Historic Sites of Manitoba: Transcona Municipal Hall and Fire Hall (Victoria Avenue West, Winnipeg)

Built in 1912 as the joint Municipal Hall and Fire Hall of Transcona, the building was designed by Winnipeg architect Eldred Dodsworth Tuttle and located on the north side of Victoria Avenue West, between Bond Street and Oxford Street (now Day Street). It was opened to the public at a ceremony on 20 November 1912, during which Mayor Colin John Edward Maxwell turned on the new electric lighting plant. The building remained in active use until January 1956 when a new Municipal Building was opened at the northwest corner of Pandora Avenue West at Madeline Street. A demolition contract for the original building was awarded to M. Spuzuk in December 1955, with work completed by mid-February 1956. The site was initially used by a commercial retail establishment and is now parking lot.

Two additional fire halls were built in the vicinity of the Canadian National Railway yards at Transcona, neither of which survive today and their precise locations are unknown. The second hall, a frame building designed by Winnipeg architect Joseph Alphonse Hudon, was constructed in 1914. It was used until its demolition in the late summer or early fall of 1938. The building’s salvaged materials were used in the construction of the Transcona Curling Club at the northeast corner of Oxford Street (now Day Street) at Melrose Avenue. The third hall was built in 1941 for the Railway. Designed by its Chief Engineer, the brick structure was approximately 30 feet by 34 feet and cost around $10,000 to construct.

Transcona Municipal Hall and Fire Hall (no date) Source: Transcona Museum Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.89614, W97.00432 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Bank of Toronto Building / Transcona Municipal Hall / Transcona Historical Museum / Transcona Museum (141 Regent Avenue West, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Transcona Municipal Hall and Fire Hall (401 Pandora Avenue West, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Fire Hall No. 1 / Central Fire Hall (110 Albert Street, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Fire Hall No. 2 / South Fire Hall (Smith Street, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Fire Fighters Museum of Winnipeg / Fire Hall No. 3 (56 Maple Street, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Fire Hall No. 4 (470 Gertrude Avenue, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Fire Hall No. 5 (354 Sherbrook Street, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Fire Hall No. 7 (349 Burrows Avenue, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Fire Hall No. 8 (325 Talbot Avenue, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Fire Hall No. 9 (1466 William Avenue West, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Fire Hall No. 10 (845 Sargent Avenue, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Fire Hall No. 11 / Fire Hall No. 7 (180 Sinclair Street, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Fire Hall No. 12 (1055 Dorchester Avenue, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Fire Hall No. 13 (410 Cathedral Avenue, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Fire Hall No. 14 (161 Lipton Street, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Fire Hall No. 15 (524 Osborne Street, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Fire Hall No. 25 (701 Day Street, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Boniface Fire Hall No. 1 (212 rue Dumoulin, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Boniface Fire Hall No. 2 / Police Station (328 Tache Avenue, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Boniface Fire Hall No. 3 / Fire Hall No. 9 (864 Marion Street, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Boniface Fire Hall No. 4 / Fire Hall No. 15 (1083 Autumnwood Drive, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. James Fire Hall (200 Berry Street, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Vital Museum / St. Vital Fire Hall (600 St. Mary’s Road, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Transcona Municipal Office and Fire Hall (Victoria Avenue West, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Transcona Public Safety Building / Fire Hall No. 21 / Police Station No. 4 (730 Pandora Avenue West, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Transcona Curling Club (204 Day Street, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Transcona Public Safety Building / Fire Hall No. 21 / Police Station No. 4 (730 Pandora Avenue West, Winnipeg)

Sources:

“Tenders for building,” Manitoba Free Press, 31 July 1912, page 2.

“Town Hall opening,” Manitoba Free Press, 22 November 1912, page 16.

“Tenders for fire hall,” Manitoba Free Press, 29 May 1914, page 2.

“Transcona, once prairie duck pond, to celebrate silver jubilee June 22,” Winnipeg Tribune, 13 June 1936, page 7.

“Better conditions are reflected in Transcona reports,” Winnipeg Tribune, 14 January 1937, page 18.

“Transcona club to meet,” Winnipeg Tribune, 7 June 1938, page 12.

“New rink opened,” Winnipeg Tribune, 19 December 1938, page 15.

“New fire hall for Transcona,” Winnipeg Free Press, 4 October 1941, page 10.

“R.C.A. building new advanced training centre,” Winnipeg Free Press, 25 October 1941, page 10.

“South Transona seeking split,” Winnipeg Tribune, 16 December 1941, page 13.

Insurance Plan of the Town of Transcona, Man. Jan. 1953, 7 (1953).

“Supermart planned on site of Transcona municipal offices,” Winnipeg Free Press, 6 May 1955, page 3.

“Transcona notes,” Winnipeg Free Press, 3 September 1955, page 2.

“Transcona notes,” Winnipeg Free Press, 19 November 1955, page 8.

“Town of Transcona,” Winnipeg Free Press, 22 November 1955, page 22.

“Transcona notes,” Winnipeg Free Press, 10 December 1955, page 2.

“Transcona notes,” Winnipeg Free Press, 31 December 1955, page 18.

“How Transcona got its name” by Skip Kellar, Winnipeg Free Press, 10 June 1961, page 12.

We Hold Thee Safe by Halldor Kenneth Bjarnason, 2004.

We thank the staff of the Transcona Museum for providing information used here.

This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer.

Page revised: 8 August 2023

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