Historic Sites of Manitoba: Mac’s Building (585-587 Ellice Avenue / 479 Sherbrook Street, Winnipeg)

This two-storey brick building at the northeast corner of Ellice Avenue and Sherbrook Street in Winnipeg, measuring 51.7 feet by 99.3 feet, was designed by local architect John Danley Atchison and built in 1912 by the Moxam Construction Company as a cost of about $15,000. It was intended as a real estate investment for owner Neil Thomas MacMillan. In its original configuration, the building contained a motion picture theatre and a single retail space on the main floor while the second floor contained three offices.

In 1921, alterations to the ground floor retail space were made by the construction firm of Carter-Halls-Aldinger to accommodate a new branch of Union Bank of Canada. The work, which also entailed general repairs to the building, was completed at a cost of about $15,600. The bank only occupied this space until 1924 and the space was later occupied by a drugstore.

Mac’s Building

Mac’s Building (May 2018)
Source: George Penner

Mac’s Building

Mac’s Building (December 2022)
Source: Jordan Makichuk

Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.89307, W97.15845
denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Memorable Manitobans: John Danley Atchison (1870-1959)

Manitoba Business: Moxam Construction Company

Memorable Manitobans: Neil Thomas MacMillan (1877-1931)

Manitoba Business: Carter-Halls-Aldinger / Commonwealth Construction Company

Manitoba Business: Union Bank of Canada

Sources:

“Contract for stores,” Manitoba Free Press, 5 June 1912, page 16.

City of Winnipeg Building Permit 4140/1912, City of Winnipeg Archives.

“Million and a half increase in permits,” Manitoba Free Press, 2 November 1912, page 23.

Winnipeg Fire Insurance Map #60, December 1910 - revised May 1914, Library and Archives Canada.

“New bank building,” Manitoba Free Press, 5 April 1921, page 5.

City of Winnipeg Building Permit 1866/1921, City of Winnipeg Archives.

“Ellice & Sherbrooke,” Winnipeg Tribune, 30 March 1922, page 15.

Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.

This page was prepared by Jordan Makichuk and George Penner.

Page revised: 18 September 2024

Historic Sites of Manitoba

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