466 Main Street - The Woodbine Hotel

© 2010, Christian Cassidy. Updated October 2014.


Place: The Woodbine Hotel 
Address: 466 Main Street Map 
Opened: 1878 (as Dufferin Hall)
Architect: P. Sutherland (1878); James Cadham (1904); Crayston (1923)

Background:

Top ca. 1880s from Historic Building Committee Report

Bottom: July 18, 1882, Winnipeg Free Press

The Woodbine Hotel opened in 1878 as Dufferin Hall, a saloon and billiard hall run by Joseph McIntytre. It was one of dozens of basic drinking establishments that popped up along Main Street in the city's early years.

The second owner was Mr. W. Snider who came to Winnipeg from Ontario in 1879 with $3.60 in his pocket. He made money in the land speculation business and paid $15,000 for Dufferin Hall in 1881. 

Snider renovated the building and replaced the pool tables. He also changed the name to Woodbine Hall. The speculation is that he wanted the establishment to appeal to other newcomers familiar with Toronto's Woodbine Hotel and race track. (There was also a dance hall operating in Winnipeg at the time with the Dufferin Hall name which may have prompted the change.)

July 18, 1882, Winnipeg Free Press

Snider sold the business in mid-1882, after owning it for just a year and a half, for a whopping $55,000. It was one of the most expensive land transactions in the city at the time – about $2,000 per foot of frontage.

The new owners were hoteliers Mr. O’Connor and Mr. Chadwick and they likely added the rooms. By 1883 the building was said to have 18 basic rooms for rent plus a dining room, a kitchen, a nine table billiard hall and an upstairs parlour. The bar at the time measured 20 feet by 31 feet with the billiard hall at the rear.

The men kept up the sports theme with the pool hall and as early as the summer of 1882 fielded a baseball team, hosted boxing matches and, at least once held an illegal dogfight which police broke up just before it got underway.

Chadwick, it seems, had a bit of a mouth. He appeared in newspapers challenging people to pool tournaments. At a January 1883 meeting at city hall, the Winnipeg Daily Sun reports: “Mr Chadwick, of the Woodbine saloon, made a very insulting remark to Health Inspector Kerr. Thereupon that official very promptly and vigorously punched Mr. Chadwick’s head." The police chief had to break up the fight.

Winnipeg Daily Sun, May 6, 1884

Chadwick was soon gone from the partnership and the hotel seemed to struggle. One media story referred to it in passing as the "once popular Woodbine Hotel". Not long after the business was put up for sale at auction.

The hotel was owned by a Mr. Johnson for almost five years, (the ownership may have rested with Melville Wood). Under his management, the hotel saw a number of improvements, especially to the restaurant. A french chef was hired and a full dinner menu was offered. 

It was then owned for another five years by James Rutely until he retired down south in 1893. 

Above: Hebb ca. 1940s

Below: February 23 1895, The Voice

The next owner of note was Edward Hebb. He came to Winnipeg in 1886 from Stratford Upon Avon, England with his brother Alfred G. Hebb and two sisters. Within three months off arriving he met and married his wife Martha.

Edward was athletic, a track and field athlete in his home country. At the 1891 Winnipeg Exhibition sporting day he won the one mile foot race, he was also racer with the Winnipeg Rovers Bicycle Club and a charter member of the Granite Curling Club. 

In 1893 Hebb partnered with J. Wilkes, James Rutley's hotel manager, to purchase the Woodbine.

By 1899 there was a new business partner, D. T. Lennon. The men purchased a piece of land fronting on Bannatyne Avenue to expand the pool hall, creating an L shaped building. There was also a three lane bowling alley advertized in the basement around 1903, managed separately from the hotel.

The hotel underwent a major expansion in 1904 thanks to one of Winnipeg's largest fires.

