This three-storey brick building on Main Steet, adjacent to the Canadian National Railway Main Line in Winnipeg, was designed by local architects John Woodman and Raymond Marwood-Elton Carey and built in 1911 by the firm of Carter-Halls-Aldinger at a cost of about $136,500, for the Hudson’s Bay Company as its wholesale building. In 1938, alterations to the building were made by W. A. Irish and Company at a cost of about $5,000.
A $3,000,000 renovation in 1970 extensively altered the building from its original configuration. Today, the almost unrecognizable building known as Gibraltar House is occupied by The North West Company.
Hudson’s Bay Company Wholesale Building (1968)
Source: University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections, Henry Kalen fonds
Gibraltar House (April 2017)
Source: George Penner
Gibraltar House (June 2021)
Source: George PennerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.88771, W97.13389
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: John Woodman (1861-1944)
Memorable Manitobans: Raymond Marwood-Elton Carey (1883-1975)
Manitoba Business: Saul and Irish Construction Company / W. A. Irish and Company
Manitoba Business: Carter-Halls-Aldinger / Commonwealth Construction Company
MHS Centennial Business: Hudson’s Bay Company
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Hudson’s Bay Company Reserve (Assiniboine Avenue, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Hudson’s Bay Company Building (450 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Hudson’s Bay Company Garage (115 Garry Street, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Hudson’s Bay Company Wholesale Building / Gibraltar House (77 Main Street, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Hudson’s Bay Company Steam Engine (Elphinstone, RM of Yellowhead)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Hudson’s Bay Company Store / Seven Sisters Post Office / Seven Sisters Falls School No. 2218 (Seven Sisters Falls, RM of Whitemouth)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Hudson’s Bay Company Cemetery (Norway House, Northern Manitoba)
MHS Centennial Business: The North West Company
“Permit Issued for Hudson Bay Warehouse,” Winnipeg Tribune, 20 June 1911, page 1.
“Building permits ahead of 1937; many new homes,” Winnipeg Free Press, 30 April 1938, page 14.
Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.
“Winnipeg is described as logical site for head office,” Winnipeg Tribune, 2 May 1970, page 49.
Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950 by Robert G. Hill, Toronto.
This page was prepared by Jordan Makichuk, George Penner, and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 26 February 2024
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