Historic Sites of Manitoba: Dominion Exhibition Display Building II (Fair Grounds, Brandon)

Link to:
Photos & Coordinates | Sources

Established in 1882, Brandon soon became one of the foremost agricultural exhibition centres in Western Canada. In 1913, the city was the site of the Dominion Fair. Display Building Number II was constructed in that year to promote agricultural and manufacturing innovations from across Canada. The structure is a rare surviving example of agricultural buildings constructed in Manitoba. The building was designed by local architects Walter Henderson Shillinglaw and David Marshall and built by contractor Frank Cecil Lissaman.

This building has been used continuously for exhibition purposes for the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba. It remains a centre for promoting agricultural development in the southwestern area of Manitoba. In scale and composition the building is typical of the Beaux-Arts Classicism style of architecture popular for monumental buildings around the turn of the 20th century.

Commemorative plaques at the building were unveiled by the Historic Sites Advisory Board of Manitoba in May 1984 and the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada in October 2018.

Photos & Coordinates

Dominion Exhibition Display Building II (April 2010) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Dominion Exhibition Display Building II (November 2017) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Dominion Exhibition Display Building II (November 2017) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Dominion Exhibition Display Building II (March 2021) Source: George Penner Unveiling of Dominion Exhibition Display Building plaque (October 2018) Source: Rick Wishart Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.83145, W99.95764 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Memorable Manitobans: Walter Henderson Shillinglaw (1864-1957)

Memorable Manitobans: Frank Cecil Lissaman (1870-1954)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Plaques for Persons, Events and Sites of National Historic Significance

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Provincially Designated Historic Sites

MHS Centennial Organization: Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba

Sources:

Display Building Number II, Manitoba Historic Resources Branch.

We thank George Penner and Rick Wishart for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 29 March 2024

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