Windsor Park: An Architectural Tour

Responding to Housing Demand

The return of soldiers after the Second World War added to a housing shortage that had already existed in Winnipeg during the Great Depression. The explosive growth of the post-war baby-boom generation led to greater demand for affordable housing. This demand, in turn, fuelled rapid growth in housing construction; Winnipeg’s rate of construction per capita became the highest in Canada. From 1941 to 1971, metropolitan Winnipeg’s population grew 80%, from 297,739 to 535,480, while suburban municipalities tripled in size, becoming home to a majority of the city’s population. Suburbs quickly occupied available space in and around the city, and it was in this environment of rapidly disappearing space that Windsor Park was conceived.

The development of Windsor Park began with John Henry Borger. The Borger family arrived from Russia in 1902, and by 1919 John Henry Borger and his father started a family-owned construction business, Henry Borger and Sons Ltd. John Henry Borger became president of the company in 1936. Later, in 1955, he formed Land Assembly and Development Co. (Ladco), an association of homebuilders brought together in response to the shortage of land in metropolitan Winnipeg. Each homebuilder had a share in the operation of the company, and first priority in acquiring lots in Ladco developments. In fall 1955, there were 38 member homebuilders in Ladco; Irvine B. Margolese and Co. Ltd., was the largest, representing seven different contractors.

Planning for Windsor Park had started as early as 1954. When a suitable plot of land was acquired, Ladco made public, in 1955, its plan to build 1,300 homes. They began clearing the 730-acre St. Boniface lot that September. On January 19, 1956, the company signed a contract with the City of St. Boniface to build 3,100 homes, a project valued at $45 million. The ribbon cutting to open Windsor Park was September 18, 1956, and was attended by St. Boniface Mayor J. G. Van Belleghem, Ladco President J. Henry Borger, and A. W. Haag of the Winnipeg Home Builders’ Association. According to Mayor Van Belleghem, the development would encourage industrial growth on the east side of the city. Indeed, Windsor Park’s development attracted industry, notably Canada Packers and Swift Canadian Co. Ltd., and contributed to St. Boniface becoming the 16th largest industrial centre in Canada by 1958.

Designing the Homes

Windsor Park was the first master-planned community in Winnipeg, the largest housing development of its kind in Western Canada, and the second largest in the country during the mid 1950s.

A master plan created by Green Blankstein Russell and Associates (GBR) of Winnipeg called for 3,041 homes of all types, including duplexes and apartments, creating accommodation for 13,000 to 15,000 people. Irvine B. Margolese and Co. Ltd., was responsible for the development of nearly 1,500 of these homes.

In 1955, Ladco ran a survey in the Winnipeg Free Press and at the Red River Exhibition. The 20-question survey, targeted towards women, was to determine two things: how respondents would design their own homes, and what the average person would want in a home design. The responses would be used to form an aggregate picture of what potential purchasers might want. The respondent, whose answers most closely matched the aggregate picture of what the average homeowner desired would win a prize valued at $2,766.50 that included an electric dishwasher, a refrigerator, a stove, and other household appliances.

Ladco assumed that even with the husband paying, the wife would ultimately choose which house to buy. As a result, Windsor Park homes would be designed to appeal to women, and designs would be informed by the aforementioned survey. One such assumption was that female homebuyers wanted individualized designs that would be distinct next to their neighbours’ homes. In response, Ladco’s 38 builders were tasked with producing five to ten different home designs each for a total of two-hundred individual plans. Fifty of these designs were by Irvine B. Margolese and Co. Ltd., and would be decorated to each homeowner’s specifications. The homes varied from 817 to 1,500 square feet in size, five to seven rooms, and single or two storey, although most were bungalows. Houses, or R1 residential space, occupied 592 acres of the development, while R2 duplexes occupied a meagre eight acres. House designs were staggered in order to avoid identical homes being built side-by-side. Similarly, the distance between houses and the street varied from 25 to 31 feet, while driveways were staggered, with some homes not having a side driveway.

Although homes were designed to be highly individualized, prices were often similar. Homes in pocketed areas fell under one of three classifications: $9,500 to $12,000, $10,500 to $14,000, and $12,500 to $18,000 (although some I. B. Margolese houses were priced as high as $19,900). This was to ensure that all the homes in an area were similar in size, value and age, and that residents would share a similar income level. This was done to prevent areas from degrading into “slums”.

Planning and Layout

Windsor Park was a departure from the common rectangular grid suburb, with only a few points of entry, and only two main roads that bisected the development. Unlike other suburbs, which were often strung along major traffic arteries, Windsor Park’s limited entry points kept it relatively secluded from the rest of the surrounding city. Streets were organized in loop or bay patterns, separating circulation streets from local access streets in order to reduce traffic and noise; improve safety; and make Windsor Park more aesthetically pleasing. Conducive to easy navigation, streets were organized alphabetically.

Pedestrian accessibility was also considered, with a particular emphasis on child safety. Children walking to school from almost half the homes in Windsor Park would not need to cross a single street, using paths at the end of each bay to access park walks that connected to their school. Preschool children could also make use of playgrounds and “tot lots” accessed by the paths at the end of each bay.

Befitting the name of the development, parks and green spaces occupied fifty acres. As part of the central plan, shrubs, and even fruit trees, were planted on residential properties. Where possible, naturally growing shrubs and trees were preserved.

Modern shopping centres were built in Windsor Park in response to growing consumer demand. In 1956, J. Raymond, president of Cottonwood Shopping Centres Ltd., announced the construction of a shopping centre at the heart of the development. Public relations and management for the project were done by I. B. Margolese and Co. Ltd., while the design was assembled by Louis Plotkin and Associates. Costing just over $1 million, the modern shopping centre would be centrally located within the development, rather than staggering stores along a commercial street. Its many shops included a large, modern Safeway grocery market, as well as a planned department store, medical centre, bank, beauty salon, clothing store, and bicycle repair shop. It also featured convenient local parking for five-hundred cars and a canopied area to shield shoppers as they ventured between stores. Construction began in the spring of 1957 and was completed by September 1, 1957. Located amongst schools, churches, and other public facilities, the Cottonwood Shopping Centre embodied the post-war ideal of a centrally located public space that integrated commerce with civic activity. Paradoxically, decentralized corner stores were part of the original plan, and placed strategically throughout the development.

A Growing Neighbourhood

The rapid development of Windsor Park could be attributed to new techniques in home building that significantly reduced the time required to build a home. For companies such as Quality Construction Co. Ltd. (later Qualico), much of the construction took place off-site at factories using assembly-line type manufacturing, and then transported to the construction site. Pre-fabricated components included rafters, window and door frames, and kitchen arrangements including cabinets, while walls could be assembled within 14 hours of being cut. The 1957 Winnipeg Housebuilder’s Association Parade of Homes, a showcase of newly constructed homes, featured Windsor Park, and opened with a show of building efficiency. Between 5:00 pm September 21 and 5:00 pm September 22, a home was built by Quality Construction, omitting time to prepare the foundation. A record had been set in Toronto a few weeks earlier, with a home built in 21.5 hours. Quality Construction claimed the event was merely a demonstration and not an attempt at beating the record. Two hundred company employees and subcontractors worked on the project. The house, located at 3 Cherry Crescent, was built in 19 hours and 10 minutes, with an additional 20 minutes to furnish it.

With modern construction techniques, including the Winnipeg-developed practice of winter construction, it was estimated that 1,800 homes could be built in 1956 alone. However, rapid home construction often meant that homes were finished and occupied before accompanying infrastructure could be completed. By the summer of 1957, residents complained of unpaved streets and sidewalks, as well as the lack of street lights. Despite an investment of $2.1 million in infrastructure and services by Ladco, revenues generated from lot sales were able to cover only $1.3 million. The issue continued, and on July 14, 1958, St. Boniface city council was pressured to establish a five-man committee to investigate the delays.

Despite associated difficulties, home development in Windsor Park continued at a fast and unabated pace. It was estimated that by the planned completion date of 1958, Windsor Park would be home to 14,000 people, resulting in a 50 percent increase in the population of the City of St. Boniface. This climate of speculative growth contributed to St. Boniface leading metropolitan Winnipeg in housing development. In 1956, home sales in St. Boniface totalled $4,590,300, while $6 million worth of housing permits were issued. St. Boniface, and by extension, Windsor Park, also helped metropolitan Winnipeg set a new record for housing permits value, supplanting 1955 by $2,186,145. Despite the number of permits issued in metropolitan Winnipeg in 1956 falling to 122 fewer than in 1955, fast-rising home values continued to improve the profitability of the housing market. In St. Boniface, both the number of houses and home values went up, with 399 more homes built, and home values rising by almost 300 percent over 1955. By 1962, Windsor Park had 2,000 occupied homes and a population larger than Carman, Minnedosa, and Dauphin combined.

As a larger community, Windsor Park required its own services, civic spaces, and retail spaces. French and English language schools, a firehall, churches of various denominations, and both small and large retail spaces were erected, often designed in the modernist style, and embodying a progressive and playful attitude towards architecture. The result is an architectural legacy that is both modernist and unique to Windsor Park.

