Looking back at the Winnipeg Board of Trade

By admin

In the late 19th century, the Winnipeg Board Trade was a power to be reckoned with. Many of the leading citizens of the day were listed among its member and made their influence felt.
They quite literally found themselves at the “seat of power.”
They’d gather every afternoon in the cellar of A.G.B. (Andrew Graham Ballenden) Bannatyne, whose home near the corner of what’s now Main Street and Bannatyne Avenue served as the meeting place for the Legislature.
In 1886, with the official opening of a new City Hall, which some referred to as Victorian “fantasy” because of its “gingerbread” style, the Board of Trade had its first permanent home.
On Novemeber 24, 1887, 11 leading grain merchants met in the office of the Board of Trade at City Hall to form the Winnipeg Grain and Produce Exchange. This set in motion a chain of events that would result in the construction of the first Grain Exchange Building at 164 Princess St., intended also to house the Board of Trade.
The Board of Trade and Exchange rooms were on the third floor, along with private offices for several prominent “grain men.” The interior finishing was elegant and much admired. Offices on the upper floors opened into a center light-well covered with a skylight so that each office had natural light.
The rapid growth of the grain trade soon necessitated the construction of a second Grain Exchange at 160 Princess St.
The new building, constructed at a cost of $35,000, featured four storeys of red brick, with a lower facing of stone and terra cotta moldings. The interior was finished in oak and marble and featured a pressed metal ceiling and stained glass windows. Corridors connected it to the old Exchange Building to the north. The Exchange and Board of Trade expanded into both buildings.
In 1908, the Board of Trade took over the Princess Street address after the Grain Exchange moved to new quarters on Lombard. Today, only the building’s façade remains. In 2002, the building was gutted and the façade became part of Red River College’s downtown campus.
In 1932, the Board of Trade sought a new home, moving into the Old National Building at 325 Main St., where it occupied the first floor. Today, the corner of Pioneer and Main bears no resemblance to its past — gone is the low-lying,• dark-brick building, replaced by a 13-storey office tower, home to MTS Allstream.
Some 15 years after the Board of Trade relocated onto Main Street, it made another move — just down the street to 346 Main St.

In the late 19th century, the Winnipeg Board Trade was a power to be reckoned with. Many of the leading citizens of the day were listed among its member and made their influence felt.

They quite literally found themselves at the “seat of power.”

They’d gather every afternoon in the cellar of A.G.B. (Andrew Graham Ballenden) Bannatyne, whose home near the corner of what’s now Main Street and Bannatyne Avenue served as the meeting place for the Legislature.

In 1886, with the official opening of a new City Hall, which some referred to as Victorian “fantasy” because of its “gingerbread” style, the Board of Trade had its first permanent home.

On Novemeber 24, 1887, 11 leading grain merchants met in the office of the Board of Trade at City Hall to form the Winnipeg Grain and Produce Exchange. This set in motion a chain of events that would result in the construction of the first Grain Exchange Building at 164 Princess St., intended also to house the Board of Trade.

The Board of Trade and Exchange rooms were on the third floor, along with private offices for several prominent “grain men.” The interior finishing was elegant and much admired. Offices on the upper floors opened into a center light-well covered with a skylight so that each office had natural light.

The rapid growth of the grain trade soon necessitated the construction of a second Grain Exchange at 160 Princess St.

The new building, constructed at a cost of $35,000, featured four storeys of red brick, with a lower facing of stone and terra cotta moldings. The interior was finished in oak and marble and featured a pressed metal ceiling and stained glass windows. Corridors connected it to the old Exchange Building to the north. The Exchange and Board of Trade expanded into both buildings.

In 1908, the Board of Trade took over the Princess Street address after the Grain Exchange moved to new quarters on Lombard. Today, only the building’s façade remains. In 2002, the building was gutted and the façade became part of Red River College’s downtown campus.

In 1932, the Board of Trade sought a new home, moving into the Old National Building at 325 Main St., where it occupied the first floor. Today, the corner of Pioneer and Main bears no resemblance to its past — gone is the low-lying,• dark-brick building, replaced by a 13-storey office tower, home to MTS Allstream.

Some 15 years after the Board of Trade relocated onto Main Street, it made another move — just down the street to 346 Main St.

A brief item in The Winnipeg Board of Trade News Bulletin, stated:

“Effective Tuesday, June 24, 1947, the Winnipeg Board of Trade and Young Men’s Section took over the ground floor offices, formerly occupied by the London and Western Trust Company, 346 Main St.

The new premises have a commodious Board Room, and other improved facilities for meetings of membership, permitting of better service to the public, and altogether are more in keeping with the Board’s requirements.

Their telephone number remains the same —92 111.

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categoriaUncategorized commentoNo Comments dataNovember 16th, 2009
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