This three-storey brick and stone building at the northeast corner of Main Street and Sutherland Avenue in Winnipeg, measuring 44 feet by 80 feet, was opened in December 1882, one of the first major buildings north of the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks, by hoteliers J. J. Gavin and R. J. Swayze at a cost of about $10,000. Named the Cosmopolitan Hotel, the hotel was leased to Joseph Bernhart in 1883. He purchased it in 1899 then sold it in 1902.
Subsequent operators included Mr. Howard (1902-1903), Frank L. Curry (1904-1906), Charles F. Bunnell (1907-1908), and W. W. Whaley (1909). Renamed the Palace Hotel in 1903 and Sutherland Hotel in late 1907, a one-storey brick addition at the rear, measuring 36 feet by 55 feet, was made in 1913. Designed by local architect Frank R. Evans, the addition was built by contractor William Horner at a cost of about $9,000. It went through a quick succession of names: Daniels Hotel (1924, Tourist Hotel (1925), and Viking Hotel (1925).
In the 1920s, the hotel was owned by Drewrys Limited and, in 1927, alterations to the south wall of the building was completed at a cost of about $1,000. Between late 1927 and early 1928, further alterations to the building was completed by the Boland Brothers Construction Company at a cost of about $2,000. In early 1928, the entire interior was rebuilt by the construction firm of J. McDiarmid and Company at a cost of about $12,000. Following the rebuild, it was renamed back to the Sutherland Hotel in early 1928.
Among the later proprietors was Dmytro George “Daniel” Wawrykow (1941-1960). A metal cornice along the top of the structure was removed sometime after 1978.
The hotel was destroyed by arson fire on 15 January 2025.
Sutherland Hotel (June 2017)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Sutherland Hotel (January 2018)
Source: George Penner
Sutherland Hotel (October 2023)
Source: George Penner
Aerial view of the Sutherland Hotel (June 2024)
Source: George Penner
Sutherland Hotel on fire (January 2025)
Source: Jordan Makichuk
Remains of the Sutherland Hotel (January 2025)
Source: Jordan Makichuk
Remains of the Sutherland Hotel (January 2025)
Source: Rose KuzinaSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.90686, W97.13348
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Joseph Bernhart (1853-1923)
Memorable Manitobans: Charles F. Bunnell (1852-1928)
Memorable Manitobans: Frank Robert Evans (1865-1949)
Memorable Manitobans: William Horner (1860-1916)
Manitoba Business: Drewrys Limited / Drewry’s Brewery
Manitoba Business: Boland Brothers Construction Company
Memorable Manitobans: James McDiarmid (1855-1934)
Memorable Manitobans: Dmytro George “Daniel” Wawrykow (1906-1960)
“City and province,” Manitoba Free Press, 26 December 1882, page 8.
“Main Street,” Manitoba Free Press, 30 December 1882, page 3.
“The building boom - Main Street,” Winnipeg Daily Sun, 20 October 1883, page 4.
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 460/1913, City of Winnipeg Archives.
“Notice direct - Daniels Hotel formerly known as the Sutherland Hotel,” Manitoba Free Press, 10 April 1924, page 19.
City and district,” Manitoba Free Press, 10 September 1925, page 8.
“Permits issued for apartments on Preston St.,” Manitoba Free Press, 30 April 1927, page 24.
“Rebuilding wall of Viking Hotel,” Manitoba Free Press, 30 April 1927, page 24.
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 4656/1927, City of Winnipeg Archives.
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 88/1928, City of Winnipeg Archives.
“Sutherland Hotel - Reopened, entirely rebuilt, refurnished and redecorated,” Manitoba Free Press, 6 June 1928, page 33.
Sutherland (Cosmopolitan) Hotel, 785 Main Street by Murray Peterson, Peterson Projects, February 2009.
Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.
“Firefighters battling blaze at Sutherland Hotel,” CTV News, 15 January 2025.
We thank Deco Dawson and Rose Kuzina for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough, Murray Peterson, George Penner, and Jordan Makichuk.
Page revised: 10 February 2025
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