As Winnipeg’s population expanded and its residential districts pushed outward in the early 1900s, the police force was hard-pressed to effectively deliver services from its downtown headquarters. The department opted in 1910 to construct substations in two residential districts—the North End and Fort Rouge—as part of a new policy to decentralize operations.
The North End Police Substation was designed by Edward Herbert Rodgers and built by contractor John McQuarrie. It opened on 23 May 1911, equipped with reading and recreation rooms for police officers, offices, stables for horses, room for a patrol wagon, vault, search room, signal room, and 11 jail cells.
With the construction of the Public Safety Building in downtown Winnipeg in the early 1960s, the necessity of the substation diminished and it was closed in June 1967. The building sat empty for many years and was severely damaged by the 1990s, when it was restored and renovated as residential space. It is a municipally-designated historic site.
North End Police Substation (May 2011)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
North End Police Substation (April 2021)
Source: George PennerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.91505, W97.13490
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Edward Herbert Rodgers (1857-1950)
Memorable Manitobans: John McQuarrie (1849-1929)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 2400/1910, City of Winnipeg Archives.
“Build new police stations at once,” Winnipeg Tribune, 10 August 1910, page 1.
North End Police Substation (200 Charles Street), Winnipeg Historical Buildings Committee, May 1990.
We thank George Penner for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 13 March 2022
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