This two-storey brick and Tyndall stone trimmed building at the southwest intersection of Burrows Avenue and McKenzie Street in Winnipeg, was designed by local architect John Hamilton Gordon Russell. Measuring 48 feet by 50 feet, it was built in 1911 by contractor George Thomas Clark Halford at a cost of about $14,500. It was named the Robertson Memorial Institute to commemorate cleric James Robertson, and associated wtih the Robertson Memorial Presbyterian Church across the street.
The building’s basement contained a gymnasium, showers and dressing rooms, lavatory, and heating plant. On the first floor was an office and a large clubroom. On the second floor was a lecture room that could be divided in two as needed, a kitchen for teaching domestic skills, and a suite for the janitor.
The Robertson Memorial Institute offered educational, social, and recreational activities to girls, boys, and women of the adjacent church under the supervision of three church deaconesses. Up to 100 girls belonged to one of three clubs: Busy Bee Club for those aged six to ten, Sunshine Club for those aged ten to twelve, and Victoria Girls’ Club for older girls. Up to 150 boys were enrolled in a Dominion Boys’ Club. A mothers’ club of up to 35 women undertook sewing and knitting projects, and used the space for social gatherings.
Later renamed Robertson House, the facility offered youth programming for the community into the 1960s under the auspices of the United Church of Canada and the Children’s Aid Society of Winnipeg. In 1970, these organizations transferred responsibility for its operation to the Adult Education Centre of the Winnipeg School Division. Among its uses was a special junior high school for students who were unable to cope with the regular school system.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the building was offered for sale by the United Church. It was used by urban indigenous organizations into the late 1980s, and as a Buddhist temple from around 1990 into the late 2000s. By 2021, it had become a sixteen-bed safe house for children and youth living on the streets.
Robertson Memorial Institute Building (1911)
Source: Manitoba Free Press, 18 November 1911, page 51.
The former Robertson Memorial Institute Building (January 2021)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
The former Robertson Memorial Institute Building (March 2021)
Source: Jordan Makichuk
Rear of the former Robertson Memorial Institute Building (August 2025)
Source: Jordan MakichukSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.92042, W97.14973
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: John Hamilton Gordon Russell (1863-1946)
Memorable Manitobans: George Thomas Clark Halford (1857-1933)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Robertson Memorial Presbyterian Church / Robertson Memorial United Church (648 Burrows Avenue, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Dufferin Avenue Presbyterian Church (607 Dufferin Avenue, Winnipeg)
Memorable Manitobans: James Robertson (1839-1902)
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 860/1911, City of Winnipeg Archives.
“Excavation completed,” Winnipeg Tribune, 3 May 1911, page 5.
“Robertson Memorial Church dedication tomorrow,” Manitoba Free Press, 18 November 1911, page 51.
“Community goals concern of Robertson House in city,” Winnipeg Free Press, 24 March 1971, page 74.
“Increased emphasis on adult education in ‘school of the second chance,’” Winnipeg Free Press, 14 August 1971, page 13.
“Coffee break,” Winnipeg Free Press, 26 September 1972, page 69.
“Tenders,” Winnipeg Free Press, 23 November 1978, page 121.
“Tenders,” Winnipeg Free Press, 3 November 1983, page 93.
“Billboard,” Winnipeg Free Press, 11 August 1990, page 37.
“Mystical Buddhist relics making stop in city,” Winnipeg Free Press, 21 October 2007, page 22.
We thank Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 3 October 2025
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