How an old brick warehouse connected Winnipeg to the world

We always love seeing the old signs from Winnipeg’s glory days when we’re out walking around downtown.

When I look at this old Great West Electric and Radio Company sign, my mind immediately thinks about the days before TV. The sounds of those old radio programs were what connected people to the rest of the world. Downtown Winnipeg is dotted with these old signs. Some are clearly visible, but others are hidden away in alleys and corners, so you really have to look for them.

The Great West Electric and Radio Company came out of Winnipeg’s mid-20th-century boom as a major wholesale distributor of modern household electronics and appliances. They started out as a tenant in the Dominion Electric Building at 87 Princess Street. The firm grew fast because Manitoba and the broader western regions had a huge, surging demand for consumer electronics.

To handle all that growth, the company bought the old Ryan Brothers Building at 110 James Avenue. It is a prominent four-storey brick and stone warehouse that was originally built in 1911 for a boot and shoe manufacturing firm. It stands as a reminder of how much business shifted in the city over the decades.

Many of us have radio on our resumes, but back then, the job used to be a completely different beast. Now it’s mostly corporate syndication, computerized boards, and preset music logs. In the pre-TV days, local stations were a lifeline. You were live, you were local, and you were the main way people got their news and stories. The shift from live community hub to corporate automation changed the entire nature of the gig.