Manitoba Municipal Heritage Site No. 38

Portage la Prairie Dominion Post Office Building
97 Saskatchewan Avenue E
Portage la Prairie

The striking Portage la Prairie Dominion Post Office is an exceptional example of a pre-1900 federal government building that conveys a strong image of solidity and progress. The structure also is the last extant small urban post office in Western Canada planned under the direction of Thomas Fuller, a quintessential designer who co-planned one of Ottawa's first parliament buildings and, as chief architect in the public works department (1881-97), was instrumental in establishing a distinctive identity for federal buildings. His design for the Portage la Prairie edifice combines the standard elements commonly applied to period post offices in a stately, cohesive package characterized by careful massing, robust stonework and fine Romanesque Revival and Chateau-style features. The landmark building, which fronts a downtown intersection, has proven functionally adaptable as well, initially housing a post office on the main floor, customs and inland revenue offices on the second and living quarters on the third, succeeded by judicial, police, municipal and cultural occupants.