Designed in 1899 by local architect George Creeford Browne, a 120 foot by 70 foot three-storey brick structure was constructed during 1900 and opened for lectures in January 1901. Known as the Broadway campus of the university, the building was situated near the north end of the site, near the York Avenue end, but facing south. Expanded through the years to accommodate a growing student body, the complex was demolished in 1962 as operations moved to the Fort Garry Campus. The site is now a public park.
The cornerstone from the building is now embedded in an exterior wall of the Armes Building at the University’s campus in Fort Garry.
The first University building, completed in 1900-1901, on the Broadway site (no date)
Source: University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections, PC80:312:11
University of Manitoba Building (c1910)
Source: Winnipeg Illustrated, Peels Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta
Building additions under construction with the original University building at right and Wesley College (now Wesley Hall, University of Winnipeg) in the background, just right of centre (1920)
Source: Western Canada Pictorial Index, A1291-38660.
Members of the University of Manitoba's contingent Officers' Training Corps (COTC) on the Broadway campus during Armistice Day (1937)
Source: University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections, Canadian Officers Training Corps fonds, UA 41, PC126 (A1191-035).
University of Manitoba building (1957) by John H. Warkentin
Source: John Warkentin Fonds, 2009-029/003, ASC16575, York University
University of Manitoba building at left with the Hudson’s Bay Company store in the background (March 1960)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, George Harris Fonds, Acc. 1979-141, P7451, Album 15, Page 13.
University of Manitoba building under demolition (March 1961) by John H. Warkentin
Source: John Warkentin Fonds, 2009-029/003, ASC16607, York University
Former cornerstone in the Armes Lecture Building on the Fort Garry campus of the University of Manitoba (October 2022)
Source: Glen ToewsSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.88706, W97.14910
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Science Comes to Manitoba by Harry W. Duckworth and Gordon Goldsborough
Manitoba History, Number 47, Spring/Summer 2004The Broadway Site of the University of Manitoba: Origins and Demise by Richard A. Johnson
Manitoba History, Number 51, February 2006MHS Centennial Organization: University of Manitoba
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Agricultural College / University of Manitoba, Fort Garry Campus (Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Memorial Park (Memorial Boulevard, Winnipeg)
We thank Glen Toews and Milan Lukes for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 9 December 2024
Historic Sites of Manitoba
This is a collection of historic sites in Manitoba compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. The information is offered for historical interest only.
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