1482 - 1484 Main Street - Commercial Building

© 2023, Christian Cassidy

Google Street View, 2021

Place: Commercial Buildings
Address: 1482 - 1482 Main Street and 1488 Main Street (Map)
Constructed: 1925 and 1958
Demolished: 2023

A big demolition job is going on at Main Street at Lansdowne Avenue.

The building on the left was constructed around 1925 and originally contained Scott James Grocery to the south (1482 Main) and William Chester barber shop to the north (1484 Main). The building on the right opened in 1958 and was expanded around 1980.

January 1, 1927, Winnipeg Tribune

The north unit remained a barbershop for decades. After Chester, Joseph O’Sullivan of Atlantic Street ran it from about 1932 to 1948.

Joseph Philip “J P“ Descoteau of 475 Home Street took it over in around 1949 and renamed it Pioneer Barber Shop. He was a member of the Master Barber’s Association, Amateur Radio League of Manitoba, and National Geographic Society. 

In late 1971, Descoteau began advertising the store as rent to own due to “owner wanting to retire”. It seems he had no initial takers and advertised it for sale until early 1973.

November 17, 1930, Winnipeg Tribune

The south unit had a more varied life.

After just a couple of years as a grocery, it became home to the hairdressing shop of Bertha Slater who also resided at the rear of the store. In 1934, Slater moved on to be staff supervisor at Country Guide magazine, though a 1941 classified ad shows that she returned to hairdressing.

The space then became home to Thomas Ochocki shoe repair. It remained a shoe repair shop that changed owners every couple of years, including Harry Permut of Magnus Street and Tony Halabuda 

Wasyl Parasiuk took over the shop, by then named Union Shoe Repair, around 1942. He came to Canada in 1911 in his late twenties and worked as shoemaker for most of his time here. He retired in 1950.

After Parasiuk retired, A. Schmidt took it over and renamed it Modern Shoe Repair. John Bisiuk (or Bisiak) took over the shop in 1953, renamed it Modern Shoe Rebuilders, and ran it until at least 1970. In 1976, classified ads appeared in the Free Press selling off shoe repair equipment.

August 30, 1958, Winnipeg Tribune

The building at 1488 Main Street opened in 1958 as North Main Car Wash and was in operation until at least 1977.

In 1980, the building was expanded to add office space upstairs and a concrete block extension to the rear so that it could house Magikist, a manufacturer of pressure washers and car wash systems.

By 2015, the company had moved to Archibald Street and the building was put up for sale. Sometime between 1980 and 2015, 1482 - 1484 Main Street became part of the Magikist property as the two were listed together.

Demolition of the buildings began in June 2023 to make way for a proposed seven-storey, 72-unit apartment building called 1488 Main Street.

The project's website says that the building will "provide contemporary, affordable housing options for local residents who wish to stay in their neighborhood", though notes that "regulatory approvals" are not yet in place.