1

St. Bernadette Parish Centre officially opened its doors on March 12, 1961. It was designed by University of Manitoba professor and architect Roy Sellors, with glasswork by Toronto artist Gerald Tooke and assembly by Westmacott Glass Co.

Compared with other churches of the time, St. Bernadette featured an abundance of light and a more austere interior that, through tasteful use of symbolism, was reconciled with religious tradition.

St. Bernadette is an A-frame design. Its west elevation is tall and slender, descending into a low, wide east facade. The gap between the two sides creates a bowed, curving wall along the north side of the building facing onto Cottonwood Road. The wall is clad with wood shingles, and resembles a monk’s cowl about to slip onto his shoulders. The design embraces structural innovation and experimental materials, driving laminated beams into the ground at sharp angles and carrying their profile into the interior of the church. The concrete foundation, which is raised above grade, draws attention to these anchors along the north and south side of the building.

Sellors was particularly interested in investigating the use of light and form in sacred interior spaces. The Holy Trinity is represented in the church’s large triangular windows, and literally in the stained-glass artwork of the west windows. Framed by curved, teakwood ornamental screens, the west windows feature an emerald bird on the lower right representing the Holy Spirit, a cobalt blue animal on the lower left representing the Lion of the Apocalypse, and Jesus Christ, with outstretched arms, at the top. Conversely, the lower east facade features a decoratively composed partition of wood and glass.

The flood of colour from the stained-glass window is interrupted by only the simple amber wood tone of the interior, with composite wood joints anchored by concrete piers, some of which are freestanding. As a churchgoer approaches the altar on the west side, the roof rises, symbolizing the abandonment of daily cares as their thoughts rise upwards. The black granite altar, which weighs six tons, required 2 ½ days to move from the back of the church to the front.

An addition that serves as a parish centre was completed on the south-west side in 1993. The parish centre features a modest pitched roof, as well as a red-brick exterior that is consistent with the colour and texture of the original church.

2

The 1957 Winnipeg Housebuilder’s Association Parade of Homes, featuring Windsor Park, opened with a show of construction efficiency — a 920-square-foot home (foundation omitted) was built and furnished by the 200-man crew from Quality Construction between 5:00 pm September 21 and 5:00 pm the next day. A similar record had been set in Toronto a few weeks earlier with a home built in 21.5 hours. Publicly, Quality Construction claimed it was not in competition for the record.

Two hundred company employees and subcontractors worked on the project. Much of the construction took place off site at factories using assembly-line type manufacturing, with components brought to the construction site for assembly later on. Pre-fabricated components included rafters, window and door frames, and kitchen arrangements, including cabinets. Walls could be assembled within 14 hours of being cut. While these construction techniques became more commonplace following the Second World War, 3 Cherry Crescent was exceptional, being built in 19 hours and 10 minutes, with another 20 minutes to furnish it (although Quality Construction Co. Ltd. manager Vic Krepart described it as a “normal offsite prefab job.”). Both the Muir family, who had purchased the house, and Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation officials were present for the construction.

The house is a five-room bungalow with two bedrooms, a standard design fit for rapid construction. Similar designs by Quality Construction on Cherry Crescent could be built to accommodate three or four bedrooms, and one or one and a half bathrooms. The design also featured an L-shaped dining room and living room combination. Quality Construction Homes were sold by the company’s in-house real estate firm, Rancho Realty.

It was noted that the home could have been completed three hours sooner had it not been for light rain in the morning.

3

In November 1957, the Canadian Housing Design Council Award was given to 6 Cherry Crescent, which was built by Glendale Construction. The home was designed by Gerald A. Libling, prior to his joining the firm Libling Michener and Associates. The first owners were Mr. and Mrs. A. D. Avery, who had left Calgary, Alberta, to live in the award-winning home. The façade, facing west onto Cherry Crescent, is modest, but more intriguing design elements can be seen on its east side, facing onto the backyard. Tall windows extend along the east side, interrupted only by a chimney and a canopied patio. Interior forms, such as the chimney and ceiling joists, are carried through to the exterior. The exterior was originally a mahogany-stained cedar with white stucco, complemented by turquoise trim on the windows and eaves. The kitchen, family room, and living room, were open, but made use of a novel folding wall that could isolate any one of the rooms.

4

Originally built to house Prendergast Elementary School, 906 Cottonwood Road was opened in 1958 as one of three planned elementary schools in Windsor Park. It sits at the intersection of Cottonwood Road and Autumnwood Drive, two of Windsor Park’s main roads. The original design and a 1963 addition, were developed by Green Blankstein Russell, with Jack Donner serving as architect. An earlier addition was built in 1959 by an unspecified firm. The many additions speak to the explosive growth in the neighbourhood in the late 1950s and 1960s. The first of these additions was approved in 1959, only a year after the school opened, as part of $360,000 in joint funding for Prendergast and near-by Frontenac School. The school’s claim to fame was being featured on the cover of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s journal in October of 1959.

906 Cottonwood Road is a modest single-storey building arranged in two irregular sections, which join at right angles. A parking area is sheltered within this angle and a large yard is set to the side and rear. The earliest section is the north wing; a low frame structure in stucco and brick featuring a roof with a shallow overhang and broad eaves. The entrance features a stylized window grouping and dark brown brick walls; simple sash windows are grouped in ones, twos or threes along the classroom areas. A second window grouping extends perpendicular along the south side, in a single corridor plan that has kept most of its original details; it terminates on the east end with an auditorium. All sections of the complex are unusual in having a low gabled roof, with raftered eaves in some parts.

Though closed briefly, the building has since been repurposed as a large daycare and seniors’ centre, with its auditorium/gym available for public rental.

5

The Evangelical Free Church was likely built sometime before 1961. In 1969, a request was put in with the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg – Board of Adjustment Zoning to build a single-storey addition consisting of classrooms and a gymnasium, as well as a yard on the west and south sides. This section was designed by Duncan Rattray Peters Searle Architects, whose other projects in Windsor Park include École Lacerte and additions to Windsor Park Collegiate. The addition would include a gymnasium, a vestibule, a foyer, an ante room, office space, separated baby and cradle rooms, a kitchen, and in the basement, lavatories, a library, and classrooms. The church was taken over in 2001 by Cornerstone Alliance Church, originally St. Vital Gospel Tabernacle, which was founded in 1949.

The original church consisted of a modest brown pitched roof design made of pink-beige brick, making it consistent with its neighbours occupying the other three corners of Autumnwood Drive and Cottonwood Road. A sloped chimney rises out of the north side of the building, upon which a white cross is mounted. A vestibule with tall glass doors extends out of the east side of the building. The addition consists of a modest box of rough-textured Tyndall stone in two sections: the larger gymnasium conjoined by a smaller vestibule.

6

Windsor Park United Church was built in 1962, with an addition completed in 1979. In 1958, the Church Extension Council (C.E.C.) of Winnipeg Presbytery purchased land on the corner of Autumnwood Drive and Cottonwood Road, and a portable church was established on the location on July 13, 1959. In 1961 the manse was built on the site, but it wasn’t until 1962 that construction began on the nave, which was designed by architects Pratt Lindgren and Associates.

Windsor Park United was the second church to be designed by Pratt Lindgren and Associates on Autumnwood Drive. The first was St. Bartholomew Anglican Church (881 Autumnwood Drive), which was built between 1959 and 1964. In March 1961, interviews were conducted with several notable Winnipeg architecture firms, including Smith Carter and Associates, Ward McDonald, and Zunic & Sobkowich; however, it was Pratt Lindgren and Associates who would be selected for the project. The Church Building Committee evaluated seven modernist churches in Winnipeg, which helped inform its expectations for Windsor Park United. Louis Ducharme was the contractor for the building of the church. Financial troubles dogged Windsor Park United, stalling construction of a single-storey anteroom, which was finally completed in 1979 after the last of the church’s debts were paid.

The church is characterized by its unique flat-topped pyramid roofline, with a south elevation that faces onto Cottonwood Road. The type of shingle used for the church was a source of much consternation, as Pratt fought with the church’s Architectural Committee, advocating for cedar shingles that would be more durable and more aesthetically pleasing. Ultimately, cedar shingles were selected, which continue to give the church its soft brown outline. Along the south elevation is a recessed white facade where a cross is enclosed by narrow yellow stained-glass windows. Certain design features carry over from St. Bartholomew, including the yellow brick construction, which is distinct next to the white-plaster facades used on both churches.

7

Demolished 2023.
Located at the corner of Autumnwood Drive and Cottonwood Road, No. 4 Fire Station was approved by St. Boniface City Council in 1968. It was part of a project to replace the No. 1 Fire Station on Dumoulin Street and the No. 2 Fire Station on Tache Avenue, with twin stations in Windsor Park and on Des Meurons Street. Concerns were raised that the hall would be too close to Windsor Park Collegiate (1015 Cottonwood Road), and that a better location would be at Westmount Bay and Patterson Street. This location would become Westmount Plaza, and construction of the fire hall at the corner of Cottonwood Road and Autumnwood Drive would begin in 1969. It was designed by Gaboury Lussier Sigurdson Architects, and construction was done by W.W. Construction Ltd.

