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PYRAMIDS ON THE PRAIRIES

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BAIN BUILDING
Located at the foot of the Red River at the east end of Bannatyne Ave., the Bain Building was an example of the kind of structure that the pumping station was designed to protect. The wooden floor and post and beam structures comprising the interiors of these warehouses as well as the variety of goods they stored resulted in fires and accompanying high insurance rates. The increased capacity provided by the pumping station helped reduce the risks and costs of warehousing and distribution. Once a grocery dry goods store, the Bain Building was one for the earliest buildings to see renovation in the early 1970s. And the project succeeded in attracting a variety of professionals in the design field.

ASHDOWN WAREHOUSE
One of Winnipeg's early settlers was James Ashdown. A tinsmith by trade Ashdown became a prominent businessman and citizen. He served as mayor in 1907-1908 a period in which he was Merchant Prince of Winnipeg. Ashdown's hardware empire was the largest in the west and his massive warehouse at 167 Bannatyne itself saw expansion reflecting Winnipeg's growth spurts as more and more capacity was increasingly needed to serve the growing west. Today this building has been completely rehabilitated into 100 upscale condominium residences. Its occupants include young upwardly mobile professionals and empty nesters and those that like to live close to work and the theatre and entertainment district.

But the Ashdown's original occupants were workers. The railways contributed more to Winnipeg's growth than the business of transportation. Rail also brought hundreds of thousands of immigrants swelling the city's population with every train headed west. And while most continued west, a large number stopped and found work in this growing settlement. Immigrants that made up the bulk of the work force for this expanding city.
The Exchange District has always been the place for entertainment. Whether it's a theatrical performance or a night out at a fine restaurant or an even in Old Market Square, this is the place to be. Today the Exchange district continues to see new life. On the East Side, Waterfront Drive has given a new river experience, making it prime for future residential development.

The dreams the hopes of past and future generations have made all we have seen possible. The status of a heritage district is always a precarious one subject to the whims and fads of the day. It is each generation's responsibility to preserve a treasure so that it can be willed to the hands and eyes of our next set of dreamers.

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