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Delta Hotel

Formerly:The Holiday Inn, The Crowne Plaza
Address:350 St. Mary Avenue
Use:Delta Hotel
Original Use:Holiday Inn Winnipeg Dowtown
Constructed:1971–1972
Other Work:1980, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1997, Interior alterations.
1990: renovation to become the Crowne Plaza
2000: renovation to become the Delta Inn
Architects:Libling Michener & Associates
Jack Ross
Contractors:P. R. Connolly Construction Ltd.
Smith Brother & Wilson Ltd. (Superstructure Subcontractor)

More Information

Designed by Libling Michener & Associates, 350 St. Mary Avenue was constructed between 1971 and 1972 for the Holiday Inn hotel chain.

The hotel was designed as part of Winnipeg’s Lakeview Square development project, built in concert with the Winnipeg Convention Centre. Developed by Jack Levit, Lakeview Square is situated on a full city block and is surrounded and served by a parkade; it includes four integrated high-rise buildings and one low-rise structure, surrounding a Japanese garden. This landscaped park, which features varied plantings, a dry creek bed and a small foot bridge, opened in 1974 to commemorate Winnipeg’s affiliation with its Japanese sister-city Setagaya. To tie the hotel to the Lakeview Square development an indoor Japanese garden was included. The garden is quite similar to the one outdoor.

The hotel originally features amenities such as an indoor and outdoor swimming pools, sauna, whirl pool baths, fames room, dining room, coffee shop, small cocktail lounge, large entertainment lounge/cabaret, grand ballroom, meeting & banquet rooms, featured caribbean and futuristic (2000) rooms as well as VIP suites and one vice-regal suite. Later amenities included an executive floor with communications facilities for corporate travellers, a boardroom with telecom capabilities, honeymoon suites, and a fitness centre.Two levels of parking is provided for hotel goers below the building.

The largest renovations to the building occurred with a change of ownership. In 1990 the hotel became The Crowne Plaza, prompting a $10 million renovation. Changes included the design and construction of the executive floor as well as the updating of old furniture. In 2000 another major renovation went under way. The Crowne Plaza was becoming The Delta Hotel. This renovation cost $12 million to update the old furniture and give the hotel a new look.

Design Characteristics

  • Site frontage: 260.8 ft. (79.49 m)
  • Plan areas: 33,014 sq. ft. (3,067 sq. m) & 27,726 sq. ft. (2,575.75 sq. m), total 60,740 sq. ft.
  • Gross floor areas (2 sections): 300,461 sq. ft. (27,912.83 sq. m) & 55,452 sq. ft. (5,151.49 sq. m), total 355,913 sq. ft. (33,064.32 sq. m)
  • The nineteen storey structure is constructed with a reinforced concrete and is clad in precast concrete panels
  • Includes below-grade concourse and parkade
  • The building was sold to the Delta Hotel company, who renovated the interior in 2000, but retained the character and integrity of the original façade

Sources

  • Don Atkinson, "Holiday Inn plan gradual opening," Winnipeg Tribune, January 4, 1974.
  • Don Atkinson, "Holiday Inn work start slated," Winnipeg Tribune, May 20, 1971.
  • Don Atkinson, "Holiay Inn's sod turned, but strike may delay construction," Winnipeg Tribune, September 1, 1971.
  • G. C. Cabana-Coldwell, "Fit for a king," Explore Winnipeg - A Guide to One Great City, pp. 4-5, a supplement circulated with the Winnipeg Free Press in the Fall of 1999.
  • Martin Cash, "Crowne Plaza to join Delta Hotel family," Winnipeg Free Press, May 20, 2000, pp. B15-B16.
  • Martin Cash, "Delta Hotel owners book $12-M upgrade," Winnipeg Free Press, June 27, 2000, p. B3.
  • "Commonwealth opens 50th Holiday Inn," Manitoba - Canada's Number One Sun, 29, 3(May/June 1974), p. 12.
  • Pamel Fayerman, "Fatal Holiday Inn fire was deliberately set, court told," Winnipeg Free Press, February 14, 1981, p. 3.
  • Pamela Fayerman, "Hagenlocher found guilty of manslaughter in hotel fire," Winnipeg Free Press, February 17, 1981, pp. 1, 4.
  • Greater Winnipeg Industrial Topics, 29, 5 (June 1969), pp. 20-21.
  • "Holiday Inn fined over fire safety," Winnipeg Free Press, March 3, 1987.
  • "Holiday Inn opens," Winnipeg Tribune, May 23, 1974.
  • "Holiday Inn undergoes $10-million conversion and name change," Winnipeg Real Estate News, October 26, 1990, p. 4.
  • "Holiday Square," Manitoba Business Journal, 7, 6 (July 1971), pp. 18-20.
  • Bob Holliday, "Man falls to death from roof of hotel," Winnipeg Sun, July 10, 1999, p. 5.
  • Roger Newman, "Lakeview puts hotel project back on books," Winnipeg Tribune, November 20, 1970.
  • "Project Previews," Manitoba Business Journal, 5, 4 (February/March 1969), p. 120.
  • Gregg Shilliday & Joanne Clarke, "Man Held in Fatal Hotel Fire," Winnipeg Tribune, July 7, 1980, pp. 1, 5.

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