336 William Avenue - Boulton Motors Building

 © 2026, Christian Cassidy

Place: Boulton Motors / Little Brown Jug
Address: 336 William Avenue (Map)
Constructed: 1927
Architect: J. N. Semmens
Contractor: Borrowman and Jamieson
Cost: $50,000

336 William Avenue is a relative newcomer to its surrounding neighbourhood of former factories and warehouses that date back to the late 1800s or early 1900s.

This land was likely vacant until the current building was constructed on it, as street directories show no addresses between 330 William Avenue and Hargrave Street (then known as Charlotte Street) until it was built in 1927.

It was likely a side yard or the forecourt for the neighbouring 328/330 William Avenue, which, despite its appearance, was constructed in 1912. It was home to Plewes Automobile Company, a local sales agent for REO motor vehicles, then a dealer for the Waterloo Manufacturing Co., makers of farm tractors.

When Waterloo Manufacturing relocated to Portage la Prairie in 1919, the building and this land sat empty through the 1920s.

In 1927, the Robert J. Henderson Manufacturing Co., a garment maker on Bannatyne Avenue, funded the construction of the current $50,000 building at 336 William Avenue.

In its original configuration, the building measured 60 by 100 feet, was one and a half stories tall, and considered "absolutely fireproof" due to the use of steel trusses, Fort William brick, and a concrete floor.

The architect was John Nelson Semmons (also see). He was a prolific architect with dozens of buildings to his name. By this point in his career, he had designed about a dozen Winnipeg schools, including Daniel McIntyre Collegiate Institute, and the St. John's Library.

The contractors were Borrowman and Jamieson. The firm was established in 1925 by experienced engineers L. F. Borrowman and Charles Jamieson. Their work as partners to this point included a major expansion of the Grace Hospital on Preston Street (see above) and Mulvey School.

The Grace expansion brought architects Semmons and Borrowman together with Jamieson months before the construction of 336 William. 

Robert J. Henderson had a deal in place before construction started to lease the building to the newly formed Boulton Motors, which had signed a contract to be the Winnipeg distributor of U.S.-owned but Canadian-manufactured Gotfredson Trucks.

Gotfredson specialised in heavy-duty trucks with capacities of one to five tons used in industries such as cargo transportation and construction. They also made taxis, small buses, and fire engines. It first entered the Manitoba market in 1923 with a corporate-owned dealership on Rupert Avenue.

Boulton Motors Ltd.'s manager was Albert S. Boulton, who was also president of City Dray Co., a local moving company. 

Gotfredson ran into financial difficulty in 1929, and while it didn't completely disappear, the large-scale truck manufacturing ended. As a result, Boulton filled the gap by signing up as the Manitoba distributor for Diamond T trucks in 1930. 

June 4, 1932, Winnipeg Free Press

Boulton Motors moved to Princess Street in 1932, and a long list of vehicle-related firms moved through this space. 

It started in 1934 with Julius S. Siefried's Service Garage, Monarch Motor Sales from 1938 to 1948, and Red River Motor Coach Lines, Through the 1950s. In the 1960s, various auto repair and body shops came and went.

October 19, 1968, Winnipeg Free Press

In 1968, the building became a wallcovering showroom for the adjacent Western Paint that lasted into the 1990s. (The company is nearing 120 years in business!)

There were some shorter-term tenant such as Evelyn Seida's Shaw (art) Gallery, and an antiques and collectibles store. through the early 2000s, it was home to DesignType, a print shop and graphic design place.

The building was empty by 2015, when Brian Scharfstein and Pam Cipryk, who own Canadian Footwear at the end of the block, bought the building.

A chance meeting in the parking lot between Scharfstein and Kevin Selch led to the building being upgraded and the establishment of Little Brown Jug Brewing Company, which officially opened in April 2016. (You can read more about how this came about in this Free Press story.)