Conservation Award from Heritage Winnipeg in 2012.
Ryan Block (circa 1903)
Source: An Illustrated Souvenir of Winnipeg by W. A. Martel & Sons.Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.89817, W97.14122
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Ryan Block (44 Princess Street, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites
King Building / Ryan Block, 104 King Street, City of Winnipeg Historical Buildings Committee, August 1988.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 11 January 2020
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