Ogniwo Polish Museum (1417 Main Street, Winnipeg)

This one-storey brick building on Main Street in Winnipeg, originally measuring 25 feet by 80 feet, was built in 1929 by contractor William James “Jim” Lailey as a grocery store for Piggly Wiggly Canadian Limited at a cost of about $9,000. It opened officially on 25 May 1929.

Following the opening, Lailey made a one-storey addition to the rear of the building at a cost of about $2,000. After Safeway Stores Limited purchased Piggly Wiggly in mid-1935, the building sat vacant until 1939 when it became the home of Sanderson Drugs, operated until 1948 by Richard Clifton Sanderson (1895-1948).

At the time of a 2025 site visit, the building has been extensively modified, making it unrecognizable from its original appearance. Since 30 September 1992, it has been home of the Ogniwo Polish Museum.

Ogniwo Polish Museum (April 2013)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough

Rear of the Ogniwo Polish Museum (August 2025)
Source: Jordan Makichuk

Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.92565, W97.12487
denoted by symbol on the map above

Sources:

Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.

“C. Sanderson, Winnipeg druggist, dies aboard train,” Winnipeg Tribune, 11 March 1948, page 17.

1417 Main Street - Ogniwo Polish Museum by Christian Cassidy, Winnipeg Places, 29 March 2015.

Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.

This page was prepared by Jordan Makichuk and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 13 October 2025

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