Manitoba Business: Carter-Halls-Aldinger / Commonwealth Construction Company
In February 1907, the Winnipeg-based construction firm of Carter-Halls-Aldinger was incorporated by contractor William Henry Carter, barrister Philip C. Locke, barrister James E. Robertson, fireproofing expert Frank Ernest Halls, and civil engineer Albert Henry Aldinger. It was active in the erection of numerous large buildings around Manitoba and elsewhere.
In 1944, the firm went into voluntary liquidation from which two companies were formed: the Carter Construction Company, based in Toronto, Ontario with Carter as its President, and the Commonwealth Construction Company at Winnipeg with Halls as a partner with Richard Reeve Collard, Arthur Williams Fosness, and George H. Elliott. The Commonwealth company was sold in 1955 to three firms based in London, England.
Some of the Manitoba buildings constructed by the firm:
Building |
Location |
Year |
Status |
Massey-Harris Warehouse |
80 Sutherland Avenue, Winnipeg |
1907 |
|
Peck Building (addition) |
33 Princess Street, Winnipeg |
1907 |
|
Lord Selkirk School |
Brazier Street, Winnipeg |
1908-1909 |
Demolished (early 1970s) |
Casa Loma Building |
644 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg |
1909 |
|
Oldfield, Kirby and Gardner Building |
234 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg |
1909 |
|
Security Storage Warehouse |
583 Ellice Avenue, Winnipeg |
1909 |
|
McArthur Building / Childs Building |
211 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg |
1909-1910 |
Demolished (1988) |
Eastern Townships Bank Building |
367 Main Street, Winnipeg |
1910 |
Demolished (?) |
Guest Fish Warehouse (addition) |
90 Alexander Avenue, Winnipeg |
1910 |
|
Hudson’s Bay Company Wholesale Building |
77 Main Street, Winnipeg |
1911 |
|
International Harvester Building |
1735 Pacific Avenue, Brandon |
1911 |
Demolished (2021) |
Confederation Life Building |
457 Main Street, Winnipeg |
1912 |
|
Delaval Warehouse / Ingaldson Building |
128 James Avenue, Winnipeg |
1912 |
|
Finnie and Murray Building |
321 McDermot, Winnipeg |
1912 |
|
Marshall Wells Warehouse (expansion) |
136 Market Avenue, Winnipeg |
1912 |
|
McCormicks Limited Building |
425 Henry Avenue, Winnipeg |
1912 |
|
Osborne Theatre |
108 Osborne Street, Winnipeg |
1912 |
|
Strand Theatre |
557 Main Street, Winnipeg |
1912 |
Demolished (1966) |
Turner-Walker Block |
425 Henry Avenue, WInnipeg |
1912 |
|
Winnipeg Electric Railway Building |
213 Notre Dame Avenue, Winnipeg |
1912-1913 |
|
Manitoba Free Press Building |
300 Carlton Street, Winnipeg |
1913 |
|
Olympia Hotel / Marlborough Hotel |
331 Smith Street, Winnipeg |
1913 |
|
St. Charles Hotel |
235 Notre Dame Avenue, Winnipeg |
1913 |
|
Minto Armouries |
969 St. Matthews Avenue, Winnipeg |
1914 |
|
Sunset Manufacturing Warehouse |
655 Logan Avenue, Winnipeg |
1914 |
|
Paris Building |
259 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg |
1915 |
|
Paris Building (addition) |
259 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg |
1917 |
|
Union Bank Building |
409 Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg |
1917 |
|
Canadian Bank of Commerce (renovation) |
315 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg |
1919 |
|
Canadian Bank of Commerce |
Headingley |
1919 |
|
Canadian Bank of Commerce |
St. Norbert |
1919 |
|
Marshall Wells Warehouse |
490 Des Meurons Street, St. Boniface |
1919 |
|
Clarendon Block |
307-311 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg |
1920 |
Demolished (2012) |
Manitoba Cold Storage Warehouse (remodeling) |
151 Higgins Avenue, Winnipeg |
1920 |
Destroyed by fire (2004) |
