This one-storey brick and stone building at the northeast corner of Main Street and Church Avenue in Winnipeg, measuring 46.5 feet by 57 feet, was designed by local architect Charles Osborn Wickenden and built in 1887 by contractor Cyrus McBean at a cost of $3,918.65. It was used as a parish hall and Sunday School for the St. John’s Anglican parish.
Following the death of Archbishop Robert Machray in 1904, his replacement Samuel Pritchard Matheson sought to replace the aging cathedral building from 1862. Not having the means to replace it immediately, the congregation modified this parish hall to become a pro-cathedral, a temporary structure before a new cathedral could be constructed. A new basement and foundation that raised the structure was designed by architect Edward George Sherwood and built by Wynes and Mitchell Company in 1905 at a cost of about $4,000. In 1913, an addition to the west side included a new main entrance. Measuring 25 feet by 33.5 feet, the renovations were designed by local architects David William Fair Nichols and James Pender West and built at a cost of $11,461.18 by the construction firm of the Frid-Lewis Company.
By 1922, sufficient funds had been raised to build a new cathedral. Construction began in 1926 and the first service was held on 5 December 1926.
After the new cathedral opened, this building returned to its former use as a parish hall and Sunday School. In 2010, the building was renovated and converted to condominiums and, in 2011, the project received a Preservation Award from Heritage Winnipeg.
St. John’s Anglican Parish Hall (1887)
Source: St. John's Cathedral Archives
St. John’s Anglican Parish Hall (1913)
Source: St. John's Cathedral Archives
The former St. John’s Anglican Parish Hall (March 2025)
Source: Jordan MakichukSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.92213, W97.12661
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Charles Osborn Wickenden (1851-1934)
Memorable Manitobans: Cyrus McBean (1848-1918)
Memorable Manitobans: Edward George Sherwood (1861-1948)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. John’s Anglican Cathedral and Cemetery (135 Anderson Avenue, Winnipeg)
Memorable Manitobans: David William Fair Nichols (1881-1951)
Memorable Manitobans: James Pender West (1868-1939)
Manitoba Business: Frid-Lewis Company
“To builders,” Manitoba Free Press, 29 March 1887, page 4.
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 570/1905, City of Winnipeg Archives.
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 2479/1913, City of Winnipeg Archives.
135 Anderson Avenue, St. John's Anglican Cathedral & Cemetery by Murray Peterson, City of Winnipeg Historical Buildings & Resources Committee, September 2017.
The Year Past 2007, Annual Report of the City of Winnipeg Historical Buildings Committee.
This page was prepared by Jordan Makichuk and Kenneth Ingram.
Page revised: 23 June 2025
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