Electricity was king at the turn of the twentieth century, and the Winnipeg Electric Railway Company understood this all too well. The company, formed in 1892, by William MacKenzie and James Ross, operated Winnipeg’s burgeoning streetcar system.

By 1906, the company built a steam plant on Assiniboine Avenue powering the network of streetcars criss-crossing Winnipeg. Increased demand for public transit prompted the company to build a new hydro plant at Pinawa in 1912, at which point the company began providing electricity to the City of Winnipeg.

The company did well, allowing them to construct an elaborate new office tower on Notre Dame Avenue in 1913. R.B. Pratt and D.A. Ross were commissioned with the design, and Carter-Halls-Aldinger were the contractors.

The new tower was meant to serve as a showcase of the company’s wealth and grasp of electricity. Designed in the Chicago School style, the building has a sturdy granite base and soaring columns of terracotta running along a steel frame. Along the roofline are fifteen lions, peering out over the city.

During the daytime, the offices were a formidable presence but at night, an entirely different spectacle. Along those terracotta columns are 6000 built-in lightbulbs – showcasing the companies use of electricity.