City's Appearance - Greater Winnipeg
ca. 1948 by the 'Metropolitan Planning Committee'.
Pg. 5 (PDF) has a photo of 269 Main St., formerly known as the 'Dominion Public Building / Federal Building'. Criticizes it for ... "Lack of a spacious site detracts from the appearance of this government building."
"The Federal Building covers almost the entire site, providing little off-street parking space. Surrounding buildings cut off the view of this structure, which could have been developed into a notable city landmark had it been located on a larger site, with appropriate landscaping. The building blocks the eastern end of Graham Avenue, creating an indirect connection to Water Avenue, and is not readily accessible from the main business district, because it is necessary to make a left turn through traffic to reach the east side of Main Street from either Portage Avenue or Main Street north."
At the present time, City of Winnipeg departments are severely crowded and in urgent need of expanded accommodation. Offices are scattered in various buildings because the City Hall is not large enough to provide necessary space. The present City Hall has served the city for over sixty years and should be replaced with a new building which will be large enough to accommodate all departments. This new building could form the core of a civic centre, providing office space for all city departments, including police headquarters, school board and parks board offices. Offices should be concentrated in one section which is designed as an efficient office structure, rather than scattered about as appendages to other functional sections. The centre should include facilities for co~ity activities, including a museum, art gallery and library; and facilities for recreation activities, unless they are provided in connection with some other development such as an Exhibition site.
http://winnipeginfocus.winnipeg.ca/u...rance_1948.pdf
That could be interpreted as the writer likes "campus" style government buildings, like the NRCs built in the 1980s or Revenue Canada Processing Centre post modernist "wall" in Transcona.