Historic Sites of Manitoba: North Kildonan Municipal Hall / John Dickson Memorial Park (1400 Henderson Highway, Winnipeg)

A one-storey brick building on Henderson Highway in Winnipeg is the former North Kildonan Municipal Office. Built in October 1956 at a cost of some $27,000, it replaced rented office space in downtown Winnipeg. The first council meeting at the new location was held on 25 February 1957. The building was formally opened by Mayor Jack Lawrence Pearce on 16 March 1957, before a crowd of over 200 people.

In April 1969, the land surrounding the building was named John Dickson Memorial Park in honour of John Dickson, a North Kildonan Mayor who died while in office. A brass plaque, subsequently replaced with an engraved stone stab, was affixed to a memorial base in June 1969. The park was dedicated officially by his widow, Helen Dickson, on 9 November 1969.

Since the Unicity amalgamation in 1972, the building has hosted such tenants as the Manitoba Department of Community Services and Corrections (circa 1980) and a provincial office for home care (circa 1994). In 2008, the building received a $536,000 upgrade, replacing old windows and adding a wheelchair lift in preparation for the relocation of a City of Winnipeg Police community service station from 1050 Henderson. It operated in this capacity from 2008 to 2014 when the station closed. The building was occupied until early 2017 by the city’s Traffic Services Branch.

The Dickson monument was moved to Bunn’s Creek Centennial Park in the summer of 2019. The building was sold at this time and was redeveloped as commercial space.

The former North Kildonan municipal office

The former North Kildonan municipal office (September 2014)
Source: Nathan Kramer

The former North Kildonan municipal office

The former North Kildonan municipal office (June 2017)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough

The former North Kildonan municipal office

The former North Kildonan municipal office (September 2021)
Source: George Penner

Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.94464, W97.08758
denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Abandoned Manitoba

Historic Sites of Manitoba: North Kildonan War Memorial (215 Maxwell King Drive, East St. Paul)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Bunn’s Creek Centennial Park (McIvor Avenue, Winnipeg)

Sources:

North Kildonan Council History, 1960-1971, by Jim Smith / MMC Alumni.

“Remembrance service,” Winnipeg Free Press, 21 August 1968, page 21.

“Parade recalls 2 wars,” Winnipeg Free Press, 9 September 1968, page 3.

[Photo caption], Winnipeg Free Press, 10 November 1969.

“Real-time traffic management centre opens in Winnipeg,” Global News, 24 January 2017.

We thank George Penner for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 14 January 2022

Historic Sites of Manitoba

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