The fire hall’s design is both functional and playful. Rather than a lookout tower, the building features a high west elevation, eliminating the need for an additional structure, and offering sufficient space to hang fire hoses. The triangular west elevation is also intentionally reminiscent of the flat-topped pyramid roof on Windsor Park United Church (1962), which is located on the opposite side of Autumnwood Drive. The intent was to produce a design that fit within its local context, sharing characteristics with neighbouring buildings, avoiding ostentatious height, all while maintaining a distinctive design. In this sense, the building conforms to Gaboury’s ethos of producing context-specific designs that innovate while respecting local character.

Standing at 44 feet tall, this two-storey triangle up-thrust design is distinctive against the flat prairie landscape. Amongst its many asymmetric elements is its’ shorter east elevation and taller west facade. Three windows are recessed at the top of the west facade, while the wall below it slopes away to meet a vestibule that extends outwards from the centre of the building. The western facade’s south window is wider than its north window to allow firefighters to climb through and scale a metal-rung ladder located above the south overhead door. The metal rungs are painted the same colour as the clay brick, making them less conspicuous.

8

Modern shopping centres were built in Windsor Park in response to growing consumer demand. In 1956, J. Raymond, president of Cottonwood Shopping Centres Ltd., announced the construction of a shopping centre at the heart of the development. Public relations and management for the project were done by I. B. Margolese and Co. Ltd., while the design was assembled by L. Plotkin and Associates. Costing just over $1 million, the modern shopping centre would be centrally located within the development, rather than staggering stores along a commercial street. Its many shops included a large, modern Safeway grocery market, a planned department store, a medical centre, a bank, a beauty salon, a clothing store, and a bicycle repair shop. The centre also featured convenient local parking for five-hundred cars and a canopied area to shield shoppers as they ventured between stores.

Construction was planned to begin spring 1957 and be completed by September 1, 1957. Located amongst schools, churches, and other public facilities, the Cottonwood Shopping Centre embodied the post-war ideal of a centrally located public space that integrated commerce with civic activity. Three such centralized shopping locations were built in Windsor Park, located at the corner of Cottonwood Road and Autumnwood Drive (Cottonwood Shopping Centre), the corner of Elizabeth Road and Drake Boulevard (Windsor Park Shopping Centre), and Westmount Drive at Paterson Street (Westmount Plaza). Paradoxically, decentralized corner stores were part of the original plan, and placed strategically throughout the development. The buildings were arranged at a right angle within the lot, with different stores stretched across the north and east sides, and an apartment block in the north-east corner. The exception to this was a small corner store along the west side, as well as Fire Hall No. 4 and the Windsor Park Library in the south-west corner.

The most significant business located within the Cottonwood Shopping Centre was the Safeway supermarket on the north side of the mall. With a price-tag of $150,000 and occupying 10,800 square-feet, this Safeway was touted as being the most modern location in western Canada. The design was originally a modest brick construction, with floor to ceiling windows and what appeared to be a metal canopy, both on the left side of the building’s façade extending around the corner. This building was completed in 1958.

Renovations to the Safeway were completed in February 1964. At that time, Safeway sought to standardize the “Marina style” across all their stores. The style was named after the first location built to the specifications on Marina Boulevard, San Francisco, in 1959. The features included floor-to-ceiling windows along the façade, as well as a curved roofline, sometimes referred to as a gull-wing. The design was ultimately more form than function, designed to catch the attention of drivers in an increasingly car-centric world, as well as make Safeway stores more identifiable than other chains. In some regards, this store allowed Windsor Park to add a California architecture firm to its roster of designers, as the Marina style Safeways were designed by Wurster, Bernardi & Emmons.

9

Home to Lacerte School (École Lacerte), the building was erected in two stages (1966 and 1968) and conjoined, with substantial alterations made to the original design later on. The buildings were designed by Duncan Rattray Peters Searle Architects, with mechanical designs by J. O. Klein of Klein and Dashevsky, and electrical by K.A. Hand and Associates. The school was originally built as part of St. Boniface School Division No. 4 before the amalgamation of francophone schools under the Division Scolaire Franco-Manitobaine (Franco-Manitoban School Division). Despite the approval of $186,000 for the construction of the school by St. Boniface ratepayers in the prior civic election, the school was a source of contention for Windsor Park and St. Boniface residents. Concerns were raised that the French-option school would exacerbate the classroom shortage that already existed in Windsor Park’s English-speaking schools. A citizens’ committee representing residents of Windsor Park and Niakwa Park was formed to bring the issue before the St. Boniface school board, as well as the Metropolitan Planning Commission. Francophone residents were also represented at these meetings, and contested that the citizens committee did not represent the majority of Windsor Park residents. For more information on French-option schools in Windsor Park, please see the listings for 296 Speers Road and 18 Lombard Boulevard.

This two-storey building, situated at the corner of Autumnwood Drive and Cottonwood Road, stands out against the largely single-storey bungalow construction of the neighbourhood. The school is constructed from six-inch concrete blocks with a red-toned brick face and flat roof. Because of its location on the corner of Cottonwood and Autumnwood, the building has two facades facing the two streets, while entrances are accented in white. The windows are in pairs stacked vertically, with white concrete ‘sills’ protruding beneath them. The windows are set in dark metal frames to match the metal roof bands. The school makes use of limited space, fencing in a playground on a small patch of lawn at the front for younger students, while a larger grass and paved area at the rear is reserved for older students.

10

Demolished 2023.
On April 25, 1960, St. Boniface City Council announced it would acquire land in Windsor Park to build a library. Completed in 1961, and opened in February 1962, Windsor Park Library stands as a measure of St. Boniface’s population growth in the 1950s. The location at 955 Cottonwood Road, designed by architects Zunic and Sobkowich, was one of three new St. Boniface libraries planned to open within one year. The others were located in Norwood’s Coronation Park and on Langevin Street. The project was without precedent, as no other city in North America (with a population of approximately 40,000 people) had ever opened three libraries in one year. In order to produce a design that was functional and economical, all three libraries shared identical interiors, despite having different exterior appearances.

Windsor Park Library is a small, rectangular, flat-roofed, pavilion-like example of modernist design. The post-and-beam type construction, typical of the period, articulates the building’s structural elements in its exterior form. The south facade, facing Cottonwood Road, features variable-sized granite blocks between the floor-to-ceiling windows on both the east and west side. The building's walls are topped with thick horizontal beams that enclose slender clerestory windows. This effect, which tends to blur the distinction between interior and exterior, creates a sense of openness. A small service building constructed to house mechanical equipment stands adjacent to the library, clad with similar stone.

11

Specialized Building Services Ltd.’s 82–84 Canberra Road is a semi-detached (duplex) two-storey. Somewhat confusingly, this duplex faces Cottonwood Road, albeit this probably made it easier to advertise. Canberra Road exclusively featured duplexes in both two-storey and split-level designs, making up part of the only eight acres of R2 (duplex) in Windsor Park’s 730-acre lot.

Despite its economical duplex design, the home includes six rooms with three bedrooms. Both side-by-side units feature a wide window along its first-floor facade, with a brick planter underneath. A short canopy runs along the length of the facade between the first and second floors. At the centre of the canopy is a textured brick wall, which shields the front doors to both units. Brick is used extensively along the first storey, while the second storey uses wood or vinyl panels. 82–84 Canberra Road was marketed as a stylish, spacious home at an affordable price.

12

Windsor Park Collegiate was constructed between 1959 and 1960, with later additions in 1966 and 1969. Green Blankstein Russell and Associates (GBR) designed the original building at a cost of $680,000. The gymnasium, added in 1969, was designed by Duncan Rattray Peters Searle Architects.

During the 1960s, GBR was one of Canada’s leading architectural firms working in the high International Style, while also using experimental and non-conventional forms. Windsor Park Collegiate stands as a testament to this; its assembly of partial hexagonal units makes it one of only two schools of its kind in Canada. Viewed from above, these hexagonal units (originally seven, with an eighth added in 1966) form a rare honeycomb structure. Each of the hexagonal units has a distinct function. They were originally joined by a hallway that ran through the centre. The use of multiple conjoined units serving differing functions demonstrates GBR's attention to matching form to function, and makes Windsor Park Collegiate comparable to many of the other innovative academic concepts of the 1960s, such as open-plan schools. Aesthetically, it is most easily identified with Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hanna-Honeycomb House (1936), or John Lautner’s Chemosphere octagonal home-on-a-post design (1960). The use of polyvalent forms as building blocks in a larger structure could also be considered comparable to Moshe Safdie’s design for Montreal’s Habitat 67.

Clad in pink-toned brick and surmounted by pitched roofs, the school’s appearance at street level is less contemporary than the many flat-roofed schools of that era across North America. Originally, its two-storeyed pods featured a variety of window treatments that have since been dulled — removed and stuccoed over — robbing the school of some of its radical design. A gymnasium, added at the back of the building in 1969, differs from the school’s original honeycomb design. The school’s limited corridor space is designed to allow for minimal supervision, while its low-profile fits well in the mostly single-storey-bungalow neighbourhood. No two walls are parallel, nor are the ceilings parallel with the floors.

