In 1905, Winnipeg built the first public library building with the words "Free to All" carved above the door. To get it built, though, there was a kerfuffle with the contractors, arguments with the architects, and a lot of posturing about a painting.
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Sources
Manitoba Historical Society, Memorable Manitobans
Winnipeg Tribune
Winnipeg Free Press
The Voice
City of Winnipeg, “New Chapter for Winnipeg’s First Library”, 2025.
380 William Avenue, City of Winnipeg Historical Buildings Committee (1984).
PBS, “The Strike at Homestead Mill”, The American Experience.
Heritage Winnipeg, “A Living Memory: New Progress on Carnegie Library Restoration”, 2026.
Cassidy, Christian. ‘Portrait of Artist Victor Long’, West End Dumplings.
National Trust for Canada, “Top Ten Endangered Buildings List, 2019.
Standiford, Les. Meet You In Hell. Crown, 2006.
