Description of Historic Place

The Transcona Municipal Offices, built in 1924-25 as the Bank of Toronto and expanded in 1958, is a two-storey brick structure on a corner site in a suburban business district in east Winnipeg. The City of Winnipeg designation applies to the building on its footprint.

Heritage Value

The Transcona Municipal Offices, a tidy commercial structure, has proven adaptable to a succession of high-profile roles as a financial institution, town administrative centre and community museum in Transcona, which until 1972 was a separate municipality from Winnipeg. Designed by G.W. Northwood, the sturdy facility satisfies as a small Neo-Classical branch bank in its proportions, materials and details, all intended to portray a corporate image of confidence and stability. The location at a key commercial intersection also is strategic and gives the building continuing significance in an area that still bustles with small businesses and a strong local identity shaped by Transcona's association with the nearby Canadian National (originally Grand Trunk Pacific) railway shops and yards.

Source: City of Winnipeg Committee on Environment Minutes, July 14, 1980

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the site character of the Transcona Municipal Offices include:
- the location at northeast Regent Avenue West and Bond Street, directly in line with the entrance to the Canadian National Railway's Transcona Yards two blocks to the south
- the building's compatible scale and alignment with other business structures in the area

Key elements that define the building's fine exterior design and Neo-Classical touches include:
- the blocky two-storey form, of brown brick with a raised ashlar limestone foundation, flat roof and lower two-storey rear addition
- the careful composition of the two main facades (south and west), including a modestly detailed entablature, shallow pilasters, channelled brickwork on the corners and restrained use of contrasting smooth-cut limestone trim
- the dignified front, including the elevated entry in a stone architrave topped by a rounded pediment on scrolled brackets and the large window outlined by stone quoins and a heavy lintel
- the windows, minimal on the east side but in generous proportion to the front and west walls, including double flat-headed sash windows on the second storey and six-pane openings on the west main floor
- the modest details, including stone pilaster caps, brick windowsills, a multi-paned transom over the northwest door, the simple fascia signage and floral motif, the east chimney, etc.

Key elements that define the building's interior character include:
- the integrity of the overall layout, incorporating a manager's office, a banking hall with a coffered ceiling and walk-in vault, a north staircase and a second-floor apartment for bank personnel
- the intact materials and details, including extensive oak trim, hardware, grille-work, radiators, etc.