Manitou Cenotaph

The Manitou Cenotaph is a large and impressive

war memorial, topped with a larger than life-size sculptural figure of a soldier that stands on the west

side of the Town of Manitou's primary thoroughfare, Main Street. The municipal designation applies

to the structure and the small fenced grounds in which it stands.

The Manitou Cenotaph is

an exceptional example of the kind of affecting tributes that small Manitoba towns put up after World

War I to honour those who gave their lives during that conflict. Manitou's memorial is an especially

fine example of the type, topped with a sculptural figure of a soldier at ease, staring forever into

the distance. Erected in 1921, the frontispiece lists the names of battles, including Ypres, The Somme,

Lens and Hill 70. And the three sides grimly identify the scores of young men from Manitou and the Rural

Municipality of Pembina who never came home. Flanking black tablets feature the names of those who lost

their lives in World War II. Marked by an elegant wrought iron fence, the memorial is a major feature

on Manitou's prime thoroughfare.

Source: Town of Manitou By-law No. 8/2010, 15 October 2010.

Key elements that define

the site character of the Manitou Cenotaph include:

- the highly visible and strategic situation on the

west side of Main Street towards the very middle of that thoroughfare and across the street from the

Manitou Town Hall

- the small grassed plot, in which the memorial is centrally sited, ringed by an elegant

wrought-iron fence

- the wide paved path leading from the street to the wrought-iron gates of the site

Key

elements that define the physical character of the cenotaph include:

- the overall formal composition,

featuring a base of Manitoba limestone, consisting of five large steps with rough-cut edges, a tall black

granite block with crisp edges, and culminating in a large sculpted military figure

- the opening inscriptions,

names of battles and names of the local dead from World War I inscribed on all sides of the black granite

block

- the two flanking tablets, facing the street, of black granite and inscribed with the names of

local dead from World War II