Memorable Manitobans: John Nelson Semmens (1879-1960)

Architect.

Born at Toronto, Ontario on 7 June 1879, son of the Rev. John Semmens and Helen Kalista Behimer (1855-1901), he came to Winnipeg with his family and attended North Central School, Brandon Collegiate, Wesley College, and the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia). He graduated in 1905 and worked in New York until 1910, returning to Winnipeg that year and becoming associated with the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White. He did much commercial work, specializing in institutional buildings. He was the consulting architect for the Winnipeg Public School Board and architect to the Salvation Army for Western Canada. In 1921, he was President of the Manitoba Association of Architects. He later practiced in partnership with J. S. Allison.

He had a keen interest in military affairs, serving as Captain of the Winnipeg Grenadiers. In February 1913, he joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force as a Major with the 45th Battalion (D Company). He went to France as second-in-command with the 78th Battalion and served at Ypres, Somme, Vimy, Passchendaele, and Last Hundred Days. He was mentioned in dispatches three times.

On 12 June 1907, he married Laura Edith Carr (1877-1963) at Portage la Prairie. They had no children. He was a member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, Kiwanis Club, Carleton Club, Methodist church, and was one of the Governors of the Elmhurst Golf and Country Club. In 1925, he lived at 334 Maplewood Avenue in Winnipeg.

In 1957, he retired to Victoria, British Columbia where he died on 2 November 1960. He was buried in the Chapel Lawn Memorial Gardens.

Some of his architectural works in Manitoba included:

Building	Location	Year	Status
Taylor House	611 Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg	1911	Demolished (2022)
Bannatyne School No. 1549	360 Wallasey Street, Winnipeg	1911
Van Vliet House	86 Balmoral Street, Winnipeg	1911
Bank of Montreal (supervising architect)	335 Main Street, Winnipeg	1911-1913
Turner-Walker Block	425 Henry Avenue, WInnipeg	1912
McCormicks Limited Building	425 Henry Avenue, Winnipeg	1912
McRae Garage and Auto Sales Building	407-409 William Avenue, Winnipeg	1912
St. John’s Library	500 Salter Street, Winnipeg	1914
Scott House	29 Ruskin Row, Winnipeg	1914
Maryland Methodist Church	576 Maryland Street, Winnipeg	1914	Demolished (1943)
Parkview Methodist Church	234 Parkview Street, Winnipeg	1920
Champlain School	Machray Avenue, Winnipeg	1920
General Wolfe School	Ellice Avenue, Winnipeg	1920
Montcalm School	Tecumseh Street, Winnipeg	1920
Margaret Scott School	Arlington Street, Winnipeg	1920
Aberdeen School No. 3	Stella Avenue, Winnipeg	1920
Maclean Mission	730 Alexander Avenue, Winnipeg	1921
Wolseley School	511 Clifton Street, Winnipeg	1921
Sir Sam Steele School	15 Chester Street, Winnipeg	1921
Sir John Franklin School	Beaverbrook Street, Winnipeg	1921
Daniel McIntyre Collegiate Institute	720 Alverstone Street, Winnipeg	1921-1922
Kelvin High School renovations	55 Harrow Street, Winnipeg	1922	Demolished (1965-1966)
Isaac Newton School	730 Aberdeen Avenue, Winnipeg	1922
Canada Bread Building (addition)	258 Burnell Street, Winnipeg	1924-1925	Demolished (2020)
Salvation Army Cadet College	1091 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1926-1927	Demolished (?)
Boulton Garage and Auto Sales Building	336 William Avenue, Winnipeg	1927
Carlton Building (alterations)	354 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1927
McKenzie School	First Street NE, Dauphin	1927
Holt Renfrew Store (renovations)	354 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1928
Boulton House	920 Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg	1929	Demolished (2022)
Security Storage Building	725 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1929
McRae and Griffith Garage and Auto Sales Building	Hargrave Street, Winnipeg	1929-1930	Demolished (?)
St. Boniface Sanatorium	440 River Road, Winnipeg	1930-1931	Demolished (?)
Winnipeg Civic Auditorium	200 Vaughan Street, Winnipeg	1931-1932
Holt Renfrew Store (renovations)	354 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1937
Security Storage Building (expansion)	725 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1940
St. Matthew’s Anglican Church (restoration)	641 St. Matthews Avenue, Winnipeg	1945
Lutheran Church of the Redeemer	59 Academy Road, Winnipeg	1946-1947	Demolished (1962)
Saints Vladimir and Olga Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral	115 McGregor Street, Winnipeg	1947-1951
Rockwood School (expansion)	350 Rockwood Street, Winnipeg	1952
Security Storage Truck Terminal	Ellice Avenue at St. James Street, Winnipeg	1952
Strathmillan School	339 Strathmillan Road, Winnipeg	1953-1954

See also:

To Honor and Remember: Remembrances of the Great War, The Next-of-Kin Monument in Winnipeg by Marilyn Baker
Manitoba History, Number 2, 1981

Sources:

Ontario birth registration, Ancestry.

Marriage registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

Pioneers and Prominent People of Manitoba, Winnipeg: Canadian Publicity Company, 1925.

“Semmens hears architects,” Manitoba Free Press, 26 January 1921, page 5.

“To contractors,” Winnipeg Tribune, 11 July 1921, page 2.

“City and district,” Manitoba Free Press, 18 October 1926, page 4.

“Work start on Salvation Army Training Home,” Winnipeg Tribune, 27 October 1926, page 6.

“Permit for the construction,” Winnipeg Tribune, 4 November 1926, page 18.

“Work starts on construction of Cadet College,” Winnipeg Tribune, 17 March 1927, page 5.

“Norquay sits where Selkirk Settlers once sowed grain” by Claire Tisdale, Winnipeg Free Press, 1 February 1949.

“Winnipeg firm erecting new truck terminal,” Winnipeg Tribune, 19 July 1952, page 13.

Death registration, British Columbia Vital Statistics.

Obituary [Laura Edith Semmens], Winnipeg Free Press, 10 December 1963, page 27.

Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.

Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.

Winnipeg Building Index

Crescentwood, A History by R. R. Rostecki, Winnipeg: Crescentwood Home Owners Association, 1993.

We thank Nathan Kramer, Jordan Makichuk, and George Penner for providing additional information used here.Got

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 23 March 2023

Memorable Manitobans This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations. Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text: Custom Search Browse surnames beginning with: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z Browse deaths occurring in: 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 Send corrections and additions to this page to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.ca Criteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements Help us keep history alive!