Formerly located at the southwest corner of Fort Street and Portage Avenue in Winnipeg, a one-storey red brick and Tyndall Stone trimmed building, and underground space, measuring 16 feet by 46 feet, was designed by local architect William Bruce and built in 1914 by the construction firm of Hazelton and Walin at a cost of about $10,000, for the City of Winnipeg. It was built as a public washroom known as a "Comfort Station".
The entrance was in a small brick building on street level and would lead underground to the washroom facilities. It was closed and demolished in 1940s, and no vestiges of it remain on the site today.
Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.89473, W97.13980
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: William Bruce (1852-?)
Manitoba Business: Hazelton and Walin [Hazleton and Walin]
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Comfort Station (Garry Street, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Comfort Station (Logan Avenue, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Comfort Station (Selkirk Avenue, Winnipeg)
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 1848/1914, City of Winnipeg Archives.
City of Winnipeg Council Meeting Minutes, 1914, City of Winnipeg Archives.
Winnipeg fire insurance map, #106 December 1955, City of Winnipeg Archives.
“New public washroom on Main Street hearkens back to Winnipeg's history of 'comfort stations'”, CBC News, 28 December 2021.
Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.
This page was prepared by Jordan Makichuk.
Page revised: 7 Febuary 2026
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