Historic Sites of Manitoba: Zimmerman Block / Lighthouse Mission (669 Main Street, Winnipeg)

Designed by local architect Max Blankstein, this three-storey, stone-faced structure was built in 1913 for merchant Nathan Zimmerman and his descendants William and Louis. Their business on the main floor evolved gradually from a general and second-hand clothing store to a loan office and pawn shop. It was later a jewellery and diamond brokerage. The two upper floors were intended originally as office space but was mostly used as residential suites, except for a period in the 1950s when some members of the family operated a law firm in the street-facing rooms of the second floor. The top two floors were connected by stairs and fire doors to the adjoining building, built in 1903, at 671-673 Main.

The Zimmermans moved out of the block in the early 1970s and it became the Lighthouse Mission, providing community services for area residents. It is a municipally-designated historic site.

Lighthouse Mission (April 2017)
Source: George Penner

Site Location (lat/long): N49.90331, W97.13499
denoted by symbol on the map above

Sources:

Zimmerman Block, 669 Main Street, Winnipeg Historical Buildings Committee, March 1986.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and George Penner.

Page revised: 16 May 2017

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