Consistent with the central plan for Windsor Park (also developed by GBR), Windsor Park Collegiate sits next to park space. The school opened September 15th, 1960.

13

Through the use of off-site manufactured components and on-site assembly, Quality Construction became one of the “largest specialist home builders in Western Canada.” In eight years, the number of employees grew from 25 to 200. The number of houses built increased from 25 to 400 in Winnipeg, with more than 6,000 when one included homes in Calgary and Edmonton. Several homes from Quality Construction were featured on Duluth Bay, and exemplify the pre-fabricated and diverse styles characteristic of Windsor Park (also see 3 Cherry Crescent).

39 Duluth Bay is characterized by the popular L-shaped living room. Its interior decor included suspended Scandinavian lighting, as well as a more modern feature, an electric shaver plug-in in the bathroom.

14

The Imperial was built by Metropolitan Construction, the company owned by Myles Robinson, the 1963 Canadian Builder of the Year. The plan had also been used in the Kensington Square development of Transcona, where the identical design can be found. In 1963, a National Housing Act mortgage required a $775 down payment and a monthly payment of $99.69 (taxes on the property). 47 Duluth Bay was the first home to be certified as a Better Homes and Gardens Approved Value Design.

This two-storey home optimises privacy. A lower-level central hallway separates the dining room from the living room, and powder room/bathroom at the rear of the house. The upper-level bath is compartmentalised so that it can be used by more than one resident at a time. The home features four bedrooms, and two baths (with an optional third bathroom).

15

67 Duluth Bay features a “squeezed” mortar brick facade for the lower level of the split-level, juxtaposed against the wood finish of the upper level. The entrance to the home is recessed between the house and the attached garage, with separate closet space at the back so as to not clutter the living room with storage space. The living room and dining room is in an “L” configuration along the back and through the centre of the house. The basement was designed to be used as a recreation space.

16

Construction on Prince of Peace Lutheran Church began on September 27, 1964. The congregation had met at Prendergast School (see 906 Cottonwood Road) since May 1, 1960. A lounge area, hall, and classrooms, designed by Smith Carter and Stan H Osaka, Architect and Planner, were completed in 1986.

The 1964 building consists of a modest pitched-roof building with vinyl siding. A decorative wall, which is attached to the building but extends beyond the length of the church, is featured along the west side of the building. The wall is adorned with textured bricks set in a pattern, while the roofline extends over the wall slightly. These modest design features help to accentuate the cross mounted below the roof ridge. The interior of the nave consists of a wood roof, with tall windows along the side walls. Long horizontal concave sections along the joists are fitted with lights to provide ambient lighting. Decorative lighting is suspended above the pews. Perhaps the most intriguing interior feature is the wall behind the altar, which carries through the form of the textured exterior wall, while the area above the joists consists of the same wood tone as the ceiling. Bands of green decorative glass are set within the wood panels.

17

On May 26, 1958, St. Boniface City Council approved a request by the Public Utility board to acquire land for a community centre in the Windsor Park area. The date of construction for the original building is unclear but was likely during or shortly before 1961. In 1966, the municipality decided to build a sports complex just north of Elizabeth Road, rather than add on to the existing Winakwa Community Centre. Windsor Park residents, accompanied by students from Windsor Park Collegiate, protested the decision. They cited inaccessibility by pedestrians and poor bus service as concerns. The price tag of the location was another source of frustration, as the city would have to buy the 14-acre lot on Maginot Road for $21,000, while the original location at Speers Road and Bibeau Road was already owned by the city. Residents accused the council of being pressured by Ladco to buy the lot from the company. An addition was designed for the Winakwa Community Centre in 1969 by Gaboury Lussier Sigurdson Architects and contracted to Triple “L” Construction.

18

Built in 1956, Collège Beliveau was designed by Zunic and Sobkowich. Architect Nikolai Zunic had already designed several schools for the St. Boniface School Division. The school officially opened on February 15, 1957. The firm made additions to the school in 1961, and Étienne Gaboury, whose designs feature prominently elsewhere in Windsor Park, made further additions in 1964 and 1967. These later additions, some two storeys tall, have largely obscured the original single-storey structure, although it is still visible from the north and west sides.

Originally built as an elementary school, it was briefly refurbished as a high school, and eventually settled as a middle school. It was the only French-language school in Windsor Park for some time. The addition of new buildings and the school’s specific and changing functions are testimony to the growing population and changing demographics in Windsor Park during the late 1950s and 1960s.

The 1956 structure, identifiable along the west side, consisted of thirteen rooms. The shortage of classrooms and auditorium/physical education space prompted the building of an addition only four years after the school had been completed. The gymnasium along the south-west side of the building is most likely the 1961 addition built by Zunic and Sobkowich, and retains many of the early design elements of the original west wing. In 1961, St. Boniface School Division No. 4 approved $495,000 to build a sixteen-room school and add seventeen rooms to Beliveau School. In 1962, plans were set for twelve rooms to be added, mostly likely in the north wing (1964), followed by nine more classrooms in the south wing (1967). These later additions were designed by Étienne Gaboury.

The original 1956 building is characterized by its red brick exterior and terrazzo floors. Short windows are set against white stucco along the south side of the west face, contrasting the red brick construction. A separate single-storey building along the north side continues in this style. The Gaboury additions along the south side use a pink brick accented by white stucco. Tall, narrow windows grouped together are used along the south facade. Beliveau School was among the first in metropolitan Winnipeg that didn’t feature a traditional cow bell to announce the start of the school day. Instead, it featured an electronic buzzer that sounded at timed intervals throughout the day.

19

Church of the Canadian Holy Martyrs (Église des Saints-Martyrs-Canadiens), 289 Dussault Avenue, was designed by Étienne Gaboury and completed in 1961. The design was influenced by both changes in the Catholic Church, as later reflected in the Second Vatican Council, and by the work of the European modernist architect Le Corbusier. Although predating the Second Vatican Council, the church reflects many of the changes that occurred in Canada’s post-war Catholic community. This was something Gaboury was attuned to because of his strong connection to the Catholic Church, as well as his personal relationship with St. Boniface Bishop Maurice Baudoux. Church of the Canadian Holy Martyrs can be considered an intermediate design: Modern and responsive to the changes in the church, yet not as full a realization of the aims of the Second Vatican Council as some of Gaboury’s later works. In 1964, Holy Martyrs Church was nominated for a Massey Award, the highest architectural award in Canada at that time.

In February 1961, plans were prepared for a church that would accommodate 250 people and construction was completed by December 10, 1961. The exterior was designed by Étienne Gaboury, while Gaboury collaborator Bernard Aubry contributed to the interior design. Construction was contracted to Rebiffe Construction Company Ltd. Attention to small details, paired with the church’s extravagant appearance, belies its economical construction. However, exceptions were made for more costly features such as the linoleum floor, metal bench hooks, and the baptismal font. The church was dramatically altered in 2002 by architect Harold Funk.

From the south side, the church is a neo-gothic A-frame, with a bell tower and cross at the centre of what would be its conventional facade. Gaboury reimagines this design, moving the main entrance from the face of the A-frame to the side, and adding many dynamic elements. Skylights are incorporated extensively on the east side, which features louvered windows that extend along the length of the building, as well as taller windows on the north-east corner. These windows have since been partially obscured by overhangs, reducing their impact somewhat. A dynamic bell tower rises along the south side of the building. It features vertical blinds, which were chosen for their form and because they would provide better acoustics for the church’s electronic bell. Consistent with the side entrance, housed in a vestibule on the south-east side, the cross atop the bell tower faces east. The vestibule was removed in 2002, although its form is still distinguishable. Opposite it on the south-west side is the baptistry, which, in accordance with tradition after the Second Vatican Council, is in the church in order to signify a parishioner’s entrance into the ecclesial community. The white exterior is accented by the originally black asphalt parking lot on either side of the building. The 2002 additions included a roofline in the form of a flat-topped pyramid with stained-glass skylight along the south-west side of the original building, as well as an extension of the wall on the same side that continues in the style of the bell tower.

The interior is characterized by its louvered skylights that illuminate the nave, focusing light on the church’s sanctuary and honey-brick coloured altar. The interior was designed to bring parishioners closer to the church’s secondary liturgical functions, instilling a greater sense of community. Expressions of the church’s secondary liturgical functions can be found in subtle inflections within its all-encompassing space, an alternative to creating dedicated spaces. In addition, the parish hall conforms to the “versus populum" setting where the celebrant faces the congregation. The enriched wall accents the pulpit and sanctuary lamp. A cloth baldachin is used, as opposed to solid columns and canopy, which integrates elements of local culture, such as the ceinture-fléchée. The use of a cloth canopy is also modular, as it can be changed to reflect the appropriate colours of the religious occasion.

Laminated beams of oiled Douglas fir cover the interior of the roof. Rows of Scandinavian-designed light fixtures shaded with white plastic hang between the beams. The pews are birch with a walnut stain. Behind the altar is a masonry textured relief, draped canopy, and vertical glass bands that draw the eye. The altar and baptismal font are concrete coated with asymmetric pieces of glazed coloured tile that matches the rest of the church.

