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Peck Building

This warehouse was built in 1893, for clothing manufacterer and importer, John W. Peck. Designed by C.H. Wheeler, it is located on the corner of Notre Dame Avenue and Princess Street on the western boundary of the warehouse district.

Peck had been an established clothing manufacturer in Montreal. He recognized the market potential of the Canadian west, and in 1880, entered into a partnership with two Winnipeg businessmen, A.B. Bethune and J.D. Carescaden. The Carescaden and Peck Company produced men’s and boys’ clothing, shirts, sheep-lined coats and caps shipped from Montreal.  The firm also marketed a fur overcoat to replace the buffalo coat, which had already become unobtainable in the 1890s.  The  “African Buffalo Coat,” was reasonably priced and highly serviceable.  It was popular with farmers and other outdoor labourers.

The preferential freight rates that the City had negotiated with the Canadian Pacific Railway was  a strong incentive for eastern firms to establish wholesale branches in Winnipeg.

Wheeler designed the Peck Building with an interior divided into two distinct sections.  The Peck Company occupied the larger southern portion of the building that fronted Notre Dame Avenue and Princess Street, while O’Loughlin Bros. Stationers occupied the smaller northern part.  A firewall separated the two firms. In 1907, architect John D. Atchison, prepared plans for two additional storeys to be added to the original four-storey building.

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