Seagram Museum facts for kids
The postmodern building by Barton Myers
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| Established | 1984 |
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| Dissolved | 1997 |
| Location | 57 Erb Street West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada |
| Type | Defunct corporate museum |
The Seagram Museum was a special place in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It worked to save the history of a famous Canadian company called Seagram. This company used to make drinks.
The museum was located at 57 Erb Street West. It was open from May 1984 until March 1997. An architect named Barton Myers designed the building. It cost about $4.75 million to build. The museum's entrance was an old storage building from the Seagram factory.
Plans for the museum were announced in 1981. Peter Swann, who used to lead the Royal Ontario Museum, became its first director. He helped create the Seagram Museum. The museum showed what daily life was like in the drink-making factory in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
The Museum's History
The Seagram company closed its factory in Waterloo in 1992. However, the museum stayed open for five more years. In 1993, a fire destroyed the building next to the museum. Luckily, the museum building was not badly damaged.
In the fall of 1997, the City of Waterloo bought the Seagram property. They paid $4 million for it. The museum gave its historical records to the University of Waterloo.
What Happened to the Building?
Two old buildings on the site, which used to store barrels, became apartments. The museum building itself was changed into an office building. A software company called Waterloo Maple rented it. This company moved into the newly fixed-up building in June 1998.
In July 2002, the city sold the building to a group called the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). They bought it for $2.5 million. In September 2003, Waterloo Maple moved out, and CIGI moved in.
In 2010, another group called Project Ploughshares also used the building. Later, in 2016, an online shopping company named Shopify moved into the building.
Where to See Seagram's History Now
Some of the items from the Seagram Museum's collection went to the City of Waterloo. You can see these items at the City of Waterloo Museum. This new museum opened in 2009.
