Broadway and Donald Street - Centennial Fountain

Place: Centennial Fountain (a.k.a. Sudsy Fountain)

Address: Broadway at Donald Street (Map)
Opened: October 22, 1970
Architect: Smith Carter Parkin

Cost: $25,000+

Opening Ceremony (Tribune archives)

This fountain at Broadway and Donald Street commemorates the centennial of Manitoba and the 50th anniversary of the first water supplied to Winnipeg via the Shoal Lake Aqueduct.

The water anniversary was an afterthought as Winnipeg's Metro council had been looking for some time for a location to build its own fountain to commemorate the occasion which took place in 1919. When this plan came along, they decided to double up.

Fountain with Centennial House in the background

The fountain was estimated to cost $25,000, though may have been closer to $30,000 by the time it was completed. The cost was split between Metro Winnipeg, which contributed 40% or $10,000, and MEPC Canadian Properties Limited the remainder.

The MEPC Group was a national real estate development and management company that had a number of holdings in Winnipeg including Centennial House / Chateau 100 across the street at Broadway and Donald which opened a couple of months before the fountain.

Centennial Fountain was opened by Lieutenant Governor John McKeag on October 22, 1970.

This is not the oldest fountain in downtown. There is, of course, Waddell Fountain in Central Park (1914), Memorial Park Fountain (1962), and another Centennial Fountain in the Steinkopf Gardens behind the Concert Hall (circa 1970).

The nickname, (my nickname for it, anyway) is 'sudsy fountain' as it routinely has laundry detergent added to it by person(s) unknown causing it to bubble up onto the street !

© 2011, Christian Cassidy

320 Donald Street - The Saratoga / Surtees Building

Place: 318 (320) Donald Street - Saratoga / Surtees Building (Map)
Constructed: 1956 and 1978?
Size: 3 sotery, 35,247 sq ft (plus basement)

Piecing together the history of the 300 block of Donald street is difficult as much of it's early life is shared between what was is the Donalda Block at 310 Donald Street and buildings that were once at 314 - 320 Donald.

A constant at the location from 1906 to 1994 was was recreation. On October 4 1906 Saratoga Lanes opened at 314 Donald. In 1913 Stag Billiards, (that I believe once was on Main Street), opened a 45 table billiard hall. By 1949 it was known as the Gibson Recreation Building, (named for Charles Gibson, owner of Saratoga Lanes)

In the early 1950s this block of Donald was redeveloped. The Donalda Building opened in 1951 and the main floor became home to The Orchid Florists. The 'Gibson Recreation Building' or Saratoga Amusements Building was christened at 316 Donald Street. The new address appears to have been a combination of two existing buildings with retail to the south and the bowling lanes to the north.

April 16, 1966 (Source: Winnipeg Free Press)

The joined buildings were extensively rebuilt after an April 15, 1956 blaze gutted the lanes and destroyed an adjoining furrier and Fraser Artists' Supply.

Pay 'n Save to the left, ca. 1960 (source)

In 1956 new tenants moved into the rebuilt block. There was, of course, a new Saratoga Lanes and on the retail side a Pay 'n Save Drugs with a cafeteria and barber shop inside.

Saratoga Lanes had a prominent position during the Golden Era of ten pin bowling in Manitoba, 1955 - 1070s.

On December 12th 1978 much of the building was destroyed when fire started in a hydro panel at 6:30 a.m.. The bowling alley (which by then was a 24 hour, 30 lane facility), Pay 'n Save and the Safety Restaurant were all razed.

In 1980 Saratoga Lanes reopened in the basement level at '320 Donald'. Bernie Britton's Saratoga Lanes became Saratoga Amusements in the mid - late 80s as new owners took over. Saratoga continued in the space until 1993-94.

Above, on the retail and office end, appears to have sat empty until 1983 when a federal government department "Canada Core Area Employment and Counselling Centre" opened. Since that time the space has remained with the federal government as in 1989 it became a Canada Employment Centre and in the late 90s the Public Service Commission of Canada. It is the sole tenant of the building.

