Historic Sites of Manitoba: Williams Building (421 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg)

This three-storey brick and stone building at the northwest corner of McDermot Avenue and Frances Street in Winnipeg, measuring 30 feet by 80 feet, was designed by architect George Gaspar Teeter. It was built in 1909, at a cost of $16,000, as a warehouse for the Ontario-based piano manufacturing company of R. S. Williams and Sons. The firm was also the western distributor for Edison phonograph machines.

The building was later renovated by GW Architecture to provide commercial space on the main floor and condominium lofts on the upper two floors.

Williams Building (1909) Source: Manitoba Free Press, 11 September 1909, page 6. Williams Building (September 2019) Source: George Penner Williams Building (November 2021) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Williams Building (December 2022) Source: Jordan Makichuk Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.89957, W97.14788 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Memorable Manitobans: George Gaspar Teeter (1874-1949)

Manitoba Business: GW Architecture

Sources:

City of Winnipeg Building Permit 1942/1909, City of Winnipeg Archives.

“New piano warehouse,” Manitoba Free Press, 11 September 1909, page 6.

[advertisement, R. S. Williams and Sons Company], Manitoba Free Press, 25 February 1910, page 8.

Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.

421 McDermot Avenue, GW Architecture Inc.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough, Jordan Makichuk, and George Penner.

Page revised: 9 November 2023

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