PRAIRIE F DRUM Vol. 18, No.2 Fall 1993 CONTENTS ARTICLES The Rise of Apartmentsand Apartment Dwellers in Winnipeg (1900-1914)and a Comparative Studywith Toronto Murray Peterson 155 Pre-World War I Elementary Educational Developmentsamong Saskatchewan'sGerman Catholics: A Revisionist View ClintonO, White 171 "The El Dorado of the Golden West": Blairmore and the WestCanadian Collieries, 1901-1911 Allen Seager 197 War, Nationhood and Working-Class Entitlement: The Counterhegemonic Challenge of the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike Chad Reimer 219 "To Reach the Leadership of the Revolutionary Movement": A~J. Andrews, the Canadian State and the Suppression of the WinnipegGeneral Strike Tom Mitchell 239 RESEARCH NOTES .~---~--_.~------ _.- ---- Images of the Canadian West in the Settlement Era as Expressed in Song Texts of the Time R. Douglas Francis andTim B. Rogers 257 TheJune 1986Tornado of Saskatoon: A Prairie CaseStudy R.E. Shannon and A.K. Chakravarti 269 REVIEWS FRANCIS, R. Douglasand PALMER, Howard, eds., The Prairie West: Historical Readings by James M. Pitsula 279 COATES, Kenneth S. and MORRISON, William R., eds., liMy Dear Maggie ...":Letters from a Western Manitoba Pioneer by Patricia Myers 282 CHARTRAND, Paul L.A.H., Manitoba's Metis Settlement Scheme of1870 by Ken Leyton-Brown 283 CHORNEY, Harold and HANSEN, Phillip, Toward aHumanist Political Economy by Alvin Finkel 286 POTVIN, Rose, ed., Passion and Conviction: The Letters ofGraham Spry by Frank W. Peers 289 RUSSELL, Dale R., Eighteenth-Century Western Cree and Their Neighbours by David R. Miller 291 TUPPER, Allan and GIBBINS,Roger, eds., Government and Politics in Alberta by David Laycock 294 CONTRIBUTORS 299 ---------------- -~-~-~-------_.._- PRAIRIE FORUM:Journal of the Canadian Plains Research Center Chief Editor: Alvin Finkel, History, Athabasca Editorial Board: I. Adam, English, Calgary J.W. Brennan, History, Regina P. Ghorayshi, Sociology, Winnipeg S.Jackel, Canadian Studies, Alberta M. Kinnear, History, Manitoba W. Last, Earth Sciences, Winnipeg P. McCormack, Provincial Museum, Edmonton J.N. McCrorie, CPRC, Regina A. Mills, Political Science, Winnipeg F. Pannekoek, Alberta Culture and Multiculturalism, Edmonton D. Payment, Parks Canada, Winnipeg T. Robinson, Religious Studies, Lethbridge L. Vandervort, Law, Saskatchewan J. Welsted, Geography, Brandon B.Wilkinson, Economics, Alberta ----------------------- --- - ---- Copy Editors: Agnes Bray, CPRC, Regina Brian Mlazgar, CPRC, Regina Book Review Editor: P. Hansen, Political Science, Regina PRAIRIE FORUM is published twice yearly, in Springand Fall. The annual subscription rate, in Canada, is: Individuals - $21.40; Institutions ­ $26.75; single copies and special issues: Individuals - $10.70; Institutions- $13.38(all prices include GST).OutofCanada: Individuals - $20.00; Institutions - $25.00. There is also a $2.00 postage and handlingcharge for out-of-Canada orders and for non-subscribers. All subscriptions, correspondence and contributions should be sent to: The Editor, Prairie Forum, Canadian PlainsResearch Center, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, S4S OA2. Subscribers will also receive the Canadian Plains Bulletin, the newsletterof the Canadian Plains Research Center. PRAIRIE FORUM is not responsible for statements, either of fact or opinion, made by contributors. COPYRIGHT 1993 CANADIAN PLAINS RESEARCHCENTER ISSN0317-6282 The Rise of Apartments and Apartment Dwellers in Winnipeg (1900-1914) and a Comparative StudywithToronto Murray Peterson ABSTRACT.This paper examines the phenomenon of the apartmentblock in Winnipeg prior to World War I. In particular, it features a broad comparison with evidence from Toronto between the years 1900 and 1914, demonstrating a higher occurrence of apartments in Winnipeg. Quantitative analysis is accomplished through the use of contemporary news accounts, city directories, assessment rolls and building permits, as well as a number of secondary sources. The growth of this housing type is attributable to many factors, economic, social and climatic. The size, design and construction of apartments were determined by the individual players involved, the contractors, investors and tenants, by the civic response through bylaws, and also, by climatic and spatialfactors. SOMMAIRE. L'article examine le phenomena des immeubles a. appartements a. Winnipeg avant la Premiere Guerre mondiale. 