Dalnavert Museum and Visitors' Centre: home to many

Dalnavert was built in 1895 on Treaty 1 land and was home to the Macdonald family. They resided here until 1929, when Hugh John Macdonald passed away. At the time his wife Agnes was the only person remaining in the house. Due to Hugh not leaving a large estate, she likely could not afford to maintain Dalnavert. As a result, Agnes sold the house and moved into the Roslyn Apartments on Osborne Street.

After Agnes left, the people who bought the house transformed it into a boarding and rooming house. During this period, many rooms were converted to house more people. In 1969, Dalnavert was sold to a development company who had intended to make the grounds into a parking lot. 

But in the 1970s, the Manitoba Historical Society (MHS), together with several historical activists, worked with the development company and made numerous offers to buy the house, ultimately succeeding.

Working with the City of Winnipeg and other organizations, MHS obtained grants to restore the home. John Chivers and George Walker led the restoration, which cost roughly $559,000 and took several years to complete. 

In 2013, The MHS closed the doors of the museum spurring a group of dedicated and passionate individuals to create Friends of Dalnavert Museum Inc. This newly formed not-for-profit organization assumed ownership and was able to re-open Dalnavert Museum in the spring of 2015.

Today, Dalnavert Museum and Visitors' Centre is a cultural hub, event centre, and along with interpreting the history of the house and early Winnipeg, hosts various educational and entertainment programs.

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The Architect

While little is known about his early life, Charles H. Wheeler left a lasting impression on Winnipeg.

He was born in April 1838 at Lutterworth, Leicestershire, England, and was married 20 years later to Annie Wakefield of Fairford, Gloucester.

He studied architecture and music in Birmingham, England and was an architect in England for about 20 years. By 1882, he had immigrated to Winnipeg.

Wheeler soon worked for James Chisholm and within in a year of living in Winnipeg his design was chosen out of 44 submissions for the Holy Trinity Anglican Church on the corner of Graham Avenue and Donald Street. After that project, he established his own firm.

In 1893, Macdonald approached Wheeler to build Dalnavert.