The house at 131 Dufferin Avenue East was once owned by Arthur Meighen, who was Prime Minister on two separate occasions, from 1920 to 1921 and 1926 from June to September.
Eric Vieweg is the current owner and since 1993, when he and his family bought the house, he has been working to restore it to its original appearance.
“It was really neglected, it was compartmentalized. It was really run down … it looked like a really abandoned building,” Vieweg said. “But the price was very reasonable and at the time, I was young and stupid and I guess I thought we could fix it.”
The home of former premier Arthur Meighen, located at 131 Dufferin Avenue East in Portage la Prairie, is for sale. (Source: Home Viewtube/realtor.ca) Before becoming an accountant, Vieweg was a cabinetmaker, and those skills helped him restore much of the house with the original materials. What he couldn’t save, he replaced, making it look like it once was. He said he was inspired to bring the house back to life after receiving photos of the house and how it looked in the 1920s. “It looked completely different to what it looked like at the time, in the late 90s… but seeing this house as it was in the 20s was an inspiration. That made me realize, “Oh, instead of doing a Reno, let’s put it back the way it was.” The home of former premier Arthur Meighen, located at 131 Dufferin Avenue East in Portage la Prairie, is for sale. (Source: Home Viewtube/realtor.ca) He said the front half of the main level is completely authentic to the 1920s. If areas like the kitchen needed to be upgraded – such as removing a large wood stove – Vieweg still made it period-appropriate with modern amenities. The home also features the original cast iron bathtub in the bathroom. “So the prime minister would have bathed in that bathtub. So that’s kind of cool.” The restoration allowed Vieweg to continue flexing his creative muscles, to the point that his workstation was in the living room for more than 10 years. The home of former premier Arthur Meighen, located at 131 Dufferin Avenue East in Portage la Prairie, is for sale. (Source: Home Viewtube/realtor.ca) “I would come home and that was my release, my release from stress, my outlet for creativity. So it was a good balance, and I guess that’s what kept me going.” He added that the house cost him a lot of money, but he is proud of the work he has done. Now, the home is listed for $449,500, and Vieweg said it’s bittersweet to move on from a home he’s put so much time and effort into. “It was good, you know. We never got bored, but yeah, that chapter of my life is over.” Vieweg is hoping a family buys the house, saying it has plenty of bedrooms and believes a family should enjoy it. As for the next chapter in Vieweg’s life, now that the job is over and he’s retired, he said he plans to get a sailboat and travel to the Caribbean with his partner.