20

The school was named after William Russell, former St. Boniface Chief of Police. William Russell Elementary School was built to accommodate the needs of a neighbourhood that was quickly approaching the apex of its growth. In its first year, the school would have an enrollment of 350 children from kindergarten to grade six, numbers typical of schools in Windsor Park in the 1950s and 1960s. The official opening was in January of 1969, but the school would soon close in June of 1974. A drop in enrolment was anticipated as the first generation of Windsor Park students graduated. The decision was made to close William Russell Elementary School, along with the all-French Tache Elementary School (744 Langevin Street), in order to save $100,000 annually and allow for a more efficient allocation of educational resources. Although significant protests were organized by parents from both schools, only Tache Elementary School was spared, owing to its status as one of the first purpose-built French-language schools since the 1876 Manitoba Schools Question. William Russell Elementary School has the unfortunate distinction of being amongst the first closures of urban small schools in Manitoba. 50 Monterey Road would reopen as a board office and teacher centre for St. Boniface School Division sometime in 1975. It has since been rebranded as the Louis Riel School Division Resource Centre.

William Russell Elementary School was built for $475,000 as a twelve-room open-plan building, utilizing removable walls to configure the space as needed. The Ward Macdonald design was the first open-plan school in the division. Other modern features included sound-insulated walls for the kindergarten and air-conditioning. It is a smallish one-storey rectangular building, faced in limestone on the lower portion with pale stucco above and a contrasting metal band between. A dark metal cornice juts beyond the walls on the front face only. Although its three sides are fairly plain, the public face on the north side has some stylish features, such as large window openings and stone-covered fins extending floor-to-ceiling from the walls. These features delineate between each classroom space and meet the extended eaves above. The interior has been extensively renovated and adapted to its new purpose.

21

Christ Apostolic Church, 365 Westmount Drive, designed by Macleod Reimer and Webster, opened on September 8, 1963. Home to the Windsor Park Church of Christ, it was not built “in the conventional church style, but it stands out in the area of Cottonwood Road at the junction of Westmount Drive, where it is located, as an attractive building."

Its modernist design uses red tapestry brick finished in a random pattern, and is given verve through such details as curving corners and a swooping, projecting plane along its east side, which was later clad in vinyl siding. The church’s raised concrete foundation is in contrast to its red brick finish. The building conspicuously lacks windows — the exceptions are glazing on the side and rear entrances, which are accented with recessed lighting, and the west-facing skylight at the top of the swooping, projecting plane. The building has a capacity of 170 people; an addition for 80 more people was planned but appears to have never been completed. Of note is the deletion of the planned north-facing curved entrance at the rear in favour of a curved west-facing entrance.

22

General Vanier School was designed by Étienne Gaboury in 1961. In 1963, the same firm was commissioned to design a 12-classroom addition for $149,700. In September of 1964, parents of more than one-hundred children living on nearby Bibeau Street, Betournay Street, and Dussault Avenue, complained to St. Boniface School Division Superintendent Brother J.H. Bruns. Their protest concerned a change in school boundaries that had forced their children to walk more than half-a-mile to General Vanier school, despite living a few blocks away from Collège Beliveau. Letters were also sent to the provincial Minister of Education, as well as their MLA, New Democrat Andrew R. Paulley. The redrafting of the boundaries had been done to accommodate special French options at Beliveau School for children in Windsor Park and St. Boniface (for more information, see 296 Speers Road, Collège Beliveau). The issue was resolved by allowing students affected by the boundary change to re-enroll at Collège Beliveau. It was clear that most Windsor Park schools did not have space for all of the students in the development. Again, in 1970, Gaboury Lussier Sigurdson Architects added another addition, this time adding three more classrooms and a gymnasium. This project was contracted out to Taubensee Construction Co. Ltd. This addition is visible on the along the east side of the building, where the gymnasium is elevated, but not the surrounding classrooms.

Amongst General Vanier School’s most distinctive features are its novel windows and awnings. Wide and narrow windows are mounted side-by-side, and their form is replicated by separate narrow orange awnings and wide white awnings. The rectangular awnings are suspended uniquely in front of the windows, rather than being pitched against the side of the building. As well, the building’s otherwise austere red-brown brick façade is interrupted by bands of white stucco and concrete brick that surround its windows and entrances.

23

Frontenac School, opened on August 29, 1957, was based on a design by architects Zunic and Sobkowich. It was originally built as a 12-room school to accommodate 350 pupils, at a cost of $165,000. However, rising enrolment (3,500 students in St. Boniface schools in 1957) lead some to speculate that a new high school would have to be built in Windsor Park within a few years to accommodate the population surge. This problem was exacerbated by the development of Niakwa Park, for which Frontenac also served as catchment. Additional classrooms were added on the south end in 1959, a gym was added in 1964, and additional spaces were added in 1970. These changes increased capacity to 420 students. Plans for the 1956, 1959, and 1964 developments were done by architects Zunic and Sobkowich, while the 1970 addition was designed by Ward McDonald Cockburn McLeod and McFeetors.

The original facade was mid-brown brick with a large number of windows that have unfortunately since been filled in with stucco. The one-story entrance on the west side, however, remains largely original. The red trim used along the roofline is consistent with the colour of the red mortar used between the brickwork. The 1956 and 1959 sections are seamless across the front of the school, while the latter two additions are concealed behind the building.

24

St. Bartholomew Anglican Church was established with the help of St. Philip's Parish in Norwood. The church's formation coincided with the development of the Windsor Park residential area in the late 1950s. The original design was developed by Pratt and Lindgren Architects, while later additions originated from architect Dwight Rupert Johnston. This was the first church on the street designed by Pratt and Lindgren Architects; the second was Windsor Park United at 1062 Autumnwood Drive.

The offer to purchase was accepted on April 16, 1958, and the certificate of title was drawn almost one month later on May 13, 1958. The rectory was located at 871 Autumnwood. Plans for the church building were presented by Pratt and Lindgren Architects on March 31, 1959, with the cornerstone laid November 11, 1959. During construction, services were held in Frontenac School while the parish hall was used for Sunday School and other church activities. Construction on an addition designed by Dwight Rupert Johnston began on October 15, 1963 and was completed in 1964.

St. Bartholomew is characterized by two attached but distinct sections. The more modest east wing, designed by Pratt and Lindgren Architects, consists of pink brick and a simple open gable-style roof. The east facade features rows of tall windows separated from the basement windows by vinyl siding. The structural elements of the building are clearly articulated in its external form, with wooden beams protruding from the side. The original design was planned in two stages, with the aforementioned east wing constructed first, followed by a U-shaped west wing. The west wing, which was never completed, featured a long, narrow white canopied entrance that extended from the east side up to Autumnwood Drive. The white finish is used elsewhere, including the west facade’s curved decorative siding. The most distinctive feature of the planned west wing was its south facade, which featured floor-to-ceiling windows at the bottom of the U and facing onto Autumnwood Drive. This would have given the church two main facades, with the west wing facing onto Autumnwood Drive, and the east wing onto De Bourmont Avenue.

The reason for cancelling the original Pratt and Lindgren-designed west wing is unclear. With a capacity for only 182 people in the east wing parish hall, it is possible that the planned west wing was changed to add a hall for 210 people in order to accommodate Windsor Park’s growing population. The west wing, with its exposed beams, forms a slanted roof with a south elevation. Floor-to-ceiling windows feature prominently, where their form carries through to the second floor. The white stucco of the second floor contrasts with the pink brick of the lower level. Smaller block windows fitted with red, blue, and orange glass are also featured on the second floor, placed off-centre in disconnected stacks of three (a feature not included in the original sketch). These coloured windows are used on the north side windows as well, fitted within floor-to-ceiling windows. Inside the church, these coloured windows are fitted within wood screens, separating the nave from the narthex. At the rear of the sanctuary is a balcony, which serves as the choir screen, and is decorated with wood squares in the metal railing that replicates the form of the coloured windows. Ultimately, this design for the west wing, from Dwight Rupert Johnston, was built instead of the design by Pratt and Lindgren Architects.

25

Ecole Howden was originally called Harper Elementary School. The school’s name pays tribute to The Honorable J. P. Howden, MD, Senator of Canada. Built in 1965 by Triple “L” Construction Ltd., for a total cost of $162,223, it was designed by architect Étienne Gaboury. Twelve original classrooms were built at this time, but given a total registration of 197 in its inaugural year, it soon became apparent that an addition would be needed. A large second wing was planned in 1967. In 1979, the school became a centre for French immersion learning. By 1982, the school had again exceeded its capacity with 417 registered students.

The building consists of two wings, set at right angles to each other. With the exception of the gymnasium, the building is single storey and flat-roofed. The original wing consists of brown brick walls interrupted by windows with white siding above. This creates the impression of a white building with a brick building built overtop.