Bulman Block Fire of 1904, Winnipeg Firefighters Museum

On the night of October 9, 1904 a fire started in the basement of the Bulman Brothers Block at Albert Street and Bannatyne Avenue. Bulman was a printing firm and the paper and chemicals stored there fueled an intense blaze that destroyed the building then jumped across the street to Ashdown's store, burning it to the ground. It also reduced the neighbouring Duffin Block, (the former Birt's Saddlery), to one storey and caused extensive damage to the Woodbine.

For whatever reason, the Bulman Block was never rebuilt, (to this day it is still a surface parking lot).

Hebb and new business partner J.  T. Lennon took advantage and purchased the land behind their hotel right through to Albert Street. They hired James Cadham to rebuild the second floor of the existing hotel and to create a three storey extension to the rear that opened onto Albert Street.

ca.1920 from Heritage Winnipeg

With that extension, the pool hall and bar extended to an impressive 200 feet, which is a claim to fame for the hotel that it once had the longest bar in Western Canada !

In 1916, there was another serious fire at the Woodbine which nearly destroyed he building and another fire in 1923. After the latter, Hebb had a third storey added to the original portion of the hotel.

January 11, 1918, Winnipeg Free Press

Thanks to Hebb, the bar retained its sporting roots, which is likely why it survived the tough times of prohibition and the Depression.

The basement bowling alley, which seemed to disappear soon after its 1903 introduction, reappeared during prohibition, (likely rebuilt after the 1916 fire.) Numerous sports leagues and teams used the hotel as its headquarters. The largest of these was the Manitoba Football Association which met there for more than two decades.

February 17, 1942, Winnipeg Tribune

Hebb was always a half owner of the hotel. Co-owner Wilkes lasted a few years, Lennon for 20, then it was his brother Albert Lennon.

Hebb died at the hotel in 1942 at the age of 73. He was survived by wife Martha, a son, and two daughters and is buried in Elmwood Cemetery. He owned the Woodbine for 50 years, which was an impressive run in an industry where owners came and went.

It appears that the family then sold the hotel to Shea's Brewery. 

Local breweries found themselves the owners of many failed hotels during the Depression. Shea's was one that embraced the new revenue stream and organized them into a thriving part of their core business. Shea's renovated the building and introduced the iconic neon sign out front.

Shea's was bought out by Labatt's in the mid-1950s and in 1964, the brewing giant sold off their hotel interests.

March 28, 1985, Winnipeg Free Press

Mike Borse, the former manager of the Windsor Hotel, purchased the Woodbine in 1965.

Two decades later, still owned by Borse, the hotel had another claim to fame: it was one of the last "men's only" beverage rooms outside of the province of Quebec.

In the early 1980s the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission decreed that all beverage rooms must become unisex. The last two holdouts were the Woodbine and the Roblin Hotel on Adelaide Street.

When the March 1985 changeover occurred, the initial reaction was anger by their patrons and Borse refused comment to the media. Shortly before his 1987 retirement from the business, Borse was asked about the changeover and he said that it was the best business decision he ever made.

The Woodbine's main floor bar has long since been subdivided, a coffee shop occupies the Albert Street frontage. 

In 2002, Don Matthews purchased the bar and had some of the earlier unsympathetic renovations to the interior and facade were undone. Inside the bar you can get a glimpse of what it once was like as some of the original woodwork and tin ceiling are still in place. It is also home to a large collection of historic photographs and memorabilia.

Related:
466 Main Street - Heritage Winnipeg
466 Main Street - Street- Winnipeg Building Index
466 Main Street - Historic Buildings Committee Report

The Woodbine through the years:

ca. 1880s (Heritage Winnipeg)

ca. 1903 (Historic Buildings report)

ca.1907. (Heritage Winnipeg)

ca. 1940s (Heritage Winnipeg)

ca. 2009

Advertising:

October 8, 1884, Winnipeg Daily Sun

February 23, 1895. The Voice

July 18, 1882, Winnipeg Free Press

May 15, 1903, The Voice

December 19, 1903, Winnipeg Tribune

ca. 1915 ad, The Voice

November 10, 1939, Winnipeg Tribune

Downtown Places - The Winnipeg Clinic

Place: The Winnipeg Clinic
Address: 425 St. Mary Avenue (Map)
Opened: October 1942
Architect: (1942) Waisman and Ross Architects 
Contractor: (1942) Frank Lount Construction

Background

Source: CMAJ

The Winnipeg Clinic was created in 1938 by esteemed Manitoba physician Paul H. T. Thorlakson after his Maclean - Thorlakson Clinic outgrew its Medical Arts Building space.

