Architect.
Born at Odessa, Russia in January 1874, where he received architectural training, he emigrated to Canada in 1904 and was the first Jewish architects to register and practise in Manitoba.
He was married twice, first to Esther Goldin (1881-1906) with whom he had two children: Verna “Vera” Blankstein (1902-1920) and Isaac Wolfe Blankstein (1904-1990). In 1907, he married her sister Laika “Lena” Goldin (1890-1959) and they had five more children: Cecil Blankstein, Eva Rebecca Blankstein, Evelyn Blankstein, Frederick “Ingy” Blankstein (1921-2018), and Morley Blankstein, three of whom became architects.
He died at his Winnipeg home, 131 Machray Avenue, on 31 December 1931 and was buried in the Shaarey Zedek Cemetery. The holdings of the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada include drawings by Blankstein of one of Winnipeg’s most iconic buildings, the Uptown Theatre.
Some of his architectural works in Manitoba:
Building |
Location |
Year |
Status |
Adas Yeshurun Synagogue |
217 McGregor Street, Winnipeg |
1907 |
Demolished (?) |
Aikins Court |
167 Aikins Street, Winnipeg |
1907 |
|
Queen’s Theatre (renovation) |
239 Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg |
1908-1909 |
|
Minuk Block |
254-260 Dufferin Avenue, Winnipeg |
1909 |
Demolished (?) |
Chechik, Gold and Kernham Cold Storage Warehouse |
422 Jarvis Avenue, Winnipeg |
1909 |
|
Galsky Block |
656 Aberdeen Avenue, Winnipeg |
1910 |
|
Glesby Stables |
468 Aberdeen Avenue, Winnipeg |
1910 |
|
Northern Block |
94 McGregor Street, Winnipeg |
1910 |
Demolished (?) |
Weidman Warehouse |
244-246 Jarvis Avenue, Winnipeg |
1910 |
|
Winnipeg Cold Storage Building (addition) |
422 Jarvis Avenue, Winnipeg |
1910 |
|
Budnik Block |
594-600 Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg |
1911 |
|
Calof Warehouse |
121-125 Salter Street, Winnipeg |
1911 |
|
Continental Block |
796 Main Street, Winnipeg |
1911 |
|
Krendle Block |
141 Hallet Street, Winnipeg |
1911 |
|
Winnipeg Cold Storage Building (addition) |
422 Jarvis Avenue, Winnipeg |
1911 |
|
McMartin House |
283 Kingsway, Winnipeg |
1912 |
|
Mindell House |
292 Austin Street North, Winnipeg |
1912 |
|
Palace Theatre |
501 Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg |
1912 |
|
Pinx Furs Store [Abraham Pinx] |
494 Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg |
1912 |
Demolished (?) |
Winnipeg Hebrew Free School (Talmud Torah) |
121 Charles Street, Winnipeg |
1912 |
|
Brandon Court |
377 Brandon Avenue, Winnipeg |
1912 |
|
Alekno Block |
376 Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg |
1913 |
|
Steiman Block |
541 Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg |
1913 |
|
Talbot Block |
250 Talbot Avenue, Winnipeg |
1913 |
|
Zimmerman Block |
669 Main Street, Winnipeg |
1913 |
|
Alekno Block (renovations) |
376 Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg |
1914 |
|
Cohen Block |
426-428 Manitoba Avenue, Winnipeg |
1914 |
Demolished (?) |
Diner Block |
184 Henry Avenue, Winnipeg |
1914 |
Demolished (?) |
European Block |
588 Manitoba Avenue, Winnipeg |
1914 |
|
Shriberg Block |
1059 Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg |
1914 |
|
Winnipeg Cold Storage Building (addition) |
422 Jarvis Avenue, Winnipeg |
1914 |
|
Jessie Block |
626 Jessie Avenue, Winnipeg |
1914-1917 |
|
Kepman Apartments |
640 Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg |
1914 |
|
North Panama Apartments |
229 Machray Avenue, Winnipeg |
1914 |
|
Rubin Block |
270 Morley Avenue, Winnipeg |
1914 |
|
Segal Bakery Building |
610 Dufferin Avenue, Winnipeg |
1915 |
Demolished (?) |
Winnipeg Cold Storage Building (addition) |
422 Jarvis Avenue, Winnipeg |
1915 |
|
Public Garage |
167 Logan Avenue, Winnipeg |
1916 |
|
Weidman Warehouse Stable |
244-246 Jarvis Avenue, Winnipeg |
1916 |
|
Winnipeg Cold Storage Building (addition) |
422 Jarvis Avenue, Winnipeg |
1916 |
|
North End Mennonite Brethren Church |
533 Burrows Avenue, Winnipeg |