A proposal for a shopping centre at the corner of Drake Boulevard and Elizabeth Road appeared as early as January of 1959. Development of the centre was trusted to K. A. Miller of Lount Construction, a reputable Winnipeg company. Like the Cottonwood Shopping Centre, Windsor Park Shopping Centre included a modest sized grocery store. A tower-like signpost extends out of the front of the store. Although modernized, the IGA sign remains largely true to the form and style of the original sign. One of its long-time businesses is Windsor Lanes. It features a charming sign above the location in the shape of a white bowling pin, illuminated by neon lights. The mall included Easton’s Cleaners, Daisy Dairy Dip, Olier, Brown and Shrag Co., Donut House, Offices of Dr. Blight, Carus Hardware, Ronald Shoe store, Windsor Park Florists, Bank of Nova Scotia, Drake Pharmacy, Mini Mart, and Spudnut. The stores are placed along the length of Elizabeth Road, and extend to the other side of Drake Boulevard. In 1979 a renovation of the space was done by Moody Moore Partners.

Pierre Radisson Collegiate was built in 1968, and although it is technically in the suburb of Maginot, was meant to accommodate the growing neighborhoods of Windsor Park, Berkshire Park, and Niakwa Park. The school has this in common with its neighbor, the arena at 910 Maginot Street, which was originally supposed to be built on Winakwa Road just north of Cottonwood Road (see 980 Winakwa Road). The school was designed by Gaboury Lussier Sigurdson Venables, a firm whose work was well represented in Windsor Park. The cost of construction was $1,113,000, and it officially opened as a junior-high school in September of 1969. During its time as a junior high, the school would also serve as a centre of French-Canadian cultural activity. An addition was designed by Mcdonald Cockburn McLeod McFeetors in 1978, which was consistent with the design of the original structure. It would later be converted to a technical and vocational school for three-hundred part-time students.

Built mostly at the same time, the one-and-two-storey design is a highly unified series of distinctive squared volumes all finished in a red brick. Clerestory windows in the classroom and administration wings form a high horizontal strip. Most other windows are squared and stacked vertically. The cavernous auditorium/gym is used for many concerts within the school division.

Though not featured in either the Parade of Homes or National Home Week, 29 Buttonwood Bay has an interesting history. The home was built by Jaycee Brotherhood Homes Ltd., which sought to auction the home to help finance fifteen medical teams aiding refugees in South Vietnam. Construction began in June, 1956, and was completed in the spring of 1957. Fifty businesses, including the Hudson’s Bay Company and Supercrete Ltd., contributed building materials and furnishings. Once complete, the home was open for viewing for two to three months to generate interest in the raffle for the $17,500 ranch-style bungalow. Situated on a corner lot, the home originally featured an attached carport, set asymmetrically to match the curvature of the lot.

The raffle was won by a resident of Sudbury, who found moving too difficult and ultimately sold the home without having lived in it. For an unknown reason, the home was listed at 27 Buttonwood Bay, while the home featured is 29 Buttonwood Bay.

Development of the new Windsor Park Library began in 2012 when Winnipeg City Council approved the Winnipeg Public Library’s redevelopment strategy. Construction began in 2017 and was completed in 2018.

In the February 2020 Canadian Architect magazine, Winnipeg architect Lawrence Bird writes:

“The simple yet unusual form stands out as a landmark in the community. Its acute angle is striking to any passerby — pedestrian, bicyclist, driver. Set back and sunk slightly below road level, the building is buffered from the adjacent traffic arterial by stands of prairie tall grass. Access is via a looping roadway designed, like a street, with parking on either side, avoiding the typical suburban-style parking lot. An arcade of asymmetrical, inventively detailed W-sections supports a corrugated steel roof, all powder-coated white; behind this rises the library’s east façade. The sleek profile of the library cuts into one’s line of sight, an effect even more powerful at night, when interior lighting makes the building glow. It slices toward the adjacent ravine, where a wooden bridge leads to the public pool, offering other community activities as well as overflow parking.

While most of the façade is full-height glass, as one moves from the south tip of the building to the entrance, the glazing is modulated by perforated Corten cladding, screening some windows while revealing others. Wise budgeting is always appreciated in this city, and the architects emphasize that this cladding was off-the-shelf, with standard sections used to minimize waste and expense. As one moves further north, the façade becomes progressively more opaque; as it wraps around the corner, the perforated steel is replaced by solid Corten. With good reason: the north elevation faces the tee of the 16th hole, so the wall of weathered steel defends against errant golf balls.

"As one enters the building, a clear division into public and service space unfolds, a natural result of bisecting the triangle. To the left lies the public area, the “skinny” portion of the triangle. Here, the reading room and stacks are bounded by two long glazed walls converging at the southern tip of the building. The acute angle creates a striking interior spatial experience, accentuated by views to either side. Through the east wall, traffic zooms by silently on roadway; to the west is the library’s grassy patio set against the foliage of the public golf course. Computer workstations are arrayed here, so this leafy view is seen by users glancing up from their screens. This is a relief for the eyes, and an astute integration of the landscape into the design of the building.

The “fat” northern section of the triangle, pushed up against the 60-degree angle, is given over to administrative functions. Rather than using a connecting corridor, the architects have stacked most elements Tetris-style. For some, the resulting spaces may seem crowded; others will read the planning as minimalist and clever, reducing circulation space to almost zero. To this end, mechanical systems are only accessed from the exterior, through the solid Corten north wall. As with many good buildings throughout history, imperfections in the geometry are accommodated in the invisible part of the structure. Access to the mechanical room is articulated as a notch in the plan — the only departure from the purity of the triangle.

Structural systems are similarly divided between the two parts of the triangle. In the administrative space, cement blocks support a poured-in-place concrete structure overhead, whose occasional imperfections add character. In contrast, a space frame spans the acutely angled, public, portion of the triangle. The architects chose the system for its triangulated geometry and its resonance with the notion of “network.” Like today’s library programs, a space frame is centreless, distributed, multidirectional, and can serve as an “umbrella” for fluctuating conditions.”

Windsor Park Sales Brochure, 1956

General

• “Assembly Line Homes.” The Winnipeg Tribune, September 28, 1956, 14.
• Burley, David. City and Suburb Housing in Twentieth-Century Winnipeg. Winnipeg: Department of History, University of Winnipeg, 2003.
• “Children’s Safety – Factor in Planning.” The Winnipeg Tribune, June 23, 1956, 39.
• Cohen, Lizabeth. A Consumers' Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America. New York: Vintage Books, 2004.
• “House Building Near $25 Million: St. Boniface Gains Balance Decreases.” The Winnipeg Tribune, September 28, 1956, 11.
• “It’s a House Problem Of Finding a $Million.” The Winnipeg Tribune, August 8, 1957, 1.
• Ladco Co. Ltd., Advertisement. Winnipeg Free Press, December 16, 1955, 10.
• Ladco Co. Ltd., Advertisement. Winnipeg Free Press, October 31, 1955, 6.
• “Mayor J. G. Van Bellegham of St. Boniface cuts the tape…” Winnipeg Free Press, September 19, 1956, 22.
• Murray, Al. “Thirty-Eight Builders Comprise Winnipeg Ladco Housing Group.” Western Construction and Building, 8, no. 3 (1956): 10.
• “New Area Will Get Supermarket.” Winnipeg Free Press, February 2, 1957, 7.
• “St. Boniface Signs 3,100-Home Contract.” Winnipeg Free Press, January 19, 1956, 1.
• “St. Boniface - 1[&]1/2 Times 13,000 Will Inhabit Windsor Park.” Winnipeg Free Press, May 26, 1956, 10.
• “St. Boniface - One of major Industrial Centres[:] Residential Areas Expand to Meet Growth.” Winnipeg Free Press, June 25, 1957, 33.
• “Thriving Suburb – In Six Years.” Winnipeg Free Press, September 30, 1961, 5.
• “Value of New Homes Near Record[:] Parade of Houses On Display in Greater Winnipeg Greatest Ever[:] Construction Holds Up Despite Restrictions.” Winnipeg Free Press, September 14, 1956, 1.
• “When Family Hunts For Home, It’s The Wife Who Chooses It.” Winnipeg Free Press, September 14, 1956, 29.
• “Windsor Park Notable Development: New District To Arise.” Winnipeg Free Press, September 14, 1956, 26.
• “Wives Decide House Deals.” The Winnipeg Tribune, September 28, 1956, 13.

195 Archibald Street

Windsor Park Library

• Bird, Lawrence. Canadian Architect 2 (2020) p 40–42. “All the Right Angles: Windsor Park Library, Winnipeg, Manitoba”.

866 Autumnwood Drive

Frontenac School

• “School Time Firsts.” Winnipeg Free Press, August 21, 1957.
• “Some Greater Winnipeg Schools To Be Crowded.” Winnipeg Free Press, August 24, 1957, 3.
• “St. Boniface Taxes Up And Down.” Winnipeg Free Press, April 30, 1957, 3.
• Various Documents, “866 Autumnwood Drive” [ca. 1957], Box A–C, Folder 866 Autumnwood Drive, Winnipeg Architecture Building Files, at Winnipeg Architecture Foundation, Winnipeg.

881 Autumnwood Drive

St. Bartholomew Anglican Church

• “Drawings of St. Bartholomew Church, Windsor Park” [ca. 1959–1963], W.013, St. Bartholemew, Winnipeg, fonds, Diocese of Rupert’s Land, MB. Winnipeg, MB.
• Various Documents, “881 Autumnwood Drive” [ca. 1959], Box A–C, Folder 881 Autumnwood Drive, Winnipeg Architecture Building Files, at Winnipeg Architecture Foundation, Winnipeg.