Land was purchased on Vaughan Street at St. Mary, across from the Winnipeg Auditorium, but the war delayed construction plans. In early March 1942 a building permit was taken out for the two storey, $60,000 complex. 

 Source: Wpg Tribune Feb 28, 1942

The design was 'modern and sleek' with smooth tyndall stone and a glass block wall but had to take into account wartime constraints and use no structural steel in its construction. The central office, X -ray room and laboratoires were located on the main floor while the upper level was doctors offices and observation rooms.

The building was open for business in October 1942 but it appears that  thre was no formal opening ceremony.

In 1943 the Manitoba Institute for Medical Research, later renamed the Winnipeg Clinic Research Institute, was created. The ownership of the building was transferred to this new entity. 

Source

The Winnipeg Clinic was built in three stages. 

A five storey addition to the east was constructed in 1946 (above) and an additional six storeys were added to the east building in 1959 (below) which gave the clinic it's "Jetsons" look and creating a unique landmark for downtown. 

Source: U of M Building Index

The medical partnership that created the Winnipeg Clinic incorporated in 1949. Today, over 50 doctors practice out of the facility and research is still a key part of their mandate.

Related:
425 St. Mary Avenue Winnipeg Building Index
425 St. Mary Avenue Winnipeg Architecture Foundation 
The Progress of an Idea: The Story of the Winnipeg Clinic CMAJ (1966)
Dr. Paul H.T. Thorlakson Collection University of Manitoba

Downtown Places - The Marlborough Hotel

Updated November 11, 2014

Place: The Marlborough Hotel 
Address: 331 Smith Street Map 
Opened: November 18, 1914
Architect: James Chisholm (1913); J. H. G. Russell (1923 expansion)
Contractors: Carter-Halls-Aldinger (1913 and 1923)

Background:

Olympia Café, main floor (source)

The roots of today's Marlborough Hotel go back to four Italian businessmen and a little restaurant on Portage Avenue.

Giuseppe (Joseph) Panaro and Leonardi Emma came to Winnipeg from Sicily in 1892 and operated a fruit and confectionery store on Main Street, on the present-day site of the Canadian Wheat Board Building. In 1900 the business expanded to include a restaurant.

Augustine and Joseph Badali, brothers, operated a fruit and confectionery store at the corner of Portage Avenue and Smith Street. When their premises were demolished to make way for the first Kensington Building, they reopened on the main floor of the new building. The expanded shop included a restaurant called the Olympia Cafe and soon after, new business partners, Panaro and Emma.

November 14, 1914, Winnipeg Tribune

In 1912 a piece of land opened up on Smith Street behind the Kensington Building when a blacksmith's yard burned to the ground. The four men purchased it along with some neighbouring lots and announced plans to build a four storey luxury hotel called the Olympia.

They hired prominent architect James Chisolm and Son, who:

  “...refused to be influenced by the present-day tendency to use with abandon the over-decorated and superficial styles of the French period and have followed, instead, the quiet, beautiful Gothic school of Medieval England, with just sufficient of the renaissance added to give the air of elegance and luxury common to metropolitan hotel life.”

November 14, 1914, Winnipeg Tribune

Constructed by Carter-Halls-Aldinger, the facade of the four storey structure, aside from the simple granite base, is of terra cotta. The cast iron and glass marquee features five Gothic lamps weighing one ton each and was manufactured in Elmwood by Western Steel and Iron Works.

