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Galpern Building

165 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1985/06/24

Primary elevations, from the southeast, of the Galpern Building, Winnipeg, 2007; Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport, 2007
Primary Elevations
Secondary elevations, from the northeast, of the Galpern Building, Winnipeg, 2007; Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport, 2007
Secondary Elevations
Signage detail of the Galpern Building, Winnipeg, 2007; Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport, 2007
Detail

Other Name(s)

Galpern Building
Porter Building
Bâtiment Porter

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1906/01/01 to 1906/12/31

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2007/07/13

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

The Galpern (Porter) Building, a six-storey steel, brick and stone structure built in 1906, stands at the east end of a group of historic warehouses on McDermot Avenue in Winnipeg's Exchange District. The City of Winnipeg designation applies to the building on its footprint.

Heritage Value

The Galpern (Porter) Building, a handsome Chicago School warehouse with modest classical detailing, is a major component of a continuous row of brick buildings from the 1881-1921 period in downtown Winnipeg. The structure, designed by J.H.G. Russell, also is an important example of the aesthetic transition that occurred in the city's warehouse district in the early 1900s from Romanesque-influenced styles to a more restrained commercial architecture. Built for James Porter and Co., a crockery and china wholesaler, this functional facility, with its showroom, office, storage and service areas, has adapted well to subsequent uses, including as the L. Galpern Candy Co.'s factory. Through its tall profile, rich materials and classical composition, the building forms a striking visual anchor at one corner of a significant streetscape in the Exchange District National Historic Site.

Source: City of Winnipeg Committee on Environment Minutes, June 24, 1985

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Galpern (Porter) Building site include:
- the building's full occupancy of its deep lot at northwest McDermot Avenue and Rorie Street, maintaining a continuous built edge at the terminus of a group of historic structures to its west
- the building's physical and visual relationships to other designated commercial sites, including the Customs Examining Warehouse and Grain Exchange Building on opposite corners of Rorie

Key exterior elements that define the warehouse's restrained Chicago School style include:
- its deep rectangular form and six-storey height, with a stone and brick foundation, solid brick walls around a steel frame, and a flat roof
- the dignified and generally flat front (south) and east elevations, clad in brown brick with light stone detailing
- the symmetrical front with smooth ashlar on the main floor (wrapped around to two east-side bays), a brick mid-section and a distinct attic level crowned by a dentilled and modillioned metal cornice, etc.
- the fenestration on three sides, most generous at the front and rear, including tripartite transoms over the central entrance and main-floor display windows, three bays of windows above, tall rectangular openings selectively placed on the east side, rows of five segmental-arched north windows, etc.
- the modest details, materials and finishes, including the rusticated stone foundation, dressed limestone lintels, belt courses, windowsills, etc.
- functional elements such as large east and north loading docks, the north metal fire escape, etc.

Key elements that recall one of the building's early occupants include:
- the painted signage on three levels across the north elevation reading: 'L.GALPERN CANDY CO.', 'CHOCOLATES' and 'CANDIES'; and on the upper west side, 'THE HOME OF Milady Chocolates'; etc.

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Manitoba

Recognition Authority

City of Winnipeg

Recognition Statute

City of Winnipeg Act

Recognition Type

Winnipeg Landmark Heritage Structure

Recognition Date

1985/06/24

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Developing Economies
Trade and Commerce

Function - Category and Type

Current

Historic

Commerce / Commercial Services
Shop or Wholesale Establishment
Commerce / Commercial Services
Warehouse

Architect / Designer

J.H.G. Russell

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

15-30 Fort Street Winnipeg MB

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

W0078

Status

Published

Related Places

Aerial view

Exchange District National Historic Site of Canada

Exchange District National Historic Site of Canada is located in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba. The site consists of a densely built, turn-of -the-century warehousing and business…

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