Historic Sites of Manitoba: Ukrainian Labour Temple (591 Pritchard Avenue, Winnipeg)

Link to:
Photos & Coordinates | Sources

Constructed in 1918-1919, this is the first and largest Ukrainian Labour Temple in Canada, built primarily by volunteer labour and financed by donations. Built to a Neo-Classical design prepared by Robert Edgar Davies of Winnipeg, the Temple contained an auditorium and balcony to seat 1,000 people, as well as classrooms, library and printshop. A 1926 addition provided space for a new printing plant and offices for the Ukrainian Labor-Farmer Temple Association. It remains the national headquarters for the Workers Benevolent Association established at the Temple in 1922.

The Temple was a focus for Ukrainian culture and worker and farmer political activism. As a rallying centre for the trade union movement, it was raided by the police during the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike. The Temple remains the only surviving labour hall associated with the turbulent events of the Strike. The Ukrainian Labor News and other Ukrainian language publications were prepared and distributed from here. The unity of working people is symbolized over the entrance by two clasping hands reaching across the globe, underscored with Workers of the World Unite.

A plaque next to the front entrance commemorates the 75th anniversary of the beginning of Ukrainian immigration to Canada. It was unveiled on 23 March 1966 by the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians and the Workers Benevolent Association. A plaque commemorating the significance of the Temple was erected nearby in 1996 by the Manitoba Heritage Council and another plaque was unveiled in September 2011 by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. A small monument in a courtyard west of the building honours Ukrainian author and poet Ivan Franko. It replaces one erected on 7 July 1956, the 100th anniversary of his birth and the 60th of Ukrainian settlement in Canada.

The building is a designated national historic site (2009) and a municipally-designated historic site. It received a conservation award from Heritage Winnipeg (2022).

Photos & Coordinates

Ukrainian Labour Temple (2010) Source: City of Winnipeg Interior of the Ukrainian Labour Temple (May 2022) Source: Rose Kuzina Main stage of the Ukrainian Labour Temple (May 2022) Source: Rose Kuzina Rear side of the stage curtain of the Ukrainian Labour Temple (May 2022) Source: Rose Kuzina 75th anniversary of Ukrainian immigration plaque at the Labour Temple (May 2022) Source: Rose Kuzina Ukrainian Labour Temple commemorative plaque (May 2022) Source: Rose Kuzina Ivan Franko commemorative monument (2010) Source: City of Winnipeg Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.91781, W97.14856 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Memorable Manitobans: Robert Edgar Davies (1882-1959)

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

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Provincially Designated Historic Sites

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Point Douglas Ukrainian Labour Temple / Holy Ascension Greek Orthodox Church (197 Euclid Avenue, Winnipeg)

Sources:

Ukrainian Labour Temple, Manitoba Historic Resources Branch.

Information for this page was provided by The City of Winnipeg’s Planning, Property and Development Department, which acknowledges the contribution of the Government of Manitoba through its Heritage Grants Program.

We thank Rose Kuzina for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 20 March 2023

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