In 1984 another fire caused about $80,000 in damage which, I believe, is when the facade of the building was refaced. I presume it is around that time the the building was "Dedicated in memory of my mother Maidie Surtees Ostrom" as per the plaque out front.

I could not find details on the Surtees' or of Maidie.

The building was recently up for sale noting that the empty bowling space still sits in the basement.

Millennium Library - Andrew Carnegie Portrait

Title: Andrew Carnegie Portrait

Location: Millennium Library, 251 Donald Street (Map)
Unveiled: October 1905, (re-dedicated October 2005)
Cost: $550
Artist: Victor A. Long

(source)

The portrait that now hangs prominently in the Millennium Library had a rocky history.

The artist is Victor Arthur Long. Born in 1866 in Fort Erie Ontario, Long studied art in Europe for four years before returning to Canada and setting up shop in a studio on Main Street around 1887. He became well known for his portraits, including some high profile works capturing royalty to premiers, merchant princes to prominent clergy.

In 1905 Winnipeg was about to open its first central library. Up until this time libraries were mostly private institutions open to people who belonged to that club or a university. The Historical and Scientific Society of Manitoba (forerunner to the Manitoba Historical Society) offered a public lending room in a cramped space in city hall.

The librarian at the city hall book room applied to the Carnegie Foundation of New York, requesting funds to build a central library building. Andrew Carnegie, industrialist turned philanthropist, was responsible for funding the construction of hundreds of libraries around North America by this time.

The city received a $75,000 grant providing that it set aside the necessary land and agreed to pick up the annual operating costs.

Re-dedication by Mayor Katz, Oct. 2005: (Source)

Weeks before the October 1905 opening city council got a surprise at their monthly meeting.

Unveiled before them was a huge mural of Andrew Carnegie by Victor Long. The artist had painted it without commission and offered it to the city for unveiling at the opening ceremony for the sum of $550.

If Long was expecting accolades, he did not get many that day.

Alderman Latimer felt that such a picture was a poor choice, saying that Carnegie had donated to this fine building and that to honour him with a pricey portrait "making him look like a fashion plate" was unnecessary. Others questioned whether the portrait was of Carnegie at all, given that none of them had ever seen the man in person. Alderman Cox exclaimed "It's nonsensical! We're buying a picture and we don't even know if it is a good likeness."

In the end, the artist got his $550 and the portrait was purchased. (source: Manitoba Free Press, Oct 3, 1905).

Debate again erupted days later when the purchase came up at a labour meeting:

“The question was one which brought out considerable fire, and some strong words were used to emphasize the feelings of the delegates.” They struck a committee to get legal advice to see if they could get an injunction to stop the city from “being so free and easy with the ratepayers cash”. (The Voice, Oct 6 1905).

The portrait hung at the library for nearly seventy years. In 1977, after the facility was closed and the contents moved to the new Centennial Library, a reporter noted the massive portrait in the boiler room leaning against a wall. It had been ‘banished to the basement’ a number of years before and was not going to the new facility.

The following year a small branch library opened inside the William Avenue building and the majority of the space became storage for the city records department. Carnegie's portrait remained in storage.

In 2005, the centenary of the Carnegie Library building, the portrait was restored and rededicated. It now hangs in Winnipeg's Millennium Library on the south staircase overlooking what will be Millennium Library park.

A smaller Carnegie inside St. John's Library

Long moved to Vancouver in 1910 but made annual journeys across the prairies, stopping in major centres to collect new commissions. His works He died in 1938.

Carnegie's initial donation was not his only involvement in the Winnipeg Public Library system. A few years later he funded an expansion of the William Avenue building. In 1915 he contributed $35,000 for the construction of The St. John’s (Salter Street) and Cornish (West Gate) branches.

