This act was passed in the boom days when there was every indication that Portage would go ahead with leaps and bounds, and it is evident that the company wanted to be on the ground floor when such a utility was needed.

Probably the reason this project didn't get beyond the. paper stage was due to the disappointing turn of events which occurred the following year.

courtesy of the Manitoba Archives.

Above is a picture of Main St. in Portage la Prairie in 1883.

All the buildings cannot be identified but the names on two of them are visible: George Craig and Medical Hall, Wright & Co.

Note the board-walk, cart and buggies, also the growth of the town in ten years. (Compare this picture with the previous one shown of 1873.)

Prospects for the continuation of progress seemed rosy during the first months of 1883, so John Mcl.eod and his brother, Angus, built the Albion Hotel, a three storey building covering a considerable area. Miraculously, they were able to carryon through the dire days that followed and for many years after. This hotel remained in family hands until 1941 when it was purchased by Mr. Hugh Clancy who sold it in 1953 to three partners who went under the name of Gateway Hotel Ltd.

The present proprietor, Mr. Robert Nicol, took over on July 1st, 1960, and at this time (1968) is planning extensive renovation, the cost of which is estimated at $75,000.

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