1910 – Enderton Building, Portage Avenue, Winnipeg

Built between 1909 and 1910 at a cost of about $100,000. Badly damaged by fire in January 1918 and restored at a cost of about $200,000 by the original architect. In 1968, the building was purchased by the Bank of Montreal and demolished later that same year for the development of the Newport Center.

“At the south-west corner of Portage Ave. and Hargrave St., there is at the present time under construction the Enderton Building, which will in the near future form a handsome addition to the retail section. This building, which is to be a three storey structure, is designed along modern lines, with a large portion of the frontage on both streets taken up by huge plate glass windows, thus making it one of the best lighted buildings in the city. On the ground floor are to be six spacious stores, four facing Portage Ave., and two fronting on Hargrave St., while the two upper floors will contain twenty-six modern offices. Above the first floor, which will practically be enclosed on the street sides by large show windows, the walls are to be of dull glazed terra cotta of a light cream color, the large plate glass windows being uniformly marked off by Ionic pilasters and horizontal panelling between the second and third stories. The entrance to the elevator and stairway giving access to the upper floors will be in the centre of Portage Ave. front, through a spacious vestibule and hall lined with marble and paved with a mosaic tile. The offices will be grouped around a large hallway or arcade extending from the second floor to the glass covered roof and running nearly the entire length of the building. This will ensure every room having a maximum degree of light. Partitions separating the offices from the passages surrounding the arcade will be of plate glass, with a low marble base, and divided longitudinally into sections by columns and pilasters rising to an enriched plaster cornice. In appointments and furnishings, the building will be modern throughout. The heating will be by steam, and special attention has been given to the ventilation and sanitary requirements. Besides the space in the upper floor, additional accommodation for business purposes has been provided in the basement, which is excavated under the entire sidewalk area on both streets, and lighted by one thousand square feet of prismatic glass. The architect for the building is Mr. Wm. Fingland, and the work is being carried out by Mr. John A. Girvin, who has the general contract.”
Construction, December 1909

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