Ramsay-Wright Building |
Main Street North, Dauphin |
1920-1921 |
|
Nurses’ Residence at King George Hospital |
1 Morley Avenue, Winnipeg |
1920-1921 |
Demolished (1991) |
Dingwall Building (restoration) |
62 Albert Street, Winnipeg |
1921 |
|
Olympia Hotel / Marlborough Hotel (addition) |
331 Smith Street, Winnipeg |
1921 |
|
New Hargrave Building |
361-365 Hargrave Street, Winnipeg |
1922 |
|
Olympia Hotel / Marlborough Hotel (addition) |
331 Smith Street, Winnipeg |
1923 |
|
Canadian Pacific Railway Immigration Hall and Post Office |
765 Main Street, Winnipeg |
1924 |
Partially demolished (?) |
Manitoba Refinery Building |
542 Plinguet Street, Winnipeg |
1925 |
Partially deconstructed (1933) |
Hudson’s Bay Company Building |
450 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg |
1925-1926 |
|
Pine Falls Paper Mill |
Powerview-Pine Falls |
1926-1927 |
Demolished (2011-2014) |
National Storage and Cartage Building |
25 Forks Market Road, Winnipeg |
1928 |
|
Northern Electric Building |
65 Rorie Street, Winnipeg |
1928 |
|
Winnipeg Cold Storage Building (addition) |
422 Jarvis Avenue, Winnipeg |
1928 |
|
Collard House |
1188 Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg |
1929 |
|
Ellice Block (alterations) |
468 Sherbrook Street, Winnipeg |
1929 |
|
Prairie Cities Oil Building |
1380 Notre Dame Avenue, Winnipeg |
1929 |
|
Seven Sisters Generating Station |
Winnipeg River, RM of Whitemouth |
1929-1931 |
|
Canadian General Electric Building |
265 Notre Dame Avenue, Winnipeg |
1930 |
|
Churchill Grain Elevator |
Hudson Bay, Churchill |
1930-1931 |
|
Assiniboine River Footbridge |
Assiniboine Park, Winnipeg |
1931-1932 |
|
Winnipeg Auditorium |
200 Vaughan Street, Winnipeg |
1931-1932 |
|
Winnipeg Cold Storage Building (addition) |
422 Jarvis Avenue, Winnipeg |
1935 |
|
Federal Building |
269 Main Street, Winnipeg |
1935-1936 |
|
North End Sewage Disposal Plant |
2230 Main Street, Winnipeg |
1935-1937 |
|
Manitoba Cold Storage Warehouse (addition) |
151 Higgins Avenue, Winnipeg |
1937 |
Destroyed by fire (2004) |
Winnipeg Cold Storage Building (addition) |
422 Jarvis Avenue, Winnipeg |
1937 |
|
Winnipeg Electric Company Mill Substation and Steam Plant (addition) |
55 Mill Street, Winnipeg |
1937 |
Demolished (?) |
Winnipeg Cold Storage Building (addition) |
422 Jarvis Avenue, Winnipeg |
1938 |
|
Manitoba Sugar Company Plant |
555 Hervo Street, Winnipeg |
1939-1940 |
|
Service Flying Training School No. 33 |
RM of North Cypress |
1940 |
|
Neepawa Salt Works |
Mountain Avenue, Neepawa |
1940 |
Partially demolished (1970) |
Royal Bank Building |
618 Main Street, Winnipeg |
1946 |
|
Manitoba Health Services Commission |
599 Empress Street, Winnipeg |
1959 |
|
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: William Henry Carter (1874-1962)
Memorable Manitobans: Frank Ernest Halls (1872-1950)
Memorable Manitobans: Albert Henry Aldinger (1877-1942)
Sources:
“Glass works at Beausejour,” Manitoba Free Press, 25 February 1907, page 12.
“Granite cornice crashes to ground,” Manitoba Free Press, 27 September 1910, page 7.
“Designs building to house city's nurses,” Winnipeg Tribune, 26 February 1921, page 3.
“Erecting three bank buildings,” Manitoba Free Press, 11 October 1919, page 25.
“J. D. McArthur resigns as pulp company president,” Manitoba Free Press, 8 March 1926, page 1.
“Local official confirms construction firm sale,” Winnipeg Free Press, 5 January 1955, page 16.
Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.
We thank Nathan Kramer, George Penner, and Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 19 May 2023
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