Historypin & HSC

On this page, you will find materials documenting some of our history by illustrating the changes to the HSC campus since its beginning as the Winnipeg General Hospital. The photographs featured here come from the HSC Archives/Museum, which holds a rich collection of records, photographs, audio-visual material, and artifacts related to HSC and its predecessors. All information is also available on our Historypin website.

Click on a link below to jump to a specific section:

• Children’s Hospital
• Harry Medovy House
• Manitoba Rehabilitation Hospital
• Nurses’ Residence
• Power Plant
• PsycHealth
• Winnipeg General Hospital
• Women’s Hospital

Children’s Hospital

The first Children’s Hospital of Winnipeg was opened on 6 February 1909, and was located on Beaconsfield Street. The hospital operated out of a house and the outpatient department was in an old woodshed. The opening of this hospital was due in large part to the determination of Annie Bond, who convinced the National Council of Women that a children’s hospital was needed in Winnipeg. The hospital had one nurse (Miss Elsie Fraser), a maid-of-all-work, and on-call physicians and surgeons (although there were no resident doctors at the hospital).

It soon became clear that the house on Beaconsfield was insufficient, and almost as soon as it had opened in 1909, the hospital was filled to capacity and had a waiting list. A fundraising campaign was launched and land was purchased on the banks of the Red River, between Redwood, Main, and Aberdeen. On 27 November 1911, the new children’s hospital was ready to take in its first patients. The hospital continued to operate here for several years with many additions to the original building.

However, by 1945 is became clear that the Aberdeen hospital was no longer adequate and there were discussions of a centralized health care centre to be located in the same area as the Winnipeg General Hospital. In 1956, a new Children’s Hospital of Winnipeg was built on Bannatyne Avenue. On 11 December 1956, in the midst of a blizzard, patients, equipment, and supplies were transferred to the new hospital. A new wing was built in 1984, which connected the Children’s Hospital to the Bannatyne Avenue building and was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II. The Children’s Hospital is currently located at 840 Sherbrook Street.

Harry Medovy House

In 1970, a five-storey apartment building was built at 671 William Avenue to provide student housing. It was named in honour of Dr. Harry Medovy, the pediatrician-in-chief at the Children’s Hospital of Winnipeg between 1954 until his retirement in 1970.

Manitoba Rehabilitation Hospital

The Rehabilitation Hospital (later known as the Rehabilitation/Respiratory Hospital) was built in 1962, on the site of the Tuberculosis Clinic. The Tuberculosis Clinic was demolished in order to accommodate the new six-storey rehab centre.

While the Tuberculosis Clinic, opened in 1930, sought to respond to tuberculosis—the main cause of death for people aged between 15 and 60 in the early 20^th century—the Rehabilitation Hospital addressed a broader scope of physical challenges in addition to tuberculosis. The Rehabilitation Hospital was designed as a centre of physical restoration for physically challenged, chronically ill, and convalescing patients. In 1968, the respiratory wing of the Rehabilitation Hospital was named the D.A. Stewart Centre to honour Dr. David Alexander Stewart, who dedicated much of his life to the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis in western Canada.

Nurses’ Residence

The first Nurses’ Home was built in 1894 and was located next to the Isolation Hospital. The Isolation Hospital was built at the corner of McDermot Avenue and Emily Street in order to care for patients with Typhoid fever. The original Nurses’ Home accommodated 14 nurses, and had hot water heat and electrical lighting. In 1904, an additional storey was added to the Home.

In 1907, a new Nurses’ Home was built at the corner of Olivia and McDermot (as featured in the photos here). This new Nurses’ Home was able to accommodate approximately 100 nurses. Including the interior furnishings, the construction cost a total of $67,985.55. Four years later, the building was extended north along Olivia, a swimming pool was built in the basement, and a tennis court was built to the north. The old maternity hospital was demolished to make way for the addition.

In 1923, the Nurses’ Home was expanded once again: a new five-storey fireproof wing was added along McDermot. The boiler house, smokestack, and laundry were demolished to make way for the extension. At this time, the name was also changed to Nurses’ Residence. This building later served as the Adult Psychiatry Building, and was demolished in 1997 to allow for the new CancerCare Manitoba facility, which is now occupies that space.

Power Plant

The Central Energy Plant was opened and connected to other buildings on campus by tunnel in 1974. Today, the Power Plant is known as the Central Energy Plant.

PsycHealth

The PsychHealth Centre (originally called The Psychopathic Hospital) was the first such facility in Canada associated with a general hospital and a medical facility. The Psychopathic Hospital was originally built on Emily Street between McDermot Ave. and Bannatyne Ave. It was demolished in 1913.

Winnipeg General Hospital

The Winnipeg General Hospital was founded on a public need rather than on a specific date, and it was made possible because of community initiative, rather than government funding. Following some temporary solutions and financial difficulties, the Winnipeg General Hospital was officially incorporated on May 14, 1875. In the same year, A.G.B. Bannatyne—a prominent local merchant—donated property on Nena Street (now Sherbrook), just south of William Avenue, as a permanent hospital location. This site was, at the time, described as being “a mile out of town” and was little more than an open field surrounded by a swamp. Construction of the first permanent hospital building was largely funded by “the Ladies of the Province,” and the plans were drawn up by Walter Moberly at no charge.

By 1882, the hospital could no longer meet the needs of the growing population and in 1884, a new hospital was built. This building featured two wings—the ‘A’ and ‘B’ blocks—one for administration and the other for patients. The patient wing had a capacity of 75 patients, compared to the previous hospital which had capacity for 20.

Between 1884 and 1900, the Winnipeg General Hospital experienced a building boom: a laundry was built in 1885; an operating theatre, a nurses’ home, and a maternity hospital were constructed in 1888; and in 1899, the Jubliee Wing was built. In 1907, Bannatyne was deflected to provide more space for the WGH (it would later be removed to accommodate the new entrance on William Street, completed in 1958).

In 1913, the hospital was expanded yet again. Two six-storey wings (connected by a third wing) doubled patient capacity and served as a new entrance and façade, facing Bannatyne Avenue. This entrance remained until 1958, when the North Wing was constructed. This extended the hospital entrance beyond Bannatyne and nearly to William Avenue. This would remain as the main entrance to the hospital until 2009 when the Anne Thomas building was constructed. The Anne Thomas building at 700 William Avenue is the entrance that we use today.

Women’s Hospital

The first maternity hospital in Winnipeg was built in 1888 and was located near the main Winnipeg General Hospital, but far enough away to ensure the health and safety of mothers and children from infectious diseases. In 1914, maternity patients returned to the main hospital with the opening of an obstetrics ward in one of the new wings that was added to the Winnipeg General Hospital.

By 1948, it became clear there simply were not enough beds for maternity cases, and planning began for a new Maternity Pavilion (later renamed to Women’s Pavilion, and now known as the Women’s Hospital) to be built on Notre Dame Avenue.

The Maternity Pavilion opened on 6 May, 1950. The Pavilion had a bed capacity of 894, as well as ten labour rooms, an operating suite, eighteen nurseries (with automatic temperature and humidity controls), and a modern formula room that was equipped to prepare for 600 feedings every day.

All content is copyright HSC Winnipeg. For more information, contact the HSC Archives/Museum, [email protected].