1031 Autumnwood Drive

Cottonwood Shopping Centre

• Canada Safeway Limited, Advertisement. Winnipeg Free Press, February 26, 1964, 5.
• Cassidy, Christian. “1441 Main Street – Former Safeway.” Winnipeg Downtown Places, March 17, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2019. http://winnipegdowntownplaces.blogspot.com/ 2017/03/1441-main-street-former-safeway.html
• Ladco Co. Ltd., Advertisement. Winnipeg Free Press, May 5, 1959, 6.
• “Million Dollar Shopping Centre By Fall: Opening Seen By Sept., 1957.” Winnipeg Free Press, September 28, 1956, 12.
• “New Area Will Get Supermarket.” Winnipeg Free Press, February 2, 1957, 7.
• Safeway, Advertisement. The Winnipeg Tribune, April 28, 1958, 7.

1062 Autumnwood Drive

Windsor Park United Church

• “Notes and Correspondence on Windsor Park United.” [ca. 1961], United Church Archives of Canada, MB, Winnipeg, MB.
• “The Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg: Board of Adjustment – Zoning.” Winnipeg Free Press, July 21, 1961, 33.
• Various Documents, “1062 Cottonwood Road” [ca. 1962], Box A–C, Folder 1062 Cottonwood Road, Winnipeg Architecture Building Files, at Winnipeg Architecture Foundation, Winnipeg.
• “Windsor Park United Dedicated.” Winnipeg Free Press, April 28, 1962, 34.

1083 Autumnwood Drive

No. 4 Fire Station

• Burdeyny, Bill. “Civic campaigner aims at new goal.” The Winnipeg Tribune, November 15, 1969, 24.
• Burdeyny, Bill. “The suburban scene… Transit study: Metro beltway still mystery.” The Winnipeg Tribune, February 1, 1969, 11.
• “Fire Safety Doubted.” Winnipeg Free Press, December 2, 1969, 4.
• “Fire Station No. 4 Drawings and Notes”. 0488/2438/384 – 0488/2438/385, Centre du patrimoine, Winnipeg.
• Various Documents, “1083 Autumnwood Drive” [ca. 1969], Box A–C, Folder 1083 Autumnwood Drive, Winnipeg Architecture Building Files, at Winnipeg Architecture Foundation, Winnipeg.

1100 Autumnwood Drive

Formerly Evangelical Free Church

• “The Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg – Board of Adjustment Zoning.” The Winnipeg Tribune, February 24, 1969, 33. 68042.
• Windsor Park Evangelical Church – Autumnwood and Cottonwood, Winnipeg, M-84-4-5. Archives of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

1101 Autumnwood Drive

École Lacerte

• “French Option: Rezoning proposed for school.” The Winnipeg Tribune, January 18, 1966, 15.
• Russell, Frances. “Smiles, tributes greet school.” The Winnipeg Tribune, October 13, 1966, 1.
• Various Documents, “1101 Autumnwood Drive” [ca. 1966], Box A–C, Folder 1101 Autumnwood Drive, Winnipeg Architecture Building Files, at Winnipeg Architecture Foundation, Winnipeg.

29 Buttonwood Bay

Jaycee Brotherhood Home

• “House Or No”, She Stays In Sudbury. Winnipeg Free Press, July 22, 1957, 3.
• “Jaycee Home Ready In Spring”. Winnipeg Free Press, December 15, 1956, 51.
• The Jaycee Brotherhood Home, Advertisement. Winnipeg Free Press, April 6, 1957, 5.
• The Jaycee Brotherhood Home, Advertisement. The Winnipeg Tribune, April 12, 1957, 4.
• Photo of Groundbreaking, 27 Buttonwood Bay. Winnipeg Free Press, June 16, 1956, 28.

82–84 Canberra Road

Parade of Homes 1960

• City of Winnipeg Proclamation: National Home Week. The Winnipeg Tribune, September 17, 1960, 8.
• “Parade of Homes Starts Next Week”. Winnipeg Free Press, September 16, 1960, 45.
• “Parade ’60 Homes!” The Winnipeg Tribune, September 17, 1960, 10.

Cherry Crescent

Parade of Homes 1957

• “They’ll Build a 24-Hour House.” The Winnipeg Tribune, September 20, 1957, 9.

3 Cherry Crescent

House in a Day

• “200 Men Will Build, Decorate, And Furnish House In 24 Hours.” Winnipeg Free Press, September 21, 1957, 49.
• “City Firm Sets New Home Building Record.” Winnipeg Free Press, September 23, 1957, 3.
• Parade of Homes, Advertisement. Winnipeg Free Press, September 20, 1957, 18.
• “Parade Of Homes Opens; Modern Living On Display[:] 22 Homes On View In Windsor Park.” Winnipeg Free Press, September 6, 1958, 51.
• “They’ll Build a 24-Hour House.” The Winnipeg Tribune, September 20, 1957, 9.
• Western Construction and Building. “Winnipeg’s First Annual Parade of Homes.” Western Construction and Building, 9, no. 10 (1957): 18–20.

6 Cherry Crescent

Windsor Park Winner

• Garrioch, Verna. “These Three Winners of Canadian Housing Design Council Awards Included Among The Many Beautifully Designed Winnipeg Homes.” The Winnipeg Tribune, August 16, 1958, 12.
• “Windsor Park Winner”. The Winnipeg Tribune, November 23, 1957, 20.

820 Cottonwood Road

St. Bernadette Parish Centre

• Gibbons, Lillian. “St. Bernadette’s window – miracle of light.” The Winnipeg Tribune, February 24, 1968, 18.
• Various Documents, “820 Cottonwood Road” [ca. 1961], Box A–C, Folder 820 Cottonwood Road, Winnipeg Architecture Building Files, at Winnipeg Architecture Foundation, Winnipeg.

906 Cottonwood Road

Formerly Prendergast Elementary School

• “[cover image].” Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, 36, no. 10 (1959): 1, 3.
• “$360,000 School vote In St. Boniface.” Winnipeg Free Press, January 27, 1959, 5.
• “Thriving Suburb – In Six Years.” Winnipeg Free Press, September 30, 1961, 5.
• Various Documents, “906 Cottonwood Road” [ca. 1958], Box A–C, Folder 906 Cottonwood Road, Winnipeg Architecture Building Files, at Winnipeg Architecture Foundation, Winnipeg.

955 Cottonwood Road

Formerly Windsor Park Library

• “It’s National Home Week – Windsor Park.” Winnipeg Free Press, September 16, 1961, 7.
• McCracken, Melinda. “Libraries get their due: Branches Bursting Out All Over.” Winnipeg Free Press, January 13, 1962, 13.
• Various Documents, “955 Cottonwood Road” [ca. 1961], Box A–C, Folder 955 Cottonwood Road, Winnipeg Architecture Building Files, at Winnipeg Architecture Foundation, Winnipeg.
• “Windsor Park Library Land To Be Sought.” Winnipeg Free Press, April 26, 1960, 3.

1015 Cottonwood Road

Windsor Park Collegiate

• Fleury, W. E. “SCHOOLS.” Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Journal, 38, no. (1961): 52–53.
• Guttormson, Elman. “Jottings From the Business World.” Winnipeg Free Press, March 12, 1956, 62.
• Newman, Roger. “St. Boniface Lacks Swimming Pools, But Industry Is Substantial.” Winnipeg Free Press, August 29, 1960,  59.
• “Official Opening.” Winnipeg Free Press, September 5, 1960, 5.
• Thorsteinson, Jeffery and Brennan Smith. Green Blankstein Russell and Associates: An Architectural Legacy. Winnipeg: Winnipeg Architecture Foundation, 2017.
• Various Documents, “1015 Cottonwood Road” [ca. 1959], Box A–C, Folder 1015 Cottonwood Road, Winnipeg Architecture Building Files, at Winnipeg Architecture Foundation, Winnipeg.
• “Windsor Park Collegiate.” Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, 38, no. 7 (1961): 52.

5 De Bourmont Avenue

Formerly Pierre Radisson Collegiate

• Lisoway, Bob. “Private Developers Boost City Building.” Winnipeg Free Press, July 8, 1969, 18.
• “Louis Riel Arts and Technology Centre.” Winnipeg Architecture Foundation. Accessed November 26, 2019. https://www.winnipegarchitecture.ca/5-de-bourmont-avenue/
• “School system to get full study. Miller promises.” The Winnipeg Tribune, August 30, 1969, 3.
• “To Outline Francophone Grievances: 1,000 To Present Resolutions to Government Officials Today." Winnipeg Free Press, April 3, 1971, 7.

Duluth Bay

Parade of Homes 1963

• “Parade Of Homes Is Popular Event”. Winnipeg Free Press, September 7, 1963, 54.
• “Many Qualities Make A Comfortable Home”. Winnipeg Free Press, September 7, 1963, 53.
• “Windsor Park Is Site Of This Year’s Parade Of Homes”. Winnipeg Free Press, September 7, 1963, 52.

