1912 – 312 William Avenue, Winnipeg, Canada

Built as the Swift Canadian Wholesale Market, the Manitoba Historical Society tells us that “The basement had meat coolers, soaking vats, pickling facilities, fire pits for smoking meats along with water and heating utilities, coal fuel storage, and an engine room with a 25-ton direct motor compressor. On the first floor was a showroom, market sales area, offices, delivery facilities, and a large beef cooler with rail-hanging capacity for six train-car loads of beef. The second floor housed freezers, butter churning room, smoking room, and hanging and packing rooms. The third floor contained large freezers, egg candling room, along with further hanging and smoking rooms. On the roof was a cooling tower for the ammonia-based cooling system which ran throughout the building. Operational on-site capacity later expanded to include a creamery.” Now containing a variety of tenants, the building has an elaborate parapet line and the expected Winnipeg Exchange District brick and stone finish.

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