11 compare en particulier la situation a. Winnipeg et a. Toronto entre 1900 et 1914, montrant le pourcentage plus eleve d'appartements a. Winnipeg. L'analyse quantitative repose sur les reportages de journaux de l'epoque, les repertoires d'adresse, les listes d'evaluation fonciere et les permis de construction, de meme que sur des sources secondaires. La croissance de ce type d'habitation decoule de plusieurs facteurs economtques, sociaux et climatiques. La superficie, Ie plan et la construction des appartements etaient determines par les personnes mises en cause, c'est-a-dire les entrepreneurs, les bailleurs de fonds et les locataires, mais aussi par les preferences de la collectivite exprimees dans les ordonnances municipales et par des facteurs relies au climat et a. l'espace disponible. An Historical Overview Between 1900 and 1914 a unique new residential form, the apartment block, was popularized in many urban centresin North America. This was an especially prominent development in Winnipeg. A comparison with figures from Toronto, with a population that was never less than double that of Winnipeg's, shows there were nearly 50 percent more apartment blocks built in Winnipeg over the same period. Not only was the total number significantly higher, but the scale of individual blocks was much greater on average in the western city. There were two main types of apartment blocks constructed from 1900-1914- the purpose-built apartment block and the mixed block. The former contained only residential space and rooms connected with this function, suchas commonkitchensand recreational space. The second type combined retail space on the ground floor with suites on the upper levels. Only purpose-built blocks are considered in this study, although the later type was extremely popularin Winnipegas well. Winnipeg's first purpose-builtapartmentblock was completed in 1884, an imposing four-storey brick structure, costing approximately $50,000 (Figure 1).1While majorNorth Americancentressuchas Boston, New York and Chicago already had a significant number of apartment blocks, other cities such as Los Angeles, Detroit, Minneapolis and Philadelphia would not have these buildings for many years? While it would be another two 155 156 PETERSON ,Figure1. The French Flats or Westminster Block,Winnipeg's first purpose-builtapartment block, corner of Ellice Avenue and Donald Street. Built in 1884, it was originally owned by the Scottish Canadian Loan Companyand cost$50,OOO. Architect was C. Osborne Wickenden and the contractors were Blackmore and Williams. <Photocourtesy of the Provincial Archives of Manitoba) decades before Winnipegbegan toseriously utilize this residential form, it was a remarkably early beginning for such a small centre. The North American apartmentblock had its originsin Paris, where the wealthy family or bachelor could live in high style. In New York, "French Flats," as they were known, rose to popularity in the 1870s, with six to ten rooms per suite,servant quarters and many amenities similar to conven­ tional detached homes. In Boston, "apartmenthotels" were builtas luxuri­ 'ous as the New York structures, but with centralized laundry, restaurant and recreational facilitiesto lessen the need for domestic help.' In such heavily populated cities, land was scarce and extremely expen­ sive, thus pushingthe contractoror investorawayfrom the detached home market. "FrenchFlats" and "apartmenthotels" withtheirhostof amenities were placed in exclusive neighbourhoods with a conscious effort made to distance them from the poorer tenements. They would attract, therefore, some of the many affluent families and businessmen living in these cities.' Large, elegant blocks filled quickly, and returned a steady, moderate annual profit. As one author observed, the wealthy chose apartments "not so much [for] the number of rooms as [for] a fashionable address, excellent views, service, and being among people much like themselves/" It was North America's middle-class "efficiency apartment'" that out­ numbered both the luxury apartments and the tenements by World War I. These small structures were of simple design, boxlike, with little relief or THE RISEOF APARTMENlS AND APARTMENT DWELLERS IN WINNIPEG 157 ornamentation. They were built mainly as speculative ventures, con­ structed sturdilyyetcheaply, often with few creature comforts. In Chicago alone, 1,142such blocks were built in 1883, creating vast neighbourhoods of lower-and middle-class apartments?They weresuccessful because they were cheaper and easier to maintain than houses, were nearly always located near the downtown business section or on a major transportation route, and were a good investment for contractors and entrepreneurs. In fact, many contemporary accounts placed rates of return on investments higher for efficiency apartments than for either low-income or affluent blocks," The original apartmentblocks, however, faced earlyoppositionin many North American cities," It was a new form of residence, leading to some trepidation: critics argued that apartments lacked privacy, supported lazi­ ness among women, encouraged immorality and transiency,