Vignettes
/ Greater Winnipeg / Pavilion-York
Hudson's Bay Company Store
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The first Hudson's Bay Company store was built in 1874
using stones from a collapsing wall of Upper Fort Garry.
This original store had been located inside the walls of
the fort. The first Hudson's Bay Company "department
store" opened
in Winnipeg in 1881, and for years was a major hub of activity.
This store was built on Main Street at York Avenue and
was modernized with electricity in 1900.
In an effort to compete with the T. Eaton Company who had
built their eight storey modern facility on Portage Avenue,
the Hudson's Bay Company committed $5,000,000 to build a
flagship store on the corner of Portage Avenue and Memorial
Blvd. Construction started September 25, 1925, and the new
store was to be equipped with every modern shopping convenience
that could be extended to their customers.
