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Historic Sites of Manitoba: Crystal City Printing Museum (218 Broadway Street South, Crystal City, Municipality of Louise)

This museum in Crystal City houses Manitoba’s oldest continuously operating printshop. It is an outstanding example of an early small-town newspaper office and contains one of the province’s finest collections of working turn-of-the-century printing equipment. The printshop was constructed in 1881 by Thomas Greenway, founder of Crystal City and Premier of Manitoba from 1888 to 1900. Modest false-fronted commercial structures such as this were typically among the first to be constructed in newly established prairie town sites. This example has survived largely intact and at its original Broadway Street location.

The first issue of the weekly Rock Lake Herald was published here on 1 September 1881, only three years after the arrival of the area’s first settlers. It was succeeded by the long-running Crystal City Courier. Such local newspapers were often the main source of news and information for the community, and played a significant role in the early social, cultural, and political development of rural Manitoba. In 1991, the print shop was purchased by a community group, designated as a municipal heritage building, and developed as a working museum. As of 2010, the museum is closed but visits can be arranged by appointment.

A commemorative plaque was placed on the building in 1995 by the Manitoba Heritage Council.

Crystal City Printing Museum (October 2011) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Crystal City Printing Museum (August 2018) Source: George Penner Equipment inside the Crystal City Printing Museum (2007) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.14522, W98.95046 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Courier Publishing Company Building, Manitoba Historic Resources Branch

Courier Publishing Company Building, Manitoba Heritage Council Commemorative Plaques

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Provincially Designated Historic Sites

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites

Sources:

We thank George Penner for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 21 January 2022

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