He did not attend the opening of any of the Winnipeg buildings but in 1907 on the occasion of the opening of the Washington D.C. public library, the 730th he funded to that time, he said:

“Free libraries maintained by the people are cradles of democracy, and their spread can never fail to extend and strengthen the democratic idea, the equality of citizens, the loyalty of man.” 

Carnegie funded the construction of 2,500 libraries in his lifetime. His foundation still gives millions of dollars each year toward educational projects around the world.

For more on Victor Long, see my West End Dumplings post.

251 Donald Street - Centennial & Millennium Library Park

Centennial Library Park ca. 1980s (U of M Building Index)

Project: Centennial Library Park
Address: 251 Donald Street (Map)
Status: Completed 1977-78
Cost: $250,000
Architect: Ward, MacDonald, Cockburn, McLeod and McFeetors

Background

Carnegie Library, William Avenue

With Winnipeg's centennial coming in 1974, city council chose a new central library to be the main legacy project. The idea wasn't new. Discussions about replacing the ca. 1905 Carnegie Library on William with a downtown facility had been floating around since 1964 but never got past the planning stage.

July 13, 1972, Winnipeg Free Press

Early in 1972 the Inner City Community Committee studied a list of six downtown sites and settled on an entire city block bounded by Graham and St. Mary Avenues and Donald and Smith Streets. One of the attractions of this site was the vast space that could be left open for a park, a much enjoyed feature of the Carnegie Library.

Council approved the committee's recommendation in August and architects Ward, MacDonald, Cockburn, McLeod and McFeetors began drawing up detailed plans. Numerous changes, usually initiated by the city looking to save money, dragged out the final approval for a couple of years.

An early change that impacted the park involved the property at 307 Donald Street.

It was owned by Wawanesa Insurance who were reportedly holding out for $900,000, ($5.2 m in 2012 dollars), for the building. The city scoffed and let them keep it but it was located where the entrance and exit ramps for the 550 car underground parkade were to go. They now had to be incorporated into the park's footprint. (In May 1975 Wawanesa did sell them the parking lot of that building at the southeast corner of the block for $200,000 to allow for a pedestrian entrance.)

Another, more drastic change came late in the process.

In May 1974 city council voted in favour of moving the park to the front of library, facing Graham. It was an idea favoured by some who noted that the park out front of the Carnegie library made it a welcoming place. Opponents argued that such a move would remove quick and easy access to the library and could be unwelcoming for people coming after dark. Eventually the opponents (and architects) won out but it held up construction for weeks.

It seems that Centennial Park did not have an official opening of its own. The library opened to the public on the evening of March 16, 1977. The official opening took place on May 4, 1977.

Bottom ca. 1977 (U of M Building Index)

The park's largest design feature were the three large reflecting pools surrounded by raised concrete sides that acted as seating. Around the pools was a maze of walking paths, some with benches.

Skating ca. 1976 (Tribune Archives)

At the southeast corner, the old Wawanesa parking lot, a pedestrian entrance was added and skating area complete with warming shack and clock tower was built.

To isolate people from the noise and bustle of the surrounding streets, dozens of trees and shrubs were planted and it was walled in with concrete and wood fencing.

The always clock-less clock tower

The success of the park was limited.

The skating rink, which cost nearly $10,000 to operate in the first winter, was poorly attended and soon discontinued. Finishing touches on the rink, such as the clock tower were never completed.

The reflecting pools were built without a pump system which led to an ongoing problem of algae blooms and high bacteria counts. In 1986 the city ordered that the water be permanently drained for health reasons.

The walls and greenery meant to give people the feeling of being in a green oasis but also gave the perception that the park was isolated and possibly unsafe. The zig-zagging walking paths and interior walls left many blind corners.

A 1991 task force examining ways to make the city safer for women put recommendations for the redesign of the embankments and pathways of the park near the top of their 113 recommendations.

