Manitoba Historical Society
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Historic Sites of Manitoba: Kennedy Block / Affleck Block / Mitchell-Copp Building (315 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg)

The three-storey Kennedy Block on the north side of Portage Avenue in Winnipeg was designed by local architect John Danley Atchison and built in 1906 for Charles William Nassau Kennedy. It had four retail spaces on the ground floor with offices on upper levels.

In 1919, the eastern end was converted by Carter-Halls-Aldinger into a branch of the Canadian Bank of Commerce, which remained there until 1959. After 1937, the building was known as the Affleck Block. The space was vacant until 1969 when a jewellery store was opened there by Mitchell-Copp Limited, owned by local businessmen Edward Mitchell and David M. Copp. It moved out around 1981 and the building was mostly vacant since around 1985.

In mid-2011, the City of Winnipeg approved the demolition of this municipally-designated historic site, and the adjacent Clarendon Hotel, to make way for a new hotel, office complex, and parkade on the site. The building’s facade was preserved for incorporation into the new structure. In 2016, the project received a Conservation Award from Heritage Winnipeg.

Mitchell-Copp Building

Mitchell-Copp Building (June 2011)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough

Facade of the former Mitchell-Copp building

Facade of the former Mitchell-Copp building (April 2017)
Source: George Penner

Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.89361, W97.14406
denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Memorable Manitobans: John Danley Atchison (1870-1959)

Memorable Manitobans: Charles William Nassau Kennedy (1866-1920)

Memorable Manitobans: David M. Copp (c1896-1984)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Enderton Building / Mitchell-Copp Building (334 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg)

Sources:

“Erecting three bank buildings,” Manitoba Free Press, 11 October 1919, page 25.

Former Mitchell-Copp Building / Former Canadian Bank of Commerce (315 Portage Avenue), City of Winnipeg Historical Buildings Committee, December 1990.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and George Penner.

Page revised: 12 February 2023

Historic Sites of Manitoba

This is a collection of historic sites in Manitoba compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. The information is offered for historical interest only.

Browse lists of:
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Inclusion in this collection does not confer special status or protection. Official heritage designation may only come from municipal, provincial, or federal governments. Some sites are on private property and permission to visit must be secured from the owner.

Site information is provided by the Manitoba Historical Society as a free public service only for non-commercial purposes.


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