Historic Sites of Manitoba: Radio Industries Building (120 Fort Street, Winnipeg)

This two-storey brick and Tyndall Stone building on Fort Street in Winnipeg, measuring 50 feet by 118 feet, was designed by the architectural firm of Northwood and Chivers and built in 1929 by the construction firm of Pain and Roe for Radio Industries Canada at a cost of about $75,000.

The front of the main floor was used as offices while the rear was used as warehouse space, while the front of the upper floor was used as the showroom area and the rear was used as the manufacturing area. It opened officially on the 31 October 1929, but the company would only occupy the building for a year.

In 1947, the building was renovated to fit the needs of new tenants, Beaver Lumber. They hired architect Lloyd Hugh Finch and contractor Roy Gascoyne to renovate it. The interior was gutted, a brick garage was added at the rear, and a parking lot was created on the north side.

The building was renovated again in 1984 by Moody Moore and Partners for their own offices. The space was divided to allow a tenant to work out of the building’s main floor while the architectural firm occupied the second floor.

Rear view of the Radio Industries Building (1929) Source: Winnipeg Tribune, 31 October 1929, page 17. Radio Industries Building (September 2019) Source: George Penner Radio Industries Building (May 2022) Source: Jordan Makichuk Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.88908, W97.13681 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Manitoba Business: Northwood and Chivers / Northwood Chivers and Casey

Manitoba Business: Pain and Roe

Memorable Manitobans: Lloyd Hugh Finch (1904-1967)

Manitoba Business: Moody and Moore / MMP Architects

Sources:

City of Winnipeg Building Permit 2156/1929, City of Winnipeg Archives.

“Work starts on new Fort St. Radio Building,” Winnipeg Tribune, 8 June 1929, page 8.

“New Radio showrooms and plant on Fort Street,” Manitoba Free Press, 15 June 1929, page 29.

“Radio Company opens new plant in Winnipeg today,” Winnipeg Tribune, 31 October 1929, page 17.

Radio Building, 120 Fort Street, Winnipeg Architecture Foundation.

Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950 by Robert G. Hill, Toronto.

We thank George Penner for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Jordan Makichuk and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 4 September 2023

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