This three-storey brick and stone apartment block on Agnes Street in Winnipeg was designed and built in 1911 by contractors Bjorn Pétursson and Thorstein Thorsteinsson at a cost of about $50,000. The 90 foot by 44 foot building contained 20 apartments in its original configuration. The building was destroyed by fire on the evening of 26 December 2019 and demolished two days later.
Vesta Apartments (August 1961) by Bjorn Hallgrimson
Source: Blair Bingeman
Vesta Apartments (April 2012)
Source: Blair Bingeman
Vesta Apartments (April 2012)
Source: Blair Bingeman
Vesta Apartments after the fire (December 2019) by Mikaela Mackenzie
Source: Blair BingemanSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.89636, W97.16193
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Bjorn Pétursson (1871-1946)
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 213/1911, City of Winnipeg Archives.
“Early Icelandic builders in Winnipeg” by S. Aleck Thorarinson, Logberg Heimskringla, 30 March 1967, page 5.
“West End block to come down, residents homeless after fire,” Winnipeg Free Press, 27 December 2019, page 18.
“Only the clothes on their backs,” Winnipeg Free Press, 28 December 2019, page 33.
Preparation of this page was supported, in part, by the Gail Parvin Hammerquist Fund of the City of Winnipeg.
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer, Blair Bingeman, and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 1 June 2022
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