WP1976 WPG - PORTAGE AVE. WINNIPEG (LK E FROM SMITH ST)

POSTCARD

Date: Not evident. Unposted, but the AZO stamp box had known usage through 1904 -1917.

Publisher / Photographer: Meyers Photo, Winnipeg

Notation: Message on reverse reads; "Looking East on Portage Ave showing a few of Winnipeg's Sky scrapers but not the highest ones."

This photo was taken from the south side of Portage looking east from the (foreground) intersection with Smith Street down to the intersection of Main Street.

The three main "Skyscrapers" shown (left to right) are the Sterling Building (built 1911), the Electric Railway Chambers (built 1912), and the McArthur Building (built 1909)

Just across from the Sterling Building at the north-east corner of Portage & Smith is the Kensington Building (built 1905). Signage above the main floor awnings identify the Olympic Cafe. Based on the great success of this restaurant, the owners constructed the Olympic Hotel just up the block on Smith Street. Opened in 1914 with the first three floors of a planned 9-storey hotel, it closed just 6 months later due to the economic down swing that accompanied the beginning of WWI . Used to house troops throughout WWI, the building was purchased in 1921, and had 6 floors added. This operation also failed quickly. Purchased by new investors in 1923, it had two more floors added and opened as the Marlborough Hotel.

Further along, the sign for the Venice Cafe can be seen at the north-east corner of Portage and Garry. One of Winnipeg's most famous restaurants of the time, it was forced to relocate in 1915 when the construction of the Curry Building began on that site.

What immediately struck me in this photo was the unique façade of the Province Theatre at 209 Notre Dame Avenue, just off Portage Avenue (the pointed white structure just right of centre). It was constructed in 1915 and helps to date this photo. In later years, it also operated as both the Rio and Grand theatres.

Right at the far end of Portage, where it meets Main Street, the hodgepodge of small stores and billboards that used to occupy the north-east corner can be seen and, behind them, the imposing structure of the Grain Exchange Building.