Virden Municipal Building and Auditorium

The Virden Municipal

Building and Auditorium is a multi-storey brick-veneer edifice constructed in 1911-12, adjoined by a

complementary recent addition. Located on a secondary street in Virden's commercial district, the

complex stands out from the surrounding shops and services with its sprawling expanse and decorative

facade. The site's provincial designation applies to the building and the lots upon which it sits.

The Virden Municipal

Building and Auditorium is an ambitious and increasingly rare example of the type of live performance

venue popular in Manitoba's urban centres in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Initially built to

house three major functions, including municipal offices and a courtroom, the structure's enduring

role has been as an opera house. The auditorium of the Neo-Classical-style facility, designed by architect

W.A. Elliott of Brandon and built by W.T. Manser, is more substantial in size and appointments than the

typical opera house found in smaller communities. Of particular note are its spacious layout, outstanding

acoustical qualities, fixed seating for 500, including double-decker loges and tasteful classical detailing.

The auditorium has been restored as an important regional amenity for live performances and public events,

one that represents an era of unrestrained pioneering aspirations in Virden.

Source: Manitoba Heritage

Council Minute, December 7, 1985

Key

elements that define the site's heritage character include:

- the complex's location on the

north side of Wellington Street in Virden, amongst other businesses and services, and its occupation

of the site up to the public sidewalks

Key elements of the building's Neo-Classical exterior include:

-

the multiple rectangular volumes of brick veneer over wood-frame construction with flat or truncated

roofs, rising in height from two storeys on the south elevation to three storeys in the rear above the

theatre

- the symmetrical Wellington Street facade composed of identical, slightly projecting bays at

either end, each featuring pedimented parapets, a pair of rectangular windows with brick keystones and

lintels, and a recessed entrance with glazed wooden double doors, a small wooden cornice and a transom

-

rectangular openings throughout, with the second-storey windows featuring continuous limestone sills

and brick lintels, rhythmically placed to give a sense of order and repetition

- the other facades very

plain and functional, with one bull's eye window on the east facade and fire exits in the east and

northwest corners

- the details, including a modillioned galvanized iron cornice, brick diamond insets

and a limestone date stone above the cornice, pilaster capitals and bases of limestone, a prominent brick

chimney, etc.

Key elements that define the building's function and layout include:

- the formal

plan with spaces accessed off a rectangular lobby, including the `megaphone'-shaped auditorium and

robust oak stairway in the northeast corner

- the auditorium composed of the theatre floor sloping down

to the stage and orchestra pit, and a balcony curving dramatically across the width of the theatre, complete

with decorative woodwork and alcove sections in the rear

- the stage featuring a massive proscenium arch,

double-decker loges on each side and dressing rooms housed in the basement

- the details, including fixed

upholstered seats highly ornamented at the row ends by cast-iron scrollwork, a curtain of Russian silk

hand-painted with an exotic Mediterranean shipping scene, pressed tin ceilings, pilasters, wooden floors

throughout, etc.