© 2026, Christian Cassidy
Address: 28 Woodrow Place (Map)
Built: 1914
November 15, 1913, Winnipeg Tribune
Woodrow Place was subdivided in 1913 and the lots were marketed by real estate firm Aikins and Peplar. A tender to lay a sewer along the street was let in June 1914, and one for paving the roadway came the following month.
Gloucester Apartments, sometimes referred to as Gloucester Court in early street directories, was constructed in 1914. The architect of the building is not known. According to the Manitoba Historical Society, the builder was George E. Baldry who specialized in small apartment blocks.
There does not appear to have been any grand opening ads or even early "for rent" ads by a rental company, which suggests the block was able to rent by word of mouth. Apartment blocks were popular during wartime as many families or couples downsized when the "man of the house" was off at war.
The building was inhabited by the end of 1914, as a classified ad to sublet a suite appeared in a December 1914 edition of the Winnipeg Free Press. Later for rent ads show that the suites boasted balconies, electric appliances, and fireplaces.
1916 Census of Canada, Library and Archives Canada
The 1916 census shows the building housed many young couples and several families. The heads of households had occupations such as bookkeepers, lawyers, an auditor, and a doctor.
Several 1920s wedding notices mention the block, so it was also popular for newlyweds to start their married lives.
In January 1915, Evelyn Nicholson and Allan Bell had their wedding reception in suite 10. They were still living there in 1916 when they had their first child. Sybill Howes and Timothy Lemoine had their wedding ceremony in suite 5 in April 1927.
September 13, 1919, Winnipeg Tribune
Several men associated with the Gloucester Apartments were involved in the First World War, and all appear to have made it home alive. (The same can be said for the Second World War.)
Douglas Newcombe was included in a Winnipeg Tribune photo spread of babies that would meet their fathers for the first time when C. K. Newcombe's troop train arrived in Winnipeg in September 1919.
Several doctors lived in the building over the decades. This was no doubt thanks to its proximity to the Misericordia Hospital across the street and the Winnipeg General Hospital at the other end of the Sherbrook streetcar line.
A prominent resident of the building was Doctor W. Russell Gorrell.
Originally from Pilot Mound, he graduated from the University of Manitoba's School of Medicine in 1915. After practicing in Minnedosa for 12 years, he came to Winnipeg around 1930.
Gorrell was made the province's acting provincial coroner in 1940, and the appointment was made permanent in 1942. He lived at suite 10 with his wife and died at the residence in February 1946.
The man who was appointed assistant coroner under Gorrell, Dr. Irvin O. Fryer, eventually moved to suite 5 of Gloucester Apartments with his wife around 1944. When Gorrell died, Fryer took over as provincial coroner.
Raised in the Sanford, Manitoba area, Fryer graduated from the University of Manitoba's Medical School in 1913 and worked as a doctor in the Virden area before coming to Winnipeg. He retired as provincial coroner in 1971 at the age of 85. During his tenure, he ruled on the deaths of 23,000 Manitobans and was involved in some very high-profile coroner's inquests.
Remarkably, Fryer still lived at the Gloucester Apartments in 1980. That year, he was one of thousands of Winnipeggers who signed a petition against skyrocketing rents across the city. He told the Winnipeg Tribune that his proposed rent increase for the year went from $195 to $300 per month. He said the increase was unwarranted considering the deteriorating conditions inside the building., "I don't think they've painted the walls in my apartment in 30 years".
A couple of years later, Fryer relocated to B.C. to be nearer to his daughter, as his wife and son had predeceased him. A 1986 Barry Mullin column in the Free Press noted that at age 100 Fryer still lived independently and played golf as often as he could.
Fryer died in February 1987 at the age of 101.
Mrs. Ethel Stone, originally from Brandon, was the wife of military man Major William R. Stone. (He may have at one time been a commanding officer in the Royal Horse Artillery.) The couple moved a lot, but returned to Winnipeg briefly in the early 1930s and lived at suite 6 of the Gloucester Apartments in 1933 – 34.
Mrs. Stone made the building a very busy place. She regularly held teas and other functions, usually to welcome senior military members and their families who had transferred to Winnipeg, or to see them off when they left. Her most ambitious event appears to be a New Year’s Eve dinner in 1933 for military bigwigs before they went off to the big dance at Fort Osborne Barracks.
The building appears to have had a quiet existence. No newspaper stories about major crimes, unsavoury deaths, or fires can be found.
In the 2010s, the building was converted from an apartment block to Winnipeg Condominium Corporation No. 744.
Despite some building renovations, its age, lack of maintenance, and proximity to the river began to catch up to it. In March 2018, owners were notified that the building required at least $171, 625 worth of immediate work to address water damage and the removal of unsafe fire escapes and sunrooms. Foundation and other work that was needed brought the total repair bill to $1.1 million.
The cost was too much for some owners, and the city acquired units 1, 2, 3 and 15 in October 18, 2018 through the tax sale process. it sold them off in 2019.
Also in 2019, an offer to purchase the building was made to the Condominium Corporation. It is unclear if the building was sold. Google Street View shows the building was still inhabited in 2022.
The Gloucester was eventually vacated and boarded up. It then suffered interior fires in December 2024 and December 2025.
It is currently for sale for $199,000 as a teardown property due to significant foundation failure and interior damage.
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