This three-storey brick and Tyndall stone block on Stradbrook Avenue in Winnipeg, measuring 66 feet by 123 feet, was designed by local architect James William Hawker and built in 1931 by Walter Edwin Rooke for the Elm Park Syndicate at a cost of about $100,000. The building contained 30 three-room apartments in its original configuration. Each one had a living room, bedroom, kitchen, and bath (tub, pedestal basin, soap dish, towel racks, and built-in medicine cabinet).
The firms participating in the building’s construction were the Winnipeg Paint and Glass Company (lumber, millwork, hardware, paint, glass), Vulcan Iron Works (boilers), Kummen-Shipman Electric Company (electric and radio wiring), Dominion Stucco Company (gyproc lathe, zonolite plaster, floor insulation), W. Benson (lathing contractor), Sigurdson Construction Company (plastering contractor), Matt Duncan (excavator), City of Winnipeg Hydro Electric System (light and power), Dominion Bronze and Iron Limited (iron stairs contractor), MacDonald Brothers Sheet Metal and Roofing Company (roofing and sheet metal contractor), Tile Supply Company (terrazo and tile work), Hudson’s Bay Company (carpets and blinds), Arctic Ice and Fuel Company (electric refrigerators), Schumacher-Mackenzie Limited (electric stoves, grates), Bowyer-Boag Limited (plumbing and heating), Gypsum Lime and Alabastine Canada Limited (gyproc lath, zonolite plaster, floor insulation), Leo Kaner and Company (painting and decorating), R. Sigurdson (brick work), Tyndall Quarry Company (Tyndall stone), and Hudson's Bay Company (carpets and blinds).
Wakefield Apartments (November 2020)
Source: George PennerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.87836, W97.14357
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: James William Hawker (1870-1941)
Memorable Manitobans: Walter Edwin Rooke (1882-1958)
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 1447/1931, City of Winnipeg Archives.
“Comfort and convenience in new Wakefield Block,” Winnipeg Tribune, 22 August 1931, page 15.
“Wakefield Apartments,” Manitoba Free Press, 31 August 1931, page 7.
Find a Postal Code, Canada Post.
Preparation of this page was supported, in part, by the Gail Parvin Hammerquist Fund of the City of Winnipeg.
We thank Nathan Kramer, George Penner, and Glen Toews for providing information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 10 October 2026
Historic Sites of Manitoba
This is a collection of historic sites in Manitoba compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. The information is offered for historical interest only.
Browse lists of:
Museums/Archives | Buildings | Monuments | Cemeteries | Locations | OtherInclusion in this collection does not confer special status or protection. Official heritage designation may only come from municipal, provincial, or federal governments. Some sites are on private property and permission to visit must be secured from the owner.
Site information is provided by the Manitoba Historical Society as a free public service only for non-commercial purposes.
Send corrections and additions to this page
to the MHS Webmaster at webmaster@mhs.mb.ca.Help us keep history alive!
