Memorable Manitobans: James McDiarmid (1855-1934)

James McDiarmid Click to enlarge

Architect, building contractor, naturalist.

Born at Dunkeld, Perthshire, Scotland on 9 March 1855, he immigrated to Canada in April 1883 with his brother John McDiarmid. He moved to Winnipeg and, in 1884, became a partner with George White Murray in the construction firm of Murray and McDiarmid. In 1905, it became the James McDiarmid Company, General Builders and Contractors, with branches in Calgary and Vancouver. His firm built many different kind of structures, including grain elevators all over the prairies, and the Legislative Building after the cancellation of the original contract that had led to the fall of the Roblin government. McDiarmid designed many of the buildings himself, especially churches. He was also Vice-President of the Beaver Elevator Company.

As well as working as an architect, he was an amateur painter, and a collector of art. He joined the art committee of the Winnipeg Industrial Bureau in 1906, and he proposed the construction of a civic art gallery, never built, in 1909.

On 17 April 1890, he married Isabella Smith (1866-1953) at Winnipeg. They had no children. He served for many years as Chairman of the Winnipeg Parks Board and was instrumental in founding the Municipal Golf Course. A member of the Natural History Society of Manitoba, he collected mineral, semi-precious stones, and shells. He was also a member of the Carleton Club and Masons.

He died at his Winnipeg home, 250 Balmoral Street, on 24 February 1934 and was buried in the Kildonan Presbyterian Cemetery.

Some of his works in Manitoba included:

Building	Location	Year	Status
Stonewall School No. 108	Second Avenue North, Stonewall	1891	Demolished (1957)
St. Andrew’s Manse	429 Elgin Avenue, Winnipeg	1893
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church	415 Elgin Avenue, Winnipeg	1894
Penrose House	232 Bell Avenue / 444 Logan Avenue, Winnipeg	1894
Winnipeg Lutheran Tabernacle	Furby at Sargent, Winnipeg	1894
Speirs Bakery	170 Higgins Avenue, Winnipeg	1895
Emerson Presbyterian Church	Emerson	1896
Bodega Hotel / Victoria Hotel	312 Main Street, Winnipeg	1897	Demolished (?)
Great West Saddlery Factory	112-114 Market Avenue, Winnipeg	1898
MacPherson Fruit Block	491 Main Street, Winnipeg	1898	Demolished (?)
D. H. Bain Building	115 Bannatyne Avenue, Winnipeg	1899
Marshall Wells Warehouse	123 Bannatyne Avenue, Winnipeg	1900
Cleland Block	705-707 Main Street, Winnipeg	1901	Demolished (1998)
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church	338 Hamilton Street, Manitou	1901
Corbett Block	613 Main Street, Winnipeg	1901
McDiarmid House	250 Balmoral Street, Winnipeg	1901
Blue Ribbon Building (Anne Building)	87 King Street (88 Arthur Street), Winnipeg	1901
Thomas Scott Memorial Orange Hall	216-218 Princess Street, Winnipeg	1902
Steele Block	360 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1903
Sandison Block	302 Main Street, Winnipeg	1904
Ideal Bedding Building	288 Princess Street, Winnipeg	1904	Demolished (2017)
Point Douglas Presbyterian Church	95 Macdonald Avenue, Winnipeg	1905
St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Chapel and Winter Vault	506 Osborne Street, Winnipeg	1906
Dominion Post Office Building	208 Provencher Boulevard, Winnipeg	1907
Postal Station B	1048 Main Street, Winnipeg	1907-1909
Winnipeg Paint and Glass Company Building	179 Pioneer Avenue, Winnipeg	1908
Customs Examining Warehouse	145 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg	1908-1910
Keewayden Building	138 Portage Avenue East, Winnipeg	1909
Canada Building	352 Donald Street, Winnipeg	1910
Rover Avenue Electric Terminal	199 Annabella Street, Winnipeg	1910-1911
Kemp Block / Gaylord Block (addition)	111 Lombard Avenue, Winnipeg	1911
St. Stephens Presbyterian Church / Elim Chapel (addition)	546 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1911
Swift Canadian Wholesale Market	312 William Avenue, Winnipeg	1911-1912
Nokomis Block	344 Cumberland Avenue, Winnipeg	1912
Knowles School for Boys	2065 Henderson Highway, Winnipeg	1912	Destroyed by fire (1959)
St. James Presbyterian Church	221 Hampton Avenue, Winnipeg	1912	Demolished (?)
St. Stephens Manse	299 Young Street, Winnipeg	1913
Pantages Theatre	180 Market Avenue, Winnipeg	1913-1914
Manitoba Cold Storage Warehouse (addition)	151 Higgins Avenue, Winnipeg	1914	Destroyed by fire (2004)
Scott Fruit Company Warehouse	319 Elgin Avenue, Winnipeg	1914
R. R. Scott House	29 Ruskin Row, Winnipeg	1914
Manitoba Legislative Building	450 Broadway, Winnipeg	1915-1920
Macleod House	70 Harvard Avenue, Winnipeg	1918
First Federated Church of Unitarians	790 Banning Street, Winnipeg	1921
Pointe du Bois Staff House	Pointe du Bois, Whiteshell Provincial Park	1926
Leonard and McLaughlin Garage and Auto Sales Building	541 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1927
Baldwin Apartments	205 Arlington Street, Winnipeg	1929
Dominion Post Office Building	1039 Princess Avenue, Brandon	1930

See also:

Manitoba Business: Winnipeg Paint and Glass Company

Sources:

Natural History Society of Manitoba, 21st Anniversary Bulletin, 1920 to 1941. Natural History Society of Manitoba.

Marriage and death registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

“Jas. McDiarmid, prominent city pioneer, dies,” Winnipeg Tribune, 24 February 1934, page 1.

Winnipeg Building Index.

Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.

First Federated Church of Unitarians, 790 Banning Street by Murray Peterson, Peterson Projects, December 2009.

We thank Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough, Gordon McDiarmid, and Nathan Kramer.

Page revised: 26 March 2023

Memorable Manitobans This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations. Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text: Custom Search Browse surnames beginning with: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z Browse deaths occurring in: 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 Send corrections and additions to this page to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.ca Criteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements Help us keep history alive!