KRALINATOR LIMITED

Firm: J. A. Cawston

Address: 4704 1 Street SE

Date: October 1953

Status: standing

This quietly dignified mid-century warehouse is almost invisible now from the street, as it sits tucked behind another building constructed in front of it. Cawston's design is of a conventional warehouse with an attached front office. The distinguising features are the high entrance foyer and the alternating window pattern. Kralinator was one of several battery companies that constructed industrial buildings in the 1950s. The others were Globelite (also by Cawston and only a couple doors down), Willard, and Prest-O-Lite.

The building is constructed of 12''x8''x5'' Rug-Tex structural tile. The tiles were made by Winnipeg company Alsip Brick, Tile & Lumber Company Limited, which was founded in 1905 and exists still today. I have no idea what the original colour of the tiles were, so took my best guess.