What Makes Winnipeg Great?

A lot of focus has been on the negative aspects of Winnipeg both in mainstream media and social media. Sometimes that results in very public announcements of people leaving or commenting about how happy they are since they left. Every now and again, there is someone who says just how much they love about this city or how glad they moved here.

Geographically, Winnipeg at the center of the country has been an important aspect of its attractiveness for business, cultural gatherings and shelter. The rivers were the key aspect of that growth but it was when the railways came that the city's development took off. It sometimes comes as a shock when people learn that Winnipeg was once the third largest city in Canada until the Panama Canal was built in 1913.

Ports by the sea or with access to the sea have always been attractive places for commerce as well as places to live. Steamboats travelled all the way from Winnipeg to St. Paul Minnesota and back again. However, the rivers were shallow, winding and frozen part of the year. After 50 years, railways changed all that. And all rails led to and ran from Winnipeg.

The dynamic of trade changed as well from north to south. The Canadian Pacific meant east to west travel exploded and those railways lines continued to help the city prosper although cargo, rather than passengers were the big economic driver. Air and road service became the other important developments. The first international flight in North America was from Minneapolis to Winnipeg.

Early boosterism in Winnipeg and Manitoba in general was about land. The flat plains of the Red River Valley and the rivers that met at The Forks were ideal for commerce and travel. It is what made the city great. The trails that grew from settlements that expanded from the forts became the next great thing for the city's growth. While the first fort was built near the Red and Assiniboine, the first business independent of the Hudson Bay Company decided to open at the corner of the Portage and Main oxcart paths in 1862. The province had not even been formed yet.

Nothing really except for the land and the resources gave indication of how great Winnipeg would be. It was a harsh climate at any time of the year. Literally everything had to be brought in by boat or trail because the land was was not providing in abundance for a rapidly increasing population. And even the indigenous population was one that followed game north to sound across the seasons.

The permanent settlements were one of hardship due to extreme temperatures, flooding, insects and disease. The fifty years of transport by water or trail was slow going in terms of development. Funnily enough, the first locomotive arrived in Winnipeg via steamboat. It began the longest era of greatness with explosive growth from 1879 through to 1913. Thereafter, growth was still propelled by railway but not as the boom levels once seen. The building of the Panama Canal meant that traffic could bypass the railway and arrive by ship in Vancouver. Everything didn't have to pass through Winnipeg anymore.

Given the traffic back and forth to Pembina, North Dakota and beyond via steamboat and then rail, it is only the the coming of the Canadian Pacific Rail that re-arranged the dynamic of east to west than south to north. This took place in 1881 when the railway and bridge over the Red River brought huge amounts of people to the city. At least Winnipeg was incorporated by 1874 and had street planning and a nascent business community ready to go. Still, the growth was beyond crazy. Literally thousands of people poured into the city and then out to the country and to the new territories to the west.

All this made Winnipeg great because the economy and fortunes were on an upward trajectory. Still, the Panama Canal in 1913 and World War I a year later in 1914 cut Winnipeg off from capital and immigration as the war ground on year after year. Add to this the Spanish Influenza and the Great Depression and you had a few generations dead to disease and war. And to cap it off World War II took another generation of young people in terms of death and injury.

One effect of the war was a level of industrialization and new population growth that lasted from 1945 to 1970. Many of the largest present-day companies like Manitoba Hydro, Canada Life (Great-West Life) and New Flyer and others grew out of this post-war industrialization. Many family run businesses grew and prospered. Even through the 1970s, Winnipeg was larger than Calgary and Edmonton but oil would soon change that.

Oil crashes in 1973 and 1979 along with inflation and a stagnant economy slowed growth, By 1980, Winnipeg was going through massive layoffs.  Even during this painful time economically, Winnipeg benefitted from a diverse workforce, tree-lined streets, good schools and a cultural vitality. Even during tough times new festivals were created, new school programs were introduced, new professional leagues of sports started and so on. This is an important thing to point out to those who might think that nothing was going on in the city. 

The diversity of the Winnipeg economy and stability of  it made it a fairly good place to raise a family. It was too easy to take for granted our universities and colleges that churned out graduates that became leading Canadian citizens in a multitude of fields. And many of the family businesses grew each decade to become national and international players. 

Winnipeg is still a leading destination for immigration. The province with its provincial nominee program has gone out and found people to come here and has jobs for them. Each decade has added to the depth of the population as well as the rich tapestry of shops, restaurants and businesses.

Winnipeg has had a long time reputation has been a tough city. Crime has long been listed as a problem. Still, anyone who knows the city is aware it isn't the entire city rife with violence. Crime has been coming down the last two years according to reports but it probably doesn't feel like it for those watching crimes take place in stores, buses and the like.

What makes the city great has been the citizen driven initiatives to help on addictions, housing and poverty. There have been shelters built, rehab centres, lower income housing and foundational support for programming and education. It has pushed governments to act as well. United Way Winnipeg punches above its weight in fundraising. The Winnipeg Foundation and other endowments donate as much as the United Way. But it has been a hard year for many charities that still have not recovered from the pandemic just as demand as increased so much.

Still, the thing that makes Winnipeg great is that the city continues to adapt and grow. It has had good times and bad times but not end times. There communities all over Canada with declining populations as people move elsewhere. Winnipeg is not one of them although the fastest growing areas in the suburbs and metropolitan area. This spreading of population is not sustainable economically. It is why attempts to do infill such as Seasons of Tuxedo are transforming former industrial land.

