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Portage La Prairie – Canadian Pacific Railway Station

Architect(s)Edward Colanna
301 3rd Street NE, Portage La Prairie, MB
Portage La Prairie’s Canadian Pacific Railway Station. A bench and antique luggage cart sit on the verandah in front.
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Portage La Prairie’s Canadian Pacific Railway Station. A bench and antique luggage cart sit on the verandah in front.
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Portage La Prairie’s Canadian Pacific Railway Station with a railway car in the background.
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Date Built: 1893

Styles:
Railway Stations
characteristics:
Asymmetrical / Asymmetry Dormer Verandah Hip roof Brackets Eaves Rustication Round arch Sash Double-hung window Brick Low pitched roof

Media Gallery (3 items)

By the 1890s, a ribbon of steel, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), had expanded across the country, reaching Portage La Prairie in 1893.

In preparation for arrival of the railway, construction crews commenced building Portage La Prairie’s new CPR Station. One of CPR’s architects, Edward Colanna, was hired to design the town’s new train station. The building is noted for its imposing high pitched roofline, subdued Romanesque Revival styling and rare use of sandstone as a construction material.

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301 3rd Street NE, Portage La Prairie, MB
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The station is built in the 2nd class style of station designs. It has single gables, and large overhangs above the windows and doorways. The dormers have triple windows and there are duel chimneys.

It was a marked upgrade from the previous CPR depot, which had been called a “dingy little combination of country tavern and freight shed” by the Manitoba Liberal in 1889. This new and much improved station operated until a fire in 2002 caused extensive damage. Public consultations created the Save the CPR Station Committee to advocate for the structure.

Today, after many years and repairs, the CPR Station is an exceptional Heritage Park and Interpretive Center.