1965 – Heather Curling Club, St. Boniface, Winnipeg

Originally known as the St. Boniface Curling Club established in 1915, the name was changed to the Heather Curling Club at the first annual meeting. The original building was at the corner of Marion Street and Braemar Avenue. In 1964, an offer to purchase the property by Safeway as the site for a new supermarket was made and accepted, so in 1965 the club built a new eight-sheet rink at Youville and Yardley Streets in south St. Boniface.

Built at a not insignificant cost of $350,000, it was the most modern curling rink that could be built at the time. Official opening ceremonies were held on December 19, 1965. In early 1966, a Winnipeg Free Press article described it: “There is a spacious viewing area on the lower level, while in the basement there is a board room, and more than adequate locker facilities for both men and women. The upstairs lounge and Club room is spacious. It is tastefully decorated and has comfortable appointments.” This fabulous 1960s interior is largely intact – the upstairs lounge with its soaring roofline and original light fixtures is best experienced via the very 1960s staircase that comes up into the centre of the space.