Millennium Park plan (source)

In 2002 the city chose to expand the Centennial Library as a tripartite Millennium celebration project. Future phases would include repairs to the roof of the parkade beneath the park (which required the park's demolition) then a reconstruction of the green space.

In 2005 the Canada - Manitoba - Winnipeg Infrastructure program announced $2.1 million for the park's renovation, ($700,000 from each level of government), but that money had to include repairs to the parkade's roof which scaled back the original plans for the park.

June 16, 2008, Winnipeg Free Press

The new park was to open in 2007 but the parkade portion fell behind schedule, not even tendered until 2008. It was then discovered that the entire roof membrane had to be replaced. In 2009 Public Works had to go back to council to request an additional $1.5 million to fund the work, (bringing the total cost to $3.8m).

2009

2010

2011

Demolition of the park began in November 2009 and repairs to the membrane took place in 2010. In 2010 -2011 the plans of landscape architects Hilderman Thomas Frank Cram finally began to take shape.

There will be four zones to the park. A Learning Commons with direct access from the library that will include a shade garden, water wall, and furniture. The Multipurpose Plaza will include a covered stage and activity kiosk. Skating will return in winter months.

The focal point of the park is a $575,000 public art installation cost shared between the city's public art program and the 2010 Cultural Capital of Canada fund. It is called emptiful by B.C. artist Bill Pechet. Another piece called Sentinel of Truth runs along the south end of the park.

One piece that has reappeared is Tony Tascona's Rising Rorm from the original Centennial Library Park.

Millennium Library park officially opened July 20th, 2012.

Related:
For more comparisons between Centennial and Millennium park see my West End Dumplings post.
My album of Millennium Library Park photos
Millennium Library Park Construction Updates City of Winnipeg
Millennium Library Park Millennium Library Foundation
Centennial Library Winnipeg Building Index
Sunny new Millennium Library Park open Readers' Salon

Media:
$575k sculpture set for library park Free Press
Millennium Library Park set to reopen Free Press
Library park's opening better late than never Free Press

Downtown Places - 310 Donald Street

Building demolished Spring 2012. See Centrepoint Development

Place: The Donalda Building
Address: 310 Donald Street Map
Completed: 1951

Background:

310 Donald first appears in the newspapers around 1911 as Winnipeg Garage Ltd. It repaired motor vehicles, sold Franklins and Stoddards and were one of Canada's first known importers of Cadillacs.

In 1913 Stag Billiards took over the space, opening a 45 table pool hall. Soon, two additional storeys were added to accommodate 7 bowling lanes. By 1949 it was known as the Gibson Recreation Building and also included Murphy's Café and a barber shop on the main floor.

In 1949 - 1951 a number of changes took place along that stretch of Donald. The pool hall and bowling alley relocated to 316 Donald (see Saratoga Building) and 310 Donald was torn down to make way for the present Donalda Block. The main retail tenant of the building was The Orchid Florists, which relocated from the retail section of the Capitol theatre located right across the street.

The Orchid Florists was created in 1921 by Harry Scott. Now deceased, it was son Victor who opened this new location that they billed as 'Canada's largest flower shop'. A third generation of Scott, Victor's son Tammas, who attended Chicago's Bright School of Floriculture, returned to be the store manager.

Today a fourth generation, Tammas Scott Jr., runs the company.

ca. 1950s (source)

The upper floors of the Donalda Building contained offices. Longer term tenants from the 60s and 70s included the Commercial Credit Corporation, Toshack Bros & Turple Realty and the Insurance Agents Association of Manitoba. Also in the 70s, Okaley Optical joined The ORchid as main floor retail tenants.

The Orchid moved from Donald Street around 1994. Retail tenants since then have included High Brow Books, Genysys Computers and Urban Planet.

By 2010 the building was vacant and owned by CentreVenture. In 1912 is scheduled to be demolished to make way for the ALT Hotel development.

Related:
My photo album of the Donalda Buidling
Demolition Underway Winnipeg Free Press (March 2012)

March 31, 2012