Manitoba Municipal Heritage Site No. 257

 

Portage la Prairie Canadian Pacific Railway Station
301-3rd Street N.E.
Portage la Prairie

Portage la Prairie Canadian Pacific Railway Station

Designation Date:  April 12, 2004
Designation Authority:  City of Portage la Prairie
Present Owner:  Save the CPR Station Committee

The Portage la Prairie Canadian Pacific Railway Station, built in 1893, is a striking example of railway architecture in Manitoba, one noted for its imposing roofline, subdued Romanesque Revival styling and rare use of sandstone as a construction material. Unlike many other stations in the province, which are standardized wood-clad buildings, the Portage facility displays a specialized design by Edward Colonna of Montreal, one of several accomplished architects engaged by the CPR in the period before the company began relying almost exclusively on in-house designers. The station’s Romanesque Revival characteristics, including a heavy rusticated base, massive round arches and textured, polychromatic surfaces executed in sandstone and brick, are intended to convey a corporate image of solidity and dignity and to signal Portage’s regional importance as a railway and agricultural centre.

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