This one-storey brick and Tyndall stone building on Main Street in Winnipeg, measuring 25 feet by 70 feet, was designed by local architect Max Zev Blankstein and built in 1925 by contractor Halldor “Dori” Sigurdsson for jeweller David Berman at a cost of about $8,000. It replaced a previous building on the site, owned by Berman, that had been destroyed by fire earlier that year.
Berman occupied the building for a short time before moving his business to McDermot Avenue later in 1925 but he continued to own this building.
In 1932, Safeway Stores Limited established one of their grocery stores in the building. Later occupants through the years included Jimmy's Grocery, Curly Haas Sportswear Limited, and Market Sales and Sporting Goods Limited.
The building was an employment office at the time of a 2020 site visit.
Former Safeway store on Main Street in Winnipeg (December 2014)
Source: George Penner
Former Safeway store on Main Street in Winnipeg (December 2023)
Source: Jordan MakichukSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.90186, W97.13610
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Max Zev Blankstein (1874-1931)
Memorable Manitobans: Halldor “Dori” Sigurdsson [Sigurdson] (c1885-1974)
Manitoba Business: Safeway Stores Limited
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 981/1925, City of Winnipeg Archives.
“Buy, sell and exchange,” Manitoba Free Press, 4 August 1925, page 16.
“Buy, sell and exchange,” Manitoba Free Press, 8 August 1925, page 15.
Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.
North Main Walking Tour: William Avenue to the Subway by D. M. Lyon for the City of Winnipeg Historical Buildings Committee, June 1998, page 42.
605 Main Street, Winnipeg Architecture Foundation.
Winnipeg Architecture: A Tour of Main Street by Susan Algie and Gail Perry, Winnipeg Architecture Foundation.
This page was prepared by Jordan Makichuk, George Penner, and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 14 December 2023
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