Thomas Scott Memorial Orange Hall was a building in the

Exchange District The Exchange District is a National Historic Site of Canada in the downtown area of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Just one block north of Portage and Main, the Exchange District comprises twenty city blocks and approximately 150 heritage buildings ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. Designed by local architect James McDiarmid, the building was by , and originally featured a full basement, mezzanine, third floor dance hall and lodge meeting rooms on the second floor. It was named for

Thomas Scott Thomas Scott may refer to: Australia * Thomas Hobbes Scott (1783–1860), Anglican clergyman and first Archdeacon of New South Wales * Thomas Scott (Australian politician) (1865–1946), member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Thomas Sco ...

, who was executed by

Louis Riel Louis Riel (; ; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of Canada and its first ...

during the

Red River Rebellion The Red River Rebellion (french: Rébellion de la rivière Rouge), also known as the Red River Resistance, Red River uprising, or First Riel Rebellion, was the sequence of events that led up to the 1869 establishment of a provisional government by ...

. The building was demolished in February 2020.

History

The

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots heritage. It also ...

arrived in Manitoba in 1870 and had expanded such that a large hall was needed. Planning for the construction of such building began in 1871. It was eventually built in 1902 for $21,000, and was named for Orangeman

, who was executed by

during the

. In 1943, a fire destroyed the original interior. Repairs and alterations totalled $19,584.22 and were completed in September 1943. After the fire, the dance hall was relocated to the first floor, while rest and cloakrooms were built in the basement. The third floor saw the addition of a two-room caretaker's suite. Beginning in the 1980s, the building was also occupied by the

Winnipeg Irish Association Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, and the hall was eventually sold in 1994. In 2017, it became a municipally-designated historic building.

Demolition

In January 2020, the building became unstable due to renovations, and the decision was taken to demolish it. This spurred debate in the city of Winnipeg about the role of the municipal government and developers in preserving built heritage, and (given the controversy over the memorialization of

), what elements of heritage should be preserved. The building was demolished in February that year.

References

{{coord, 49, 54, 06.1, N, 97, 08, 24.75, W, scale:10000, display=title Buildings and structures in downtown Winnipeg Orange Order