1917 |
|
Weselake Block |
503-505 Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg |
1917 |
|
Globe Bedding Warehouse |
274 Jarvis Avenue, Winnipeg |
1918 |
Destroyed by fire (2019) |
Slobinsky Warehouse |
24-28 Derby Street, Winnipeg |
1918 |
|
Chmelnitsky Building |
248-250 Derby Street, Winnipeg |
1919 |
Demolished (?) |
Weidman Warehouse (addition) |
244-246 Jarvis Avenue, Winnipeg |
1919 |
|
Budnik Block (addition) |
594-600 Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg |
1920 |
|
New Hargrave Building |
361-365 Hargrave Street, Winnipeg |
1922 |
|
Blankstein House |
131 Machray Avenue, Winnipeg |
1922 |
|
Hebrew Free School |
220 Andrews Street, Winnipeg |
1923 |
|
Parkview Theatre |
1823 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg |
1923 |
Destroyed by fire (1924) |
Quality Clothing Block |
687 Main Street, Winnipeg |
1923 |
Demolished (?) |
Budnik Block (addition) |
594-600 Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg |
1924 |
|
Winnipeg Cold Storage Building (addition) |
422 Jarvis Avenue, Winnipeg |
1924 |
|
Mindell Block |
607-609 Main Street, Winnipeg |
1925 |
|
Alekno Block (renovations) |
376 Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg |
1926 |
|
Rose Theatre |
801 Sargent Avenue, Winnipeg |
1926 |
|
Plaza Theatre |
104 Marion Street, Winnipeg |
1926 |
Demolished (?) |
Weselake Block (addition and alterations) |
503-505 Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg |
1926 |
|
Kim House |
256 Garfield Street South, Winnipeg |
1927 |
|
Palace Theatre (addition and alterations) |
501 Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg |
1927 |
|
Tivoli Theatre |
115 Maryland Street, Winnipeg |
1927 |
|
Brick Store (addition) |
494 Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg |
1927-1928 |
Demolished (?) |
General Motors Building |
155 Fort Street, Winnipeg |
1928 |
|
Weselake Building |
417 Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg |
1928 |
|
Mount Carmel Clinic |
120 Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg |
1928-1929 |
Demolished (?) |
Budnik Block (addition) |
594-600 Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg |
1929 |
|
Lido Theatre |
220 Edwards Avenue, The Pas |
1929 |
|
Roxy Theatre |
385 Henderson Highway, Winnipeg |
1929 |
|
Miles House |
241 Cathedral Avenue, Winnipeg |
1930 |
|
Morton House [Henry Morton] |
155 Waverley Street, Winnipeg |
1930 |
|
Uptown Theatre |
394 Academy Road, Winnipeg |
1930-1931 |
|
See also:
Max Blankstein: Architect by Murray Peterson, Winnipeg Architecture Foundation, 2022.
Sources:
1911 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
Death registration [Vera Blankstein], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
1921 Canada census, Ancestry.
“Residential permits show big increase,” Winnipeg Tribune, 20 April 1926, page 9.
“Brick store on Selkirk,” Manitoba Free Press, 12 November 1927, page 19.
“Winnipeg’s new Uptown Theatre will open this evening,” Winnipeg Free Press, 24 December 1931, page 16.
“M. Z. Blankstein, architect, dies early this morning,” Winnipeg Free Press, 31 December 1931, page 1.
Winnipeg Building Index (University of Manitoba).
Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950.
Obituary [Lena Blankstein], Winnipeg Free Press, 16 April 1959, page 47.
Obituary [Isaac Wolfe Blankstein], Winnipeg Free Press, 24 December 1990, page 62.
The Year Past 2002, Annual Report of the City of Winnipeg Historical Buildings Committee, page 14.
Obituary [Ida Blankstein], Winnipeg Free Press, 13 August 2003, page 47.
Obituary [Morley Blankstein], Winnipeg Free Press, 20 June 2015, page A30.
Obituary [Fred Blankstein], Winnipeg Free Press, 21 July 2018.
Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.
“Palace Theatre saved from wrecking ball,” CTV News, 7 June 2022.
We thank August Rivalin, Murray Peterson, and Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 21 March 2023
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