A one-storey brick building on Fifth Avenue North in Swan River, measuring 22 feet by 44 feet, was designed by Winnipeg architect John Hamilton Gordon Russell and built in 1921 by builder Thomas Alfred Bratton to house local circuitry for Manitoba Government Telephones. It was used by the company until 1965 when a new building was built on Fifth Avenue South. The building was later occupied by a library and, at the time of a 2022 site visit, by a lawyer’s office.
Telephone Exchange Building at Swan River (no date)
Source: The Telephone Echo, Volume 3, Number 4, page 36, November 1923.
Swan River Telephone Exchange Building (September 2023)
Source: Glen Toews
Swan River Telephone Exchange Building (September 2023)
Source: Glen ToewsSite Coordinates (lat/long): N52.10615, W101.26966
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: John Hamilton Gordon Russell (1863-1946)
Memorable Manitobans: Thomas Alfred Bratton (1868-1953)
MHS Centennial Business: Manitoba Government Telephones / Manitoba Telephone System / MTS Allstream / Bell MTS
“Fine phones building at Selkirk,” Manitoba Free Press, 13 July 1921, page 15.
[Tender advertisement], Swan Valley Star and Times, 25 November 1965, page 7.
80 Years in Swan River Valley by Swan River Valley History Book Committee, 1978, page 202.
Lasting Impressions: Historical Sketches of the Swan River Valley by Swan Valley Historical Society, 1984, page 130.
Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950 by Robert G. Hill, Toronto.
We thank Gordon Goldsborough and Glen Toews for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Jordan Makichuk.
Page revised: 23 October 2023
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