The history of this former Anglican church in Winnipeg dates back to 1896 with a the congregation of the Holy Trinity Anglican Church. A missionary parish was established at the corner of Ellice Avenue and Sherbrook Street, with lay reader A. O. Cheney supervising the construction of a wooden building. The parish was formally established as the St. Matthew’s Parish by Archbishop Machray in 1901.
On 10 January 1909, a new brick structure replaced the earlier one. This building, designed by architect Herbert Edward Matthews, was sold to Elim Chapel to help finance the construction of a larger church building at another site. Subsequent occupants here included St. Peters Evangelical Lutheran Church (1931-1969) and the Portuguese Association of Manitoba (1973-1987). The building was purchased in 1987 by Mitch Podolak and Ava Kobrinsky and transformed into the West End Cultural Centre, a music and entertainment venue. In 2008, an attached 400-seat hall was built to the south.
The former St. Matthews Anglican Church (no date)
Source: Manitoba Hydro
West End Cultural Centre (January 2019)
Source: George Penner
Interior of West End Cultural Centre (January 2019)
Source: George PennerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.89275, W97.15844
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Herbert Edward Matthews (1868-1941)
Memorable Manitobans: Mitchell “Mitch” Podolak (1947-2019)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Holy Trinity Anglican Church (256 Smith Street, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Matthew’s Anglican Church (641 St. Matthews Avenue, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Stephen’s Presbyterian Church / Elim Chapel (546 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg)
We thank Bruce Owen (Manitoba Hydro) for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer, George Penner, and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 10 September 2023
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