For more about the buildings of South Osborne, come to my presentation at the Fort Rouge Library on March 28, 2019 !
Address: 270 Morley Avenue (Map)
Constructed: 1914 - 1915
Architect: Max Zev Blankstein
This three-storey, mixed-use building was constructed for Reuben Cohen, (1865 - 1955).
Cohen came to Winnipeg from London with wife, Jessie, and brothers, Abe and Solomon, in 1906. Despite having family here and settling on Selkirk Avenue in the heart of the city’s Jewish immigrant community, the Cohen brothers felt lonely and sought to create an organization "in which we could find comradeship and simultaneously deal with some of our mutual problems".
That organization was the Hebrew Sick Benefit Society which was created in October 1906. It was part fraternal aid society (into which members paid an annual membership fee and got benefits such as health coverage, funeral costs, disability payments in the days before the social safety net.) It also served as a cultural institution, establishing a large hall on Selkirk Avenue that was home to banquets, festivals, speeches, and live theatre.
The HSBS was an important cornerstone in Jewish community that lasted until the 1960s.
Cohen was a founding member of Mount Carmel Clinic and instrumental in establishing the Hebrew Free Loan Society of Winnipeg, serving as president of the latter for around 40 years until his death in 1955.
Around 1913, Cohen branched out into property development. His name can be found in relation to about a dozen single family home building permits in the Crescentwood / Fort Rouge area. The following year, he decided to go big and hired architect Max Zev Blankstein to design the Rubin Block for him.
Blankstein was born and trained in Russia, came to Canada in 1904 and was practicing in Winnipeg by 1907. In his 25-year career he designed numerous commercial buildings and and apartments. One of his best known early works is the Steiman Block / Merchants Hotel on Selkirk Avenue in 1913, (which bears a resemblance to the Rubin Block), and a series of neighborhood theatres later in his career, the best known of which is the Uptown Theatre on Academy Road which opened the year of his death in 1930.
Most sources say that the Rubin Block opened in 1914. That may have been the year the building permit was issued, but the Henderson Directory of 1915, which would have been compiled early in the year, lists it as simply a "new building" with no tenants, meaning that it was not yet completed. It was likely finished in mid or late 1915.
In 1924, Cohen went into business with his brother and appears to have sold off the Rubin Block. Notices in the newspaper and street directories state that the building's name had been changed to the Morley Apartments. The inscription in the cornice was never changed, so it is still referred to as the Rubin Block.
The Rubin Block has two distinct facades.
The Morley Apartments face Morley Avenue. The 1916 Henderson Directory lists 21 apartment units. Interestingly, there is no suite number "13", just a 12 and 12 1/2.
Its original lineup of heads of households of had jobs such as travelling salesmen, a well driller, a fireman, an administrator at the nearby municipal hospital, and and various positions within the CNR.
The commercial side of the block facing Osborne Street contained three retail spaces and it took some time for the spaces to fill. The only early tenant listed in street directories is the South Baptist Sunday School. That space became Allan Reid’s Drug Store from 1922 to around 1952.
The Sunday School was joined on November 18, 1918 by the city's third Merchants Bank branch. (Despite its name being carved in stone above the doorway, the bank was not an original tenant.) When the Merchants was taken over by the Bank of Montreal, it remained a BMO until 1951 when it moved to a building across the street.
Another long term tenant was Whitlock's Confectionery, from 1923 - 1950.
The third and smallest unit was a watchmaker and barber shop. Sometimes both being listed at the unit at the same time.
Throughout most of the 1950s the main retail tenant was Arlyne’s fashion shop. The entire main floor became home to a Good Will Industries thrift shop from 1962 to 2000.
The 2000s have not been kind to the building. A basement fire in 2006 damaged some of the suites and a more devastating third floor fire in 2014 damaged the roof and forced the shut down of the building. It has been vacant ever since.
More about the retailers:
Initially, he wrote the civil service exam and worked for a year in post office before deciding to go into business. His first shop, from 1913-15, was Cuncliffe and Whitlockon Notre Dame Avenue. After a couple of years working at the Bay, by 1918 he opened Whitlock Confectioners at 531 Osborne Street.
In 1923, he relocated to the Rubin Block. His wife, Mary, was a store clerk. The couple lived nearby at 118 Ashland Street. In the mid-1940s, the store was also the area's post office.
Around 1950, Whitlock moved to 550 Osborne Street. He died at his store in 1954 at the age of 64.
Arlyne's Fashion Shop was operated by Molly Rosenblat. She started selling clothes out of her North End home and eventually had two retail stores. She got out of the clothing business in 1974 for a career with the provincial government.
The Barber Shop was run by William (Bill) Davis from at least 1916 to 1920. He was a strong supporter of the Independent Labour Party of Manitoba and his shop was home to numerous party meetings and election rallies during this time.
Related:
'Dear Owner' letter turning heads Global
Looking for oprtions on Rubin Block Sou'Wester
Neighbours pack meeting on boarded up Rubin Block CBC
My Flickr album of the Rubin Block
No comments:
Post a Comment