1915 – Curry Building, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Developed by City Comptroller Duncan Steele Curry (1852-1925) on the site of a previous property owned by himself. Recession and world war forced some developers to cancel projects. Curry, in contrast, proceeded with replacement of his older building, but on a scaled-down basis, hoping to add the remainder at a later date. He had only two storeys built even though the facility’s reinforced concrete foundation could carry eight. The Curry Building has a steel frame, hollow tile interior partitions, brick exterior walls, and flat roof broken by a section intended to accommodate a future light well. Terracotta covers the Portage, Notre Dame and Garry façades. Ornamentation is in the Gothic style of architecture and includes extensive use of tracery and floral patterns, an elaborate parapet with finials and trefoil openings, and an arched main entrance.

Reinforced concrete store and office building — To be ultimately ten storeys high — Sets a time record in building — Cost to date $250,000

The new Curry Building recently erected at the corner of Portage Avenue, Notre Dame Avenue and Garry Street, Winnipeg, at a cost of $250,000 set a record for this size of reinforced concrete building in Western Canada, being built, complete for occupation, in five months. The building is 266 feet by 130 feet, and, including the basement, is three storeys high. It is built of reinforced concrete, with an exterior finish of terra-cotta backed by plain brick.

The main entrance on Portage Avenue is finished in Mdiite marble, with a large revolving door of mahogany; the side entrances and corridors are also white marble, with the interior finish of quarter-cut oak on the ground floor, and mahogany on the upper floor. The foundations of the building are constructed to carry ten storeys, which will be the ultimate height of the building. The ground floor, which is 19 feet high, contains twenty stores, while the upper storey is divided into thirty-nine offices. Freight and passenger elevators provide good accommodation.
Engineering and Contract Record, February 2 1916

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