This 3½-storey, 25-suite apartment block on Roslyn Road in Winnipeg, measuring 49 feet by 36 feet, was designed and built by the firm of Frank R. Lount and Son between 1951 and 1952 at a cost of about $110,000. It was the first building in Canada, and the second in North America, to be built using the lift-slab method. Its concrete slabs were poured in October and November 1951. Slab lifting was done between 5 and 12 December 1951 and the entire building was completed by early 1952. The building was ready for occupancy by Spring 1952.
The building was damaged in a fire on 27 November 1975 but was restored. Vacated in June 2022, the building was demolished in April 2023 to be replaced by a larger, residential structure.
Raising the top slab for the Saigon Apartments (December 1951)
Source: Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Journal, Serial No. 322, Volume 29, Number 6 (June 1952), page 163.
Raising the intermediate slabs for the Saigon Apartments (December 1951)
Source: Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Journal, Serial No. 322, Volume 29, Number 6 (June 1952), page 163.
Saigon Apartments before the 1975 fire (no date)
Source: Winnipeg Building Index
Saigon Apartments (January 2023)
Source: George Penner
Saigon Apartments (April 2023)
Source: Alisa Kehler
Saigon Apartments under demolition (April 2023)
Source: Alisa KehlerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.88100, W97.14475
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Manitoba Business: Frank R. Lount and Son
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 7938/1951 City of Winnipeg Archives.
“Lift-slab building method weird but advantageous,” Winnipeg Free Press, 20 November 1951, page 6.
“Apartment’s second floor rises - really,” Winnipeg Free Press, 7 December 1951, page 29.
“Work started on $550,000 suite block,” Winnipeg Free Press, 29 May 1952, page 1.
“Report on 24 unit apartment block, Winnipeg, Man.” by Frank Reade Lount, Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Journal, Serial No. 322, Volume 29, Number 6 (June 1952), page 163.
“Four injured in fire,” Winnipeg Free Press, 27 November 1975, page 1.
“Demolition approved for vacant Osborne Village building,” CTV News, 6 January 2023.
We thank Alisa Kehler for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by George Penner and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 12 July 2024
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