Demolished building lives on

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This article was published 30/12/2021 (1382 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

While the historic International Harvester building is gone from Brandon’s skyline, bits and pieces of the iconic structure have been saved and used in new projects, preserving the legacy of the building that stood for 110 years in the Wheat City.

The building at the corner of 18th Street and Pacific Avenue was demolished in April 2021 to make room for the impending rebuild of the Daly Overpass. The five-storey building, along with the Pacific Plaza and other properties, was expropriated and demolished earlier this year.

The intrepid eye might have spied a nondescript pile of bricks alongside Pacific Avenue, which City of Brandon traffic and transportation planner Sam Van Huizen said are from the building.

“While the city is sad to see the building go, we recognize that cities need to evolve to create better connections or other development in the area,” he said.

The beige bricks are being saved for the eventual redesign of Pacific Avenue, he said.

“We wanted to make sure we could preserve a piece of it and either incorporate it into other pieces, do what we can to save pieces of it and commemorate the building and look to our past where we could.”

The City of Brandon wanted to incorporate a “historical element” into the redesign of the street, and an easy thing to do was to use the limestone bricks, he said. The city worked with the contractor demolishing the structure to save a pile of several thousand bricks.

While the bricks can’t be used to erect another building, they could be utilized in landscaping features or as an accent to sidewalks, he said.

The building served many purposes over its lifespan. It was built in 1911 as a home for Winnipeg-based construction firm Carter Halls Aldinger before it became a wholesale distribution warehouse in 1959, according to the Manitoba Historical Society.

It was also a waterfowl processing plant from 1969 to the 1980s, before most recently being used by Kullberg’s Home Furnishings as a furniture warehouse.

The heritage value of the building will be different for each person. While some might have seen the building as decrepit and unappealing to the eye, other people took wedding photos there or worked inside.

“I see the value in it personally, but I know the next generation will see the bridge that we’re going to be building in its place and attach value to that,” Van Huizen said.

“The thought behind saving some of the bricks was ‘Well, we can do something to save and remember the building.’”

Currently, the city is storing the bricks in a parking lot off Pacific Avenue until staff have a chance to go through them and see what is usable.

The timeline for the Pacific Avenue project is based on future development, Van Huizen said. The city is unsure how many bricks can still be used and is currently working to find a more long-term storage location.

Lumber from the International Harvester building was also saved and used to build The Backyard on Aberdeen, a new wedding venue in the south end of the city.

The frame of the outdoor gazebo and indoor bar top are made of the historic wood, said owner Aida Tahhan. There are also plaques describing the wood’s origin. The aim was to blend the new structure with the old building.

Tahhan said she was “heartbroken” when the building came down and wanted to save a small part of it. Between 25 and 30 beams were used in the new venue.

“To save it was saving the heritage and the history of Brandon,” she said.

“Learning the history of this building, I felt I have to keep some of that history alive in Brandon.”

Repurposing the old lumber was also about celebrating Brandon as the Wheat City and its agricultural legacy.

While the wood is more than 100 years old, she said she was surprised by its quality. There was still sap in the wood when they re-cut the beams for modern use.

“For us, starting something new, using some of the history, it means a lot. You care about your community … and to keep it alive is so important to us.”

The Brandon Wheat Kings’ “Home of the Wheat Kings” signs that proudly stood on the top floor of the building were also saved. One sign now hangs on the side of Westoba Place facing 18th Street, while the other sign is mounted on the wall at the north end of the arena.

Construction on the new Daly Overpass is slated to begin in 2022.

» dmay@brandonsun.com

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