Peck Building

Location

Winnipeg, MB

Why it matters

Standing on the prominent corner of Notre Dame Avenue and Princess Street in Winnipeg’s Exchange District National Historic Site, the six-storey Peck Building is a distinguished example of Romanesque Revival Architecture. Originally designed by British-trained architect Charles H. Wheeler and completed in 1893, the building features richly detailed brickwork, limestone buttresses, red sandstone accents, and rounded arches — hallmarks of the style. In 1907, local architect John Danley Atchison oversaw the addition of two upper floors, carefully maintaining the building’s architectural integrity. Intricately carved faces and other ornamental details further contribute to its presence as a defining landmark at a key entry point to one of Canada’s most significant heritage districts.

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Why it's endangered

Commissioned in 1893 by merchant John W. Peck to house his Montreal-based clothing firm, the building was expanded in 1907 to accommodate a growing commercial footprint. Over the decades, it hosted a range of tenants, becoming a lasting part of the Exchange District’s transformation into one of Canada’s most architecturally intact heritage precincts. The building was municipally designated as a heritage site in 1984.

Despite its heritage designation and prime location, the Peck Building has been vacant for years. In 2007, it was purchased by the Church of Scientology, with plans for a $10 million regional church and office space — a project that never moved forward. Since then, the structure has remained empty and increasingly vulnerable to water damage, vandalism, fire, and structural deterioration — the familiar risks of long-term vacancy.

Today, with no visible restoration or reuse plans, the future of the Peck Building remains in question. Its prolonged neglect raises broader concerns about the fate of landmark buildings in heritage districts — and the urgent need for stronger mechanisms to prevent the slow erasure of Canada’s architectural legacy.