39 Duluth Bay

The Montrose

• 1963 Parade of Homes: Presented By the Winnipeg Housebuilders Association. Winnipeg: Winnipeg Housebuilders Association, 1963.
• “Résidence de Rhéa et Caroline Teffaine (78 Duluth Bay, Windsor Park) – renovations / Rhéal and Caroline Teffaine Residence - renovations”. 0488/2448/443, Centre du patrimoine, Winnipeg.

47 Duluth Bay

The Imperial

• 1963 Parade of Homes: Presented By the Winnipeg Housebuilders Association. Winnipeg: Winnipeg Housebuilders Association, 1963.
• “Résidence de Rhéa et Caroline Teffaine (78 Duluth Bay, Windsor Park) – renovations / Rhéal and Caroline Teffaine Residence - renovations”. 0488/2448/443, Centre du patrimoine, Winnipeg.

67 Duluth Bay

• 1963 Parade of Homes: Presented By the Winnipeg Housebuilders Association. Winnipeg: Winnipeg Housebuilders Association, 1963.
• Résidence de Rhéa et Caroline Teffaine (78 Duluth Bay, Windsor Park) – renovations / Rhéal and Caroline Teffaine Residence - renovations”. 0488/2448/443, Centre du patrimoine, Winnipeg.

289 Dussault Avenue

Église des Saints-Martyrs-Canadiens

• “Church of the Canadian Holy Martyrs Drawings and Notes”. 0488/2393/10 to 2394/21, Centre du patrimoine, Winnipeg.
• “Church of the Canadian Holy Martyrs, St. Boniface, Manitoba[:] Architects: E. J. Gaboury. Canadian Architect, 8 (1963): 34–38.
• “Église Saint-Arthur / Église Saints-Martyrs-Canadiens / Saints-Martyrs-Canadiens Church (Windsor Park)”. SHSB 58137 – 58156, 58807 – 58817, 58819, and 59318, Centre du patrimoine, Winnipeg.
• Gaboury, Étienne J. Interviewed by Alexander Gowriluk. Dictated. Gaboury Residence, September 14, 2018.
• Matoff, Theodore. “This bold, verily church fits into prairie pattern.” The Winnipeg Tribune, March 20, 1965, 19.
• Pezolet, Nicola. “Étienne Gaboury, Vatican II, and Catholic Liturgical Renewal in Postwar Canada.” The European Legacy: Towards New Paradigms, 22, no. 3 (2017): 293–317.
• Various Documents, “289 Dussault Avenue” [ca. 1961], Box D–G, Folder 289 Dassault Avenue, Winnipeg Architecture Building Files, at Winnipeg Architecture Foundation, Winnipeg.

664 Elizabeth Road

Windsor Park Shopping Centre

• “All The Family Loves… 5 Pin Bowling!” The Winnipeg Tribune, September 6, 1963, 27.
• “It’s National Home Week – Sept 16 to 23 and Windsor Park invites your inspection…” Winnipeg Free Press, September 16, 1961, 7.
• Spudnut, Advertisement. Winnipeg Free Press, October 27, 1960, 6.
• “Proposed Shopping Centre: Windsor Park.” Winnipeg Free Press, January 17, 1959, 51.
• “Vandals shoot windows in Windsor Park centre.” The Winnipeg Tribune, August 6, 1968, 22.
• “Windsor Park Commercial Space Available.” Winnipeg Free Press, April 19, 1960, 29.
• 79127. Windsor Park Shopping Centre – Winnipeg, M-85-8-2. Archives of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

150 Howden Road

Ecole Howden (Formerly Harper Elementary School)

• “École élémentaire Howden – agrandissement / Howden Elementary School – Addition (Windsor Park, St. Boniface School Division No. 4)”. 0488/2420/234, Centre du patrimoine, Winnipeg.
• “Harper Elementary School (Howden Road, Windsor Park) – addition”. 0488/2410/154 – 0488/2410/155, Centre du patrimoine, Winnipeg.

18 Lomond Boulevard

General Vanier School

• “Angry Parents Get Promise: School Supt. Will Seek Board Meet.” Winnipeg Free Press, September 15, 1964, 1.
• “Board Drops Plan.” Winnipeg Free Press, September 17, 1964, 1.
• “École élémentaire Général-Vanier – agrandissement de 12 classes / General Vanier Elementary School – 12 classroom addition”. 0488/2408/134 – 0488/2408/135, Centre du patrimoine, Winnipeg.
• “École élémentaire Général-Vanier - agrandissement / General Vanier Elementary School – three classroom & gymnasium addition (St. Boniface School Division No. 4)”. 0488/2439/386 – 0488/2439/388, Centre du patrimoine, Winnipeg.
• “École élémentaire Général-Vanier / General Vanier Elementary School”. 0488/2394/30, Centre du patrimoine, Winnipeg.
• “General Vanier School”. SHSB 34831 – SHSB 34840, Centre du patrimoine, Winnipeg.

50 Monterey Road

Formerly William Russell Elementary School

• Burdeyny, Bill. “Veteran police chief honoured by school naming.” The Winnipeg Tribune, December 11, 1968, 1.
• Coleman, Peter. “The Closing of Howden School: Decision-making under conditions of stress.” McGill Journal of Education, 17, no. 3 (Fall 1982): 263–284.
• “Committee, school meetings next week.” Winnipeg Free Press, November 16, 1978, 65.
• “St. Boniface prepares for the open-area era.” The Winnipeg Tribune, March 13, 1969, 5.
• “Two St. B Schools Closing.” Winnipeg Free Press, March 28, 1974, 28.

296 Speers Road

Collège Beliveau

• “Influx To St. Boniface Forces Class Cutting.” The Winnipeg Tribune, October 11, 1956, 21.
• “Our ‘Automatic’ Schools Get Along Without A Bell.” The Winnipeg Tribune, September 3, 1956, 21.
• “School Opening Delay Blamed On Land Firm.” Winnipeg Free Press, November 10, 1956, 3.
• “Schools Rapped, Praised.” The Winnipeg Tribune, March 11, 1960, 8.
• “Seat For Pupils: Strikes Won’t Delay School Openings.” Winnipeg Free Press, August 22, 1962, 3.
• “Two School Bylaws Approved.” Winnipeg Free Press, October 21, 1961, 3.
• Various Documents, “296 Speers Road” [ca. 1956], Box Pr–S, Folder 296 Speers Road, Winnipeg Architecture Building Files, at Winnipeg Architecture Foundation, Winnipeg.
• Ville Cathédrale [Cathedral City of] de Saint Boniface. Winnipeg: Province of Manitoba Department of Industry and Commerce, 1958.

365 Westmount Drive

Christ Apostolic Church

• “Church of Christ in Windsor Park…” The Winnipeg Tribune, July 14, 1962, 9.
• “The New Windsor Park church…” The Winnipeg Free Press, September 28, 1963, 28.
• Various Documents, “365 Westmount Drive” [ca. 1963], Box T–Z, Folder 365 Westmount Drive, Winnipeg Architecture Building Files, at Winnipeg Architecture Foundation, Winnipeg.

930 Winakwa Road

Prince of Peace Lutheran Church

• “About the Church: Price of Peace Lutheran Church.” Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. Accessed July 25, 2019. https://poplutheranchurch.wordpress.com/about-the-church/
• Godabout, Arielle. “Church puts community ahead of growth.” Winnipeg Free Press, October 27, 2010. Accessed July 25, 2019. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/lance/Church-puts-community-ahead-of-growth-105805833.html
• Gadbout, Arielle. “Living their faith within shared walls: Prince of Peace Lutheran Church and St. Andrew’s Presbyterian join forces.” Winnipeg Free Press, May 30, 2012. Accessed July 25, 2019. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/lance/Living-their-faith-within-shared-walls--155479235.html
• Various Documents, “Stan Osaka Drawings” [ca. 1964, 1986], Stan Osaka Drawings [finding aid], Winnipeg Architecture Foundation Files, at Winnipeg Architecture Foundation, Winnipeg.

980 Winakwa Road

Winakwa Community Centre

• “Club communautaire Winakwa – agrandissement / Winakwa Community Club – addition (City of St. Boniface Parks Board, Winakwa and Autumnwood Drive)”. 0488/2429/321 0488/2429/322, Centre du patrimoine, Winnipeg.
• “Engineer Plan Splits St. Boniface Council.” Winnipeg Free Press, May 27, 1958, 1.
• “Residents Angry: Winakwa abandoned as arena site.” The Winnipeg Tribune, May 25, 1966, 34.
• “Thriving Suburb – In Six Years.” Winnipeg Free Press, September 30, 1961, 5.

Archives

• Archives of Manitoba
• Etienne Gaboury fonds, Centre du patrimoine
• Henry Kalen fonds, University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections
• Royal Architecture Institute of Canada Journal, Sexton Digital
• St. Bartholomew, Winnipeg, fonds, Diocese of Rupert’s Land Archives
• Vertical Files, Winnipeg Architecture Foundation
• Western Canada Construction and Building, Archives of Manitoba
• Winnipeg Free Press Archives
• Winnipeg Tribune fonds, University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections

Photographers

• Leif Norman

Private Collections

• We would like to thank Denise Okun, William Yaeger, and Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, who allowed us to consult their private collections during the research phase of this project.