This two-storey wood frame building at the northwest corner of Selkirk Avenue and Battery Street in Winnipeg, measuring 22.6 feet by 37.6 feet, was designed and built between 1912 and 1913 at a cost of about $2,500, by owner Jacob Goffman.
In its original configuration, the building contained a single retail space which hosted Goffman's grocery store, a single residential apartment at the rear of its main floor while the upper floor contained two more residential apartments. A one-storey wood frame stable, measuring 18 feet by 20 feet, was also built by Goffman at cost of about $300, but it has since been demolished.
The store which occupied the retail space was later known as the Silverfine Grocery operated in the 1920s by Lazar Sliverfine, and as the Economy Store in the 1970s. At the time of a 2025 site visit, the building was used entirely as a residential building and was extensively modified from its original appearance.
Goffman Block (1970)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, Still Images Section. Architectural Survey Collection-Winnipeg.
Goffman Block (December 2025)
Source: Jordan Makichuk
Sketch for first floor of the Goffman Block (November 1912)
Source: City of Winnipeg Archives
Sketch for second floor of the Goffman Block (November 1912)
Source: City of Winnipeg ArchivesSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.92197, W97.16408
denoted by symbol on the map above
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 4287/1912, City of Winnipeg Archives.
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 4323/1912, City of Winnipeg Archives.
Winnipeg fire insurance map, #297 May 1956, City of Winnipeg Archives.
Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.
Property Details [991 Selkirk Avenue], Winnipeg Assessment and Taxation.
This page was prepared by Jordan Makichuk.
Page revised: 18 January 2026
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