Historic Sites of Manitoba: New Hargrave Building / Film Exchange Building (361-365 Hargrave Street, Winnipeg)

This five-storey brick building on Hargrave Street in Winnipeg, measuring 60 feet by 120 feet, was designed by local architect Max Zev Blankstein and built in 1922 by the construction firm of Carter-Halls-Aldinger, at a cost of about $135,000, for owner Meyer Chechik.

The building was built to distribute movies to local theatres with the lower two floors were designed for film storage and the upper floors housing offices and work rooms. A projection room was on the third floor. Early occupants included film companies such as Fox, United Artists, Famous Players-Lasky, Regal, Canadian Universal, and Canadian National, as well as advertising agencies, and a film booking office.

Film distributors continued to occupy parts of the building into the 1970s. However, as early as the mid-1930s, the tenant mix began to diversify, eventually encompassing architects, accountants, importers, American Optical, P.M. Scientific Fur Cleaners, Dominion Bridge Company, the Canadian Jewish Congress, and the Jewish Historical Society of Western Canada, among others. The building was renamed in the 1940s. After the structure was vacated in the late 1990s, interior partition walls were removed.

The building is a municipally-designated historic site.

New Hargrave Building / Film Exchange Building (1923) Source: Engineering and Contract Record, Volume 38, 23 January 1923, page 53. New Hargrave Building / Film Exchange Building (2011) Source: Gordon Goldsborough New Hargrave Building / Film Exchange Building (January 2023) Source: Jordan Makichuk Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.89524, W97.14565 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Memorable Manitobans: Max Zev Blankstein (1874-1931)

Manitoba Business: Carter-Halls-Aldinger / Commonwealth Construction Company

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites

Historic Sites of Manitoba: R S R Building (11 Martha Street, Winnipeg)

Sources:

City of Winnipeg Building Permit 1861/1922, City of Winnipeg Archives.

City of Winnipeg Building Permit 2614/1922, City of Winnipeg Archives.

City of Winnipeg Building Permit 3265/1922, City of Winnipeg Archives.

“$7,000,000 for building this year forecast,” Winnipeg Tribune, 25 February 1922, page 1.

“Extensive programme of building is predicted during coming season,” Manitoba Free Press, 6 May 1922, page 17.

“Letting the film exchange contract adds to active program of construction,” Manitoba Free Press, 20 May 1922, page 32.

“Work begins on film exchange,” Winnipeg Tribune, 20 May 1922, page 11.

“Building active,” Manitoba Free Press, 29 June 1922, page 9.

“Increase in building in Winnipeg in June,” Manitoba Free Press, 1 July 1922, page 8.

“Building and real estate,” Manitoba Free Press, 22 July 1922, page 24.

“Home building continues to hold prominent place in construction industry,” Manitoba Free Press, 19 August 1922, page 17.

“15 film exchanges will be grouped,” Winnipeg Tribune, 23 August 1922, page 5.

“Home construction leading feature of activity in local building industry,” Manitoba Free Press, 16 September 1922, page 43.

“Contracts let during week add substantially to big seasons building programme,” Manitoba Free Press, 30 September 1922, page 25.

New Hargrave Building (361 Hargrave Street), Winnipeg Historical Buildings Committee, December 2001.

We thank Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 7 March 2023

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