This six-storey building on Broadway in Winnipeg was designed by the architectural firm of Smith Carter Searle and Associates and constructed between 1960 and 1961 for the Monarch Life Assurance Company. In its lobby is a brass plaque listing employees of the firm who served in military forces during the Second World War, including those who were killed.
Occupied by the Workers Compensation Building since 1999, extensive renovations between 2011 and 2013 were recognized with a Conservation Award from Heritage Winnipeg. It became a municipally-designated historic building in 2021.
Aerial view of the Monarch Life Building (1960s)
Source: Planning, Property & Development, City of Winnipeg , #0160.
Postcard view of the Monarch Life Building (1960s)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2019-0089
Workers Compensation Building (May 2017)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Workers Compensation Building (February 2021)
Source: George Penner
Commemorative plaque in the lobby of the Workers Compensation Building (May 2017)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Location (lat/long): N49.88749, W97.14240
denoted by symbol on the map above
Name
Service
Rank
Birth Date
Death Date
Charles Geoffrey Bradshaw
Veterans Guard of Canada
Lieutenant Colonel
13 August 1891
18 February 1946
Harold Alexander Coutts
171 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force
Flying Officer
30 November 1913
7 March 1945
Ian Bruce Croll
21 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force
Flight Lieutenant
17 March 1910
15 June 1944
See also:
Manitoba Business: Monarch Life Assurance Company
Manitoba Business: Smith Carter and Katelnikoff / Smith Carter Architects and Engineers / Architecture49
“Broadway due for new buildings,” Winnipeg Tribune, 20 February 1960, page 37.
We thank George Penner for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Darryl Toews.
Page revised: 6 January 2023
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