John Steel contacted me to tell me that he had an interesting book of Winnipeg photographs that had been in his family for more than 75 years. When I dropped over to his house to take a look, I can't tell you how totally overwhelmed I was to see what this book contained.
This book is extremely rare, and probably worth a great deal of money, and he was willing to allow me to scan it and share these amazing photographs with you.
The book is not dated, but would guess it to be around 1904, as the Union Bank pictured in it was new, and that was built in 1903. It also lists very few addresses of the buildings, businesses and residences, and I have tracked down some of them, but there are still many gaps & mysteries. So if you know where certain ones were located, when they were demolished, or what they are being used for now, please drop me a line, and I will add it.
These pages will give you an insight to Winnipeg that you have never had before. This was an age when Winnipeg was growing in leaps and bounds, and the architecture that was being built was of a type we have not seen since. It gives us a glimpse of a thriving business community, and judging by the houses they were living in, some very wealthy businessmen.
I would like to thank John from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to include his collection into my website. What an enhancement - I think you will agree!
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(Banks, Hotels etc.)
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(Big & Small)
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(Schools, Hospitals & Institutions)
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(And Who lived there!)
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(Some now long gone)
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These were the old days in 1904!
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Parks, Fairs, Bridges Etc. Etc.
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Update November 17, 2006: The book these photographs were scanned from has now gone to a new home. John generously decided to donate it to the Legislative Library, where it will be kept with other rare books in a climate controlled room, but where it will be available to those who have a genuine interest in the rich history of Winnipeg. John can be seen here presenting the book to Louise Ayotte-Zaretski, Head of Collection Development, Manitoba Legislative Library. (http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/leg-lib/)
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