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

 

Windsor Hotel (addition and alterations)

649-659 Main Street, Winnipeg

1907

 

Lord Selkirk School

Brazier Street, Winnipeg

1908-1909

Demolished (early 1970s)

Casa Loma Building

644 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg

1909

 

Galt Garage (John Galt)

221 Roslyn Road, Winnipeg

1909

Demolished (?)

Oldfield, Kirby and Gardner Building

234 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg

1909

 

Security Storage Warehouse

583 Ellice Avenue, Winnipeg

1909

 

McArthur Building

205-211 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)

Winnipeg Fish Company Warehouse

225 Sutherland Avenue, Winnipeg

1911

 

Free Press Building

300 Carlton Street, Winnipeg

1911-1913

 

Manitoba Agricultural College Powerhouse

33 Maclean Crescent, Winnipeg

1911-1912

 

Manitoba Agricultural College Administration Building

66 Chancellors Circle, Winnipeg

1911-1913

 

Confederation Life Building

457 Main Street, Winnipeg

1912

 

Delaval Warehouse / Ingaldson Building

128 James Avenue, Winnipeg

1912

 

Dominion Bridge Plant (addition)

1480-1500 Dublin Avenue, Winnipeg

1912

Demolished (2024)

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

213-219 Notre Dame Avenue, Winnipeg

1912-1913

 

Manitoba Agricultural College Swine Barn

Winnipeg

1913

Unknown

Manitoba Agricultural College Laying Houses

Winnipeg

1913

Unknown

Manitoba Agricultural College Brooder House

Winnipeg

1913

Unknown

Manitoba Agricultural College Fattening Barn

Winnipeg

1913

Unknown

Manitoba Agricultural College Horse Barn

Winnipeg

1913

Unknown

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

 

Imperial Oil Warehouse

960 Logan Avenue, Winnipeg

1918

Destroyed by fire (6 August 2023)

Canadian Bank of Commerce (renovation)

315 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg

1919

 

Canadian Bank of Commerce

Headingley

1919

 

Canadian Bank of Commerce

St. Norbert

1919

 

Coca Cola Bottling Plant

20 Twelfth Street, Brandon

1919

Demolished (?)

Kennedy Block (conversion)

315-323 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg

1919

Partly destroyed by fire (1973)

Marshall Wells Warehouse

490 Des Meurons Street, St. Boniface

1919

 

Merchants Bank Building

804 Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg

1919

 

Bank of Montreal War Monument

335 Main Street, Winnipeg

1920

Replaced (1923)

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

 

Mac's Building (alterations and repairs)

585-587 Ellice Avenue / 479 Sherbrook 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

Demolished (2022)

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

 

Simpson-Sears Department Store [Polo Park Shopping Centre]

1485 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg

1958-1959

 

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.

“Prospective Construction - Brandon, Man,” Manitoba Free Press, 28 March 1919, page 17.

“Cola Company start buildings,” Manitoba Free Press, 12 April 1919, page 31.

“Cola Cola’s new bottling plants,” Saskatoon Daily Star, 26 April 1919, page 22.

“Erecting three bank buildings,” Manitoba Free Press, 11 October 1919, page 25.

“Designs building to house city's nurses,” Winnipeg Tribune, 26 February 1921, page 3.

“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, Henderson Directories Limited, 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: 18 September 2024