A three-storey brick building at the northwest corner of Notre Dame Avenue and Kate Street in Winnipeg, measuring 33 feet by 60 feet, was designed by local architect Henry Sandham Griffith and built in 1903 by contractor William H. Scott and the construction firm of Davidson Brothers for its owners, the Williamson brothers. The building had retail space on its main floor and four, five-room residential apartments on the upper two floors.
In 1910, a three-storey brick addition on the rear, measuring 50 feet by 30 feet, was designed by George Gaspar Teeter and built by the owners at a cost of about $14,000. It added space for eight more apartments.
Formerly a municipally-designated historic building, it was de-designated in 2010.
Williamson Block (1903)
Source: Winnipeg Telegram, 19 December 1903, page 2.
Williamson Block (September 2019)
Source: George Penner
Williamson Block (July 2023)
Source: Jordan MakichukSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.90011, W97.15432
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Henry Sandham Griffith (1865-1943)
Manitoba Business: Davidson Brothers
Memorable Manitobans: George Gaspar Teeter (1874-1949)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: De-Designated Buildings in Winnipeg
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 675/1903, City of Winnipeg Archives.
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 856/1903, City of Winnipeg Archives.
The Canadian Contract Record, Volume 14, 15 April 1903, page 4.
“Williamson Bros. Block,” Manitoba Free Press, 14 November 1903, page 18.
“Williamson Bros. Grocery,” Winnipeg Telegram, 19 December, 1903, page 2.
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 416/1910, City of Winnipeg Archives.
“Permits for new churches and apartment blocks issued today,” Winnipeg Tribune, 31 March 1910, page 1.
Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.
Winnipeg fire insurance map, #243 May 1956, City of Winnipeg Archives.
The Year Past 2010: Annual Report of the City of Winnipeg Historical Buildings Committee, City of Winnipeg, 2010.
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, George Penner, Jordan Makichuk, and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 27 May 2024
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