A four-storey brick building on Smith Street in Winnipeg, measuring 120 feet by 122 feet, was designed by local architect William Wallace Blair. It was built in 1909 at a cost of about $155,000 by contractors Geoffrey Hitzler Walton and Alexander Jamieson as three-storey mixed use building called the Rookery Block for hoteliers Charles M. McCarrey and John Lee. In its original configuration, the building contained retail spaces on the main floor while the upper two floors contained offices and residential apartments.
In 1911, extensive alterations designed by local architect Hugh Gordon Holman included converting the mixed-used block into a hotel and addition of a fourth storey. Renamed the St. Regis Hotel, the work was done by day labour at a cost of about $140,000.
Closed in 2017, the fine millwork from the Oak Dining Room was removed carefully and reassembled in a heritage building at 108 Alexander Avenue, for which it received a Preservation Award from Heritage Winnipeg in 2019.
The building was demolished in November 2020.
Postcard view of the St. Regis Hotel (no date)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2014-0231
Postcard view of the St. Regis Hotel (no date)
Source: Jordan Makichuk
Postcard view of the St. Regis Hotel (c1966)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2019-0017
St. Regis Hotel (April 2017)
Source: George Penner
St. Regis Hotel (July 2019)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Demolition of the St. Regis Hotel (December 2020)
Source: George PennerSite Location (lat/long): N49.89353, W97.14162
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: William Wallace Blair (1852-1916)
Memorable Manitobans: Geoffrey Hitzler Walton (1878-1951)
Memorable Manitobans: Alexander Jamieson (1868-1959)
Memorable Manitobans: Hugh Gordon Holman (1881-1955)
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 1807/1909, City of Winnipeg Archives.
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 2450/1909, City of Winnipeg Archives.
“New buildings ready for Fall,” Winnipeg Tribune, 22 July 1909, page 5.
“Another block,” Winnipeg Tribune, 18 August 1909, page 1.
“Another block,” Winnipeg Tribune, 18 August 1909, page 9.
“To contractors,” Winnipeg Tribune, 31 August 1909, page 2.
“To contractors,” Winnipeg Tribune, 2 September 1909, page 10.
“On Smith Street,” Manitoba Free Press, 9 October 1909, page 6.
“Offices to let in the new Rookery Block,” Manitoba Free Press, 2 November 1909, page 10.
“Offices to let in the new Rookery Block,” Manitoba Free Press, 9 November 1909, page 12.
“Stores, offices, and apartments in the new Rookery Block,” Manitoba Free Press, 16 November 1909, page 14.
“Smith Street is in the heart of commercial Winnipeg,” Manitoba Free Press, 4 December 1909, page 26.
“Furnished room to let in Rookery Block,” Manitoba Free Press, 5 April 1911, page 21.
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 1639/1911, City of Winnipeg Archives.
“Permits for $90,000 office building,” Manitoba Free Press, 12 June 1911, page 16.
“St. Regis Hotel to have extra storie constructed,” Winnipeg Tribune, 13 July 1911, page 5.
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 2112/1911, City of Winnipeg Archives.
“Building notes,” Manitoba Free Press, 29 July 1911, page 12.
Winnipeg fire insurance map, #206 December 1955, City of Winnipeg Archives.
Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.
This page was prepared by Christian Cassidy, Nathan Kramer, Jordan Makichuk, George Penner, and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 6 March 2024
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