Click on the picture to see a larger version.
The Connell & Burke stable as it was in 1912. Main Street is now paved and the automobile is taking over the world. The 27 Russell cars in the picture are not taxis. They belong to members of a car club setting off on a "sociability run".
Source:
Aug. 17, 1912. Sociability Run. 27 Russells. Archives Manitoba, Foote 908.
Winnipeg Cab History / 11
Connell & Burke (2)
The old Connell & Burke stable was still in existence in 1912 but by this time the horse cab business in Winnipeg was on its last legs. The stable was now owned by Arthur F. Pigott who had entered the livery business in 1902.
As the automobile began to destroy the horse-based economy Pigott was able to buy up stables at bargain prices. He eventually owned eight of them. The stables may have been next to worthless as businesses but they occupied increasingly valuable downtown real estate.
Unlike most of his competitors in the cab and livery business Pigott quickly adapted to the new world created by the automobile. He was running taxicabs in 1913 but soon abandoned the cab business in favour of selling trucks and cars. By the 1950s Pigott Motors was one of the largest dealerships in Canada.