The Gothic design carries through to the interior. The main floor features marble pillars and floors with Caen stone walls and oak paneling. Another feature is the elegant stained glass windows, three of which feature fairy tale characters such as Cinderella and the prince from Beauty and the Beast. Other features include large hanging lamps by Tiffany and Co. of New York.

The main floor and mezzanine housed the administrative offices of the hotel, including the telegraph room and switchboard. It was also home to the main lounge, a ladies’ reception room, dining room and bar. Retail services included private phone booths, a barber shop, and a news and cigar stand. There was a more informal grill room in the basement accessible via a marble staircase.

Top: Folger in 1912 (source)
Bottom: September 26, 1914, Ottawa Journal

The investors did not take a chance on the management of such a fine hotel. They hired A. T. Folger who had been the manager of Ottawa's Chateau Laurier since it opened in 1912. Folger, a "charming" native of North Carolina, and his wife arrived in the city just days before the Olympia's grand opening at  2:00 p.m. on November 18, 1914. 

The timing could not have been worse. When first envisioned in 1912, Winnipeg was enjoying the most prosperous year in the city's history. Money and luxury were no object, as reflected in the hotel's $900,000 price tag, (about $19 million in 2014 dollars). Compare that to the $1.5 million that the Hotel Fort Garry cost just two years earlier, funded by a deep pocketed national railway.

The following year, however, Winnipeg fell into a recession which deepened with the start of the First World War. The war also immediately shrank the market for luxury travel and extravagant events. The city's other top hotels, the Fort Garry and Royal Alexandra, both owned by railways, could at least funnel their steady stream of train and ship passengers into them at lower rates to fill rooms. For a stand-alone such as the Olympia, that option didn't exist.

May 28, 1915, Winnipeg Tribune

Newspapers did not often report on the ongoing bad news of large advertisers. The first cracks, though, appeared in an April 1915 Free Press report that Folger had tendered his resignation back in February. He refused to discuss the reasons why, but confirmed that he would stay on until the end of April so that a successor could be appointed.

It turns out that a successor would not be needed. In a single paragraph story in the Free Press on May 5, 1915, it was reported that creditors had stepped in the week before and tried to attract additional investors or new buyers. There were none to be found, so it was agreed that the hotel would cease operations immediately. (A news story five years later noted that only one payment had ever been made on the building's $350,000 mortgage.)

The creditors tried to salvage what they could by selling off the building's furnishings at pennies on the dollar. A sign of how bad things likely were for the hotel: some of the bedroom suites were advertized as "never been used".

Top: Troops outside Olympia Hotel ca. 1915 (source)
Bottom: March 2 1916, Winnipeg Tribune

The war may have been the final nail in the coffin for the Olympia, but it was also its salvation for the creditor, (the Great West Securities Co.). The federal government was desperately seeking space to house soldiers who came to Winnipeg from across the region. The Olympia, with its large rooms, dining facilities, meeting space and close proximity to both train stations, was a perfect fit.

In February 1916 it was announced that the federal government leased the hotel as the new recruiting centre and barracks for the 184th Battalion. It took just a week to outfit it with army issue bunks and furniture. The former luxury hotel was featured prominently in some of  the 184th's recruiting ads, noting that it had the "finest barracks in Canada".

Many young, single soldiers gave up their apartments when they enlisted. As a result, dozens of war dead list "The Olympia Hotel" as their final address.

Top: February 19, 1919, Winnipeg Tribune

Bottom: February 23, 1919, Winnipeg Tribune

The government vacated the building in 1918 and the following year it was leased to local hotelier John Lee for about $10,000. Lee had a long history of owning and managing hotels in the city, including the National and the St. Regis.

Other services such as the restaurant and barber shop reopened and the hotel was back in full swing.

Top: December 23, 1919, Winnipeg Tribune

Bottom: December 30, 1919, Winnipeg Tribune

Lee remained at the Olympia until December 1919 when Thomas Babin took over for a period of a few months. Babin pushed the food and entertainment side of the business, introducing after theatre suppers and dances, masquerade balls, Sunday afternoon concerts and daily meal specials in all of their restaurants. The Olympia soon became home to a number of large conferences and banquets.

