This brown brick building at the northwest corner of Isabel Street and extending along Ross Avenue in Winnipeg, measuring 50 feet by 600 feet, was designed by architect Samuel L. Bartlett (1870-?) and built in 1911 by J. McDiarmid and Company at a cost of about $63,000. The structure consisted of a two-storey portion on Isabel and a one-storey portion along Ross. It was intended as a warehouse and freight processing facility for the Midland Railway Company, a subsidiary of the Great Northern Railway based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Abandoned by the company in the 1970s, the building was taken over by the City of Winnipeg. It was converted into six units of community space, at a cost of about $100,000, by work-education students from R. B. Russell High School and Tec Voc High School.
As of 2024, the building is ccupied by the Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps; a daycare, gymnasium, and weight room; City of Winnipeg offices; the Winnipeg Boys and Girls Club; and the Central Winnipeg Community Centre including a bingo and event centre. It is now known as the Freight House.
Midland Railway Freight Depot (July 2017)
Source: George Penner
Midland Railway Freight Depot (December 2021)
Source: Jordan Makichuk
Midland Railway Freight Depot (February 2025)
Source: George PennerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.90413, W97.14854
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: James McDiarmid (1855-1934)
“Midland trains for Ross depot,” Manitoba Free Press, 28 June 1910, page 14.
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 2410/1911, City of Winnipeg Archives.
“Midland offices in Winnipeg,” Manitoba Free Press, 2 August 1911, page 22.
“Another jump in building list,” Manitoba Free Press, 4 August 1911, page 10.
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 3311/1911, City of Winnipeg Archives.
Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.
Midland Railway Building, 200 Isabel Street by Murray Peterson, City of Winnipeg Historical Buildings and Resources Committee, November 2024.
This page was prepared by George Penner and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 22 August 2025
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