A six-storey concrete and steel building, at the intersection of Empress Street and Portage Avenue in Winnipeg, was designed by the architectural firm of Smith Carter Searle and Associates and built between 1960 and 1962 by the Pearson Construction Company as an administration building for the Manitoba Telephone System. It accommodated the executive, accounting, operations, and engineering departments of the company.
In 2001, the building was renovated and converted into a hotel. It was purchased in May 2023 by a Nunavut-based investment company and was converted into a residence for Nunavut residents coming to Winnipeg for health care. It was renamed Uquutaq, an Inuktitut name meaning shelter.
Postcard view of Manitoba Telephone System Administration Building from the northwest (circa 1962)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2018-0060
View of Uquutaq from the south (March 2025)
Source: George PennerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.88185, W97.19594
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Manitoba Business: Smith Carter and Katelnikoff / Smith Carter Architects and Engineers / Architecture49
Manitoba Business: Pearson-Burleigh Construction Company / Pearson Brothers Construction / Pearson Construction Company
MHS Centennial Business: Manitoba Government Telephones / Manitoba Telephone System / MTS Allstream / Bell MTS
“MTS erects new building,” Winnipeg Tribune, 7 April 1960, page 21.
“Tenders,” Winnipeg Free Press, 14 October 1960, page 54.
“MTS to get new building,” Winnipeg Free Press, 20 October 1960, page 3.
“More and more architects, engineers, contractors are specifying Supercrete pre-cast concrete,” Winnipeg Free Press, 10 April 1962, page 44.
“Notice of tender,” Winnipeg Tribune, 22 May 1962, page 37.
Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.
“Former Clarion Hotel now being used as medical boarding home,” CTV News, 24 August 2023.
We thank George Penner for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 3 March 2025
Historic Sites of Manitoba
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