Company & Building:
Robinson and Webber was founded in 1919 as a paint and chemical supply firm. They acted as a manufacturer’s agent and a private label manufacturer of flagship brands Goldex and Glashine. In the early 1940s, they leased part of 104 – 108 Princess in Winnipeg for chemical storage, but in 1945, the north section of the building caught fire. The structure was torn down to its foundation and rebuilt, but by the mid-1950s, the space wasn’t suitable for the company’s growing operation and they moved to 185 Bannatyne in 1955. The company remained at that location until the 1980s and is still in operation as RW Consumer Products.
Brand Names:
The water tower at the top of the building features a list of brands Robinson and Webber sold to the public, including Creocide, Spitfire, Goldex, and Glashine. The south sign features a reproduction of a bottle of Glashine window cleaner, with a second, extremely faded bottle on the north side of the tower.
Research & writing by contributor Matt Cohen of ghostsigns.ca
