Built between 1883 and 1884 on a design by local architects Charles Arnold Barber and Earle William Barber, the Leland was one of Winnipeg’s most luxurious hotels, featuring 100 rooms, hot and cold running water, billiard room, barber shop, and reading rooms. Its brick facade concealed a wooden structure, one of the last such buildings from the city’s early days.
Four storeys added in 1892 were destroyed in a fire in 1913. Through the years its proprietors included William D. Douglas (1884-1902), James C. Kavanagh (1902-1904), Eli Joel Rochon (1904-1921), George Edward Dangerfield (1921-1923), and Dangerfield Hotel Company (1923-1960s). After many years of neglect and use as a “flop house hotel,” the building sat empty and was purchased by the City of Winnipeg in 1995.
Designated in May 1985 as a municipal historic site, the structure was de-designated in May 1998, and was subsequently destroyed by an arson fire in January 1999.
Sketch of the Leland Hotel (circa 1889)
Source: Souvenir of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Toronto News Company, 1889.
Leland Hotel (circa 1903)
Source: An Illustrated Souvenir of Winnipeg by W. A. Martel & Sons.
Leland Hotel (1990s)
Source: Winnipeg Building IndexSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.89904, W97.13981
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: De-Designated Buildings in Winnipeg
“Prominent sportsman sells hotel property,” Winnipeg Tribune, 1 June 1921, page 17.
“Historic hotel torched?,” Winnipeg Free Press, 17 January 1999, page 1.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 27 May 2024
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