Stone quarried only in Manitoba receives international heritage recognition
A stone that is in many buildings throughout the province and is found only in Manitoba, is now getting international attention.
Tyndall Stone is mined in Garson, Man. and has been fitting builders’ visions for nearly 200 years. The limestone dates back more than 400 million years and is filled with fossil fragments.
It was first used to build the walls and warehouses of Lower Fort Garry in 1832 and it now can be found as part of the Manitoba Legislative Building, the Manitoba Museum and in the Centre Block of Parliament in Ottawa.
Tyndall Stone was used to build the walls and warehouses of Lower Fort Garry (CTV News Winnipeg file)
Number TEN Architectural Group decided to go with the Manitoba stone when designing the Richardson Innovation Centre.
“We had a particular vision in mind of the combination of glass and very clean smooth material with some textured features. And so it fit very well with the overall vision,” said Doug Hanna, an architect at the company.
Donna Gillis, the operations manager at Gillis Quarries – the quarry in Garson, said most of the time the stone is used for exterior cladding.
“But we do do it on other interior things based on what the person wants. It could be interior rooms, it could be for table tops, you know giving it a different look, a different modern use of the same material,” said Gillis.
Now the stone is being recognized on the world stage by the Subcommission on Heritage Stones.
Donna Gillis, the operations manager at Gillis Quarries, says Tyndall Stone has a variety of uses. (CTV News Photo Jon Hendricks)
“There was no Canadian stone on the list. They had Carrara Marble that Rome was built from. They had Portland Stone that London was built from. They had Tennessee Marble that has been used across North America. There was no Canadian stone,” said Graham Young, the curator of Geology and Paleontology at the Manitoba Museum.
Young, along with a colleague of his at the University of Saskatchewan, nominated the stone and now the international organization is listing the Tyndall Stone as a designated global heritage stone resource.
“Humans have this relationship with geological materials, we take them for granted. We shouldn’t take them for granted,” Young said, adding, especially when one of the materials is only quarried in Manitoba.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
'$6.66 per day': Advocacy groups disheartened by funding in budget for disability benefit
Advocacy groups across Canada are expressing widespread disappointment about the amount of funding earmarked in the 2024 federal budget for the long-awaited Canada Disability Benefit.
BREAKING Former Air Canada employees among suspects identified in gold heist at Pearson airport: police
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.
MPs summon ArriveCan contractor to the House to be admonished in rare parliamentary display
Enacting an extraordinarily rarely used parliamentary power, MPs have summoned an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to be admonished publicly for failing to answer their questions.
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
Ancient skeletons unearthed in France reveal Mafia-style killings
More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archeological site in southwest France.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s sons have released a single together
A new Lennon and McCartney collaboration is the last thing anybody expected.