Shea's Amphitheatre, also known as the Winnipeg Amphitheatre, was an indoor

arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

located in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, Canada. It seated 6,000 spectators. Constructed between 1908-1909 for

horse shows A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer fo ...

, the Amphitheatre was also used as an indoor

ice rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of ...

during the winter, with an ice surface measuring . After a renovation in 1919 it was, for a time, the only artificial ice surface between

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. Today, the headquarters of

The Great-West Life Assurance Company The Canada Life Assurance Company (French language, French: ''La Compagnie d'Assurance du Canada sur la Vie''), commonly known as Canada Life (''Canada-Vie''), is a Canadian insurance and financial services company with its headquarters in Winnipe ...

occupy the site.

Location

The Amphitheatre was situated on the northeast corner of Whitehall Avenue (subsequently renamed Osborne Place) and Colony Street, some distance west of Osborne Street. Neither Whitehall Avenue nor Osborne Place exists today, although a stretch remains in use as a driveway at Balmoral Street, marked in the sidewalk by its newer name. It was an east-west street connecting Colony with Osborne and running parallel to Mostyn Place. At the north end of the amphitheatre was another east-west street that no longer exists: Brydges Avenue. North of Brydges and south of

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

was Shea's Brewery. According to archives of the Granite Curling Club:

A massive wooden structure, the Amphitheatre doubled as the arena for summer horse shows and an exhibition hall, and as an indoor skating rink in the winter. Somewhat later, the property that is now the older Great West Life Building was for decades Osborne Stadium, until Winnipeg Stadium in St. James was built in the mid-1950s. The area, therefore, formed a disjointed
sports complex A sports complex is a group of sports facilities. For example, there are track and field stadiums, football stadiums, baseball stadiums, swimming pools, Olympic Parks, and indoor arenas. Asia * Azadi Sport Complex * Cebu City Sports Com ...
, with good access to the street-car lines and considerable public profile...

History

Constructed between 1908-1909 for the Winnipeg Horse Show Company's

, the Amphitheatre was designed by Winnipeg architects Ralph Benjamin Pratt and Donald Aynsley Ross. By 1910, it was also used as an indoor

for skating and hockey, with an ice surface measuring . After doubling its seating capacity to around 6,000 in 1914, it became the major venue for hockey games in Winnipeg. It hosted the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...

tournament numerous times, the last of which was in 1953. Junior championship games were also held at the Amphitheatre, drawing in local teams like the Elmwood Millionaires, St. Boniface Seals,

Portage Terriers The Portage Terriers are a Canadian junior "A" ice hockey team from Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada. They are members of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, a part of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. History The Portage Terriers were foun ...

, and the

Brandon Wheat Kings The Brandon Wheat Kings are a Canadians, Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Brandon, Manitoba. Founded in 1936, the team was for three decades a successful junior team playing principally in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. The Whe ...

. For several years, it was also the venue of the Shrine Circus. Big-name celebrities also visited the Amphitheatre, such as

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

in 1952. In 1943,

Winnipeg City Council The Winnipeg City Council () is the governing body of the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Council is seated in the Council Building of Winnipeg City Hall.overcrowding Overcrowding or crowding is the condition where more people are located within a given space than is considered tolerable from a safety and health perspective. Safety and health perspectives depend on current environments and on local cultural ...

as the main issue. Alderman Scott called the Amphitheatre "one of the most flammable buildings in Winnipeg." The Amphitheatre was made redundant by the construction of the

Winnipeg Arena Winnipeg Arena was an indoor arena located in the Polo Park district of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The arena was the city's premier ice hockey venue from 1955 to 2004 and is best remembered as the home of the first Winnipeg Jets franchise, whi ...

in 1955 and was demolished the summer after, hosting its last event on May 31. The artificial ice plant was purchased by the owners of the

Winnipeg Warriors The Winnipeg Warriors were a junior ice hockey team that played in the Western Hockey League. They were founded as an expansion team in 1980, but suffered from attendance problems competing with the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League and ...

and relocated to Winnipeg's Olympic Rink. Currently occupying the site is the headquarters of

Canada Life The Canada Life Assurance Company ( French: ''La Compagnie d'Assurance du Canada sur la Vie''), commonly known as Canada Life (''Canada-Vie''), is a Canadian insurance and financial services company with its headquarters in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The ...

(then Great West Life Assurance Company), built between 1958 and 1959 and designed by Toronto architects Marani and Morris and the Winnipeg firm of Moody Moore and Partners.

References

{{reflist Defunct indoor arenas in Canada Defunct ice hockey venues in Canada Buildings and structures in downtown Winnipeg Demolished buildings and structures in Manitoba Ice hockey venues in Winnipeg 1909 establishments in Manitoba Sports venues demolished in 1956 Sports venues completed in 1909