In March 1920 it was announced that architect J H G Russel had been hired to draw up a five storey addition to the hotel, (a further sign of how bullish the original owners were, the building was constructed with such an expansion in mind.) Carter-Halls-Aldinger returned as the contractor.

July 9, 1921, Winnipeg Tribune

It was originally thought that the hotel could remain open during the $600,000 expansion, but soon after the work got underway in the spring of 1921, it became apparent that it would have to close as new elevators and mechanical areas had to be added to the original structure. The hotel closed on June 15, 1921.

Seventy men worked on the reinfriced concrete addition which is clad in Fort William corduroy red brick with Bedford stone trim. The main feature of the addition was the eight floor 50 x 52 foot banquet room (called Marlborough Hall) with its own kitchen and an adjoining 50 x 40 foot concert room called the Blue Room. The two spaces could be opened into each other for large events.

Ralph H. Webb (source)

While construction was underway, Col. Ralph Webb, manager of the Windsor Hotel in Montreal, was hired on. Webb had lived in Winnipeg from 1906 until he left for the war. It was a fortunate hire as Webb became a huge booster of the city and, just two years later, its mayor !

It was also announced that when the hotel reopened, it would have a new name: The Marlborough.

July 10, 1923, Winnipeg Free Press

The Marlborough was to open in November1922 but construction fell behind. It had a "soft opening" on May 3, 1923, hosting the University of Manitoba Student Union's end of year dance in the new ballroom, but it was not formally opened until July 10, 1923.

The new hotel boasted 230 bedrooms, each with its own bath. One feature that never was constructed was a planned rooftop garden restaurant.

As soon as it opened, The Marlborough became one of Winnipeg's premiere hotels for conferences, banquets, concerts an other special events. The dream that Panaro, Emma and the Badali brother had in 1912 had finally come true.

It appears that Great West Securities Co. sold the building the year after the expansion. Whether that was planned, a way to finally recoup the 20 years of lean years and losses, or due to the late opening, it's not clear.

In 1925 the hotel was the site of the conference that created the Royal Canadian Legion. A number of local organizations, from the Winnipeg Board of Trade to the Winnipeg Press Club had their headquarters there.

Bottom: April 5, 1957, Winnipeg Free Press

Through the 1950s the hotel industry began to change. Old world charm was giving way to "motor hotels" with their easy-access parking and rooms that featured modern amenities like air conditioning and full bathrooms. The Marlborough decided that it would give customers the best of both worlds.

In 1956 Libling Michener and Associates was hired to design a $1.85 million dollar expansion. the first phase was a new, self-serve parkade that opened right across the street in April 1957. At the same time, work got underway on an eight storey addition to the north of the old hotel.

Marlborough Hotel postcard ca 1960s

The new wing opened on February 4, 1960. It introduced the Skyview Ballroom which, combined with the adjoining Marlborough Hall, made the hotel the largest conference centre between Toronto and Vancouver. At the gala opening, Winnipeg ex-pat and Canadian singing icon Juliette performed.

With the "new" hotel, came new management. David Rothstein was appointed president and general manager of the ownership group while Kenneth Belyea, former general manager of the Ritz Towers in New York City, became the manager.

In 1990 the German Canadian Congress purchased the hotel for a rumoured $5.5 million, with the intention of turning it into a seniors home. When government funding fell through, the hotel closed briefly in August 1992. It soon reverted back to its original owners and reopened as a hotel.

In 2000 the hotel purchased the closed Garrick Cinema to the east and converted one of the cinema spaces into a waterslide and swimming pool.

Related:
My photo album of the Marlborough Hotel
Our History The Marlborough Hotel
 331 Smith Street Heritage Building Committee
331 Smith Street Winnipeg Building Index
321-331 Smith Street Winnipeg Architecture Foundation
Marlborough Hotel 95th Birthday West End Dumplings
100 year celebration Marlborough Hotel