1883 – International Order of Odd Fellows, Princess Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) is a fraternal organization derived from English Odd Fellows orders of the mid-1700s. The buildings interior space included clubrooms and a large, free-span auditorium complete with musician’s gallery and ballroom dance floor on the third floor. The metal cornice on the exterior includes the initials IOOF and ML No.1 (Manitoba Lodge No. 1) together with the cryptic symbols of the mystic order – a crescent moon with seven stars and a three-link chain.

The original ground floor featured large storefront windows with two entrances located as they are now. Because the Odd Fellows used only the third floor of their building, the lower two floors and basement have always been occupied by commercial tenants. In order to identify that the third floor as space for Odd Fellows, the architect installed windows with a subtle Gothic treatment to signify the medieval roots of the fraternal order.

From its completion to the opening of another IOOF Temple on Kennedy Street in 1910, this building served as the headquarters for Odd Fellowship in Manitoba. Sadly a major fire in January 1930 destroyed many of their records and regalia and gutted much of the interior of the building.

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