Description of Historic Place

The Sures Building, a three-storey brick building erected in 1882, is situated on McDermot Avenue in Winnipeg's Exchange District, a national historic site of Canada. The City of Winnipeg designation applies to the building on its footprint.

Heritage Value

The Sures Building is significant as a pioneer structure in a commercial warehouse district that grew to ignite and define Winnipeg's economy in the late nineteenth century. Its modest classical design is defined by simple yet dignified brick facades inset with large arched windows and framed at the top by a metal cornice. The warehouse also holds significant connections to some of the Exchange District's founding businesses, including grocery wholesaler Thompson, Codville Co., on site from ca. 1882 to 1895, and garment maker Sures Brothers Ltd., headed by businessman and community leader Nathan Sures, occupant from 1925 until the early 1970s. The structure, one of the oldest in the Exchange District, continues to be a vital component of its streetscape, functioning as mixed-use commercial space.

Source: City of Winnipeg Committee on Environment Minute, December 5, 1983

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Sures Building site include:
- the building's full occupancy of its mid-block lot within the historic McDermot Avenue streetscape in the Exchange District
- its physical and visual connections to other early warehouses and commercial buildings, especially the adjoining Telegram Building

Key elements that define the building's dignified exterior character and modest classical styling include:
- the elongated rectangular massing composed of substantial brick facades with a flat roof
- the round-arched windows throughout, with the upper two storeys featuring two sets of three bays each accentuated by a voussoir trim and hood-moulding, and the main floor featuring two larger windows flanking the entrance, all with simple surrounds and modest sills
- the details, including the metal cornice with ornamental brackets, which are larger and more richly detailed at either end and in the centre, the dentilled frieze beneath inset with medallions and arrows, and the metal fascia over the main floor, also, the metal fire escape, the round-arched top light above the entrance, etc.

Key elements that define the building's functional and durable interior details and finishes include:
- the informal open plan with each floor organized by the column grid and high ceilings throughout
- the details, including the wood plank floors and basic moulding throughout, a freight elevator, etc.