It is great to see parts of Winnipeg have a second coming. The East Yards, Fort Rouge Yards and Tuxedo Yards have all been converted to commercial and residential uses. The density in the city as well as most of the country has dropped as suburban and exurban residential growth has exploded. The fact industrial and parking space is being repurposed is very good. True North Square was built atop a parking lot. Portage Place is being converted to Pan Am Clinic and residential units.

The year 2026 is to be determined but a lot of projects started earlier will be completed or near completion in the new year. A lot of initiatives on addiction, housing and poverty will also be well underway. The trick this time is not to take breaks as we have in the past because things like homelessness and rising rent is in part a capacity and programming failure. Winnipeg went years without adding any rental units or put roadblocks so long that it took years to get anything built. 

Winnipeg in a fit of urban pride once had a campaign called One Great City which its own citizens mocked in song and commentary. However, on a all too frequent basis we do things that are great and make the city great. We can't rest on our laurels though but it is important to see the greatness from time to time. 

Beer Can at the Granite Club

The Granite Club is this year's host for the Beer Can and it is much bigger than we have ever seen it.

The previous location just on Main Street was extremely popular as case counts went down for Covid 19 in the summer but restrictions remained tight for operations inside bars and restaurants.

The Granite Club is a beautiful building and curling (like a lot of sports) has taken a hit this years as a result of closures.

The city has footdragged on patios forever. Still does. Or overcharges. If we want streetlife, it can't be by making everyone go inside. And if we want to stay safe, we need more outside. That is not just from pandemics but having people around leads to a collective watch group. I mean...aren't we all people watching? Hard to be up to no good when everyone is watching. And nowadays...recording.

The view is amazing.

Osborne Village overlooks the site across the Assiniboine River. You have to bet that the patio has not gone unnoticed there.

Danger is still all around us. Outdoors is better than indoors for the moment. Be mindful of those who are vulnerable. Things are still serious out there. We don't want even further restrictions.

Enjoy your patio time.

Osborne Village in 1957

This picture in 1957 of Osborne Village tells us a lot. The first is that there are no more streetcars. They came to an end in Winnipeg in 1955. Trolley buses continue to operate as we can see from electric lines away from the Assinniboine River. But what about headed towards the downtown?  The building under construction in the background is the Great-West Life building that was complete in 1957. The steam pipe in the middle is the Drewery Beer Plant (later Labatt's)

The Osborne Theater, a fixture in the Village since 1912, was soon to close. Killed off by television in 1957. It later became an Elk's Hall and today is Anytime Fitness. Stephen Paints, Margaret Rose restaurant are clearly seen as neighbours to the movie theatre. The beauty salon is Nugguit's? It is difficult to read the names on the other side but a Perth's Drycleaner can be see as well as a drugstore. The drugstore sits where Papa George's resided from 1972 to 2012. However, it was once White Drugs which was owned by the Ringer family that owned the famous pharmacy on Pembina Highway. The store obviously had a different name before that though.

Papa George's is now Cornerstone restaurant.

The Roslyn Apartments are seen on the right side of the street with its recognizable red brick. As with many street on major roads almost everything you wanted was within a walkable distance. The rapid expansion of the suburbs was just about to accelerate as cars and technology began to change urban settings.

Ironically, it was the harder time that Osborne Village was about to go through in the 1960s that set up what it was going to become from the 1970s and beyond. Even today the community continues to evolve.

Any help in filling in the blanks with the names of businesses on the street would be appreciated.

The Flood Part 3

An aerial view of the Assiniboine River and the Brandon flood zone.

Even with the grave warnings about the flooding that might happen this year, the Selinger government can't seem to get proper information to people about where flooding might happen and how people can protect their homes.

The NDP knew that they would probably be judged on how they fought the flooding this year and they have been pulling out all the stops. Thankfully, after the 1997 flood, the U.S. and Canadian governments put together a thoughtful approach and directly confronted the challenges. With the information derived from that report and consultations between the Liberal and NDP government, plans were drawn up for combat the 1 in 700 year flood that could lay waste to the bulk of the land along the Red River Valley.

In 2005 work began and the the final touches ended just recently.

The Red River Valley has always included all the rivers, streams and tributaries that flow into the Red. Some columnists in some newspapers have praised the sober discussion taking place now. That might be all well and good but the truth of the matter is that western Manitoba was an afterthought in flood preparations this year.

There has certainly been millions spent on raising dikes from Portage la Prairie to Headingley but it has always been geared to 1976 levels which was a much lower threshold than the work done on the Red River Floodway.

There will be grief and anger as the torrents of water will be released in the next hours. The government will be judged in three ways: What they did to prepare, what they did to manage things as it happened and what they are prepared to do afterward.

The NDP government is likely terrified that the flood could very well be in people's minds next October when the provincial vote happens. After more than a decade in power, it will be hard to blame others if things are perceived to be handled poorly.

One thing is quite clear: While western Manitoba has rural and conservative roots and a can do spirit, they have been looking for guidance from government. In fact, they have been begging for direction, information and a plan. So far it has been hard to watch people desperate for help not know what is happening and not sure what to do.

My thoughts are with the people in western Manitoba. Let's hope that the region overcomes the challenges in the days and weeks ahead.

Winnipeg Transportation and Driving Part 1

Traffic circle in River Heights.

It can be a frustrating experience driving in Winnipeg. Many of the problems can be attributed to lack of planning but just as many can be blamed on the lack of courtesy among Winnipeg drivers.

The bike paths being created on Winnipeg streets have been causing chaos. The city blew its chances years ago to acquire a right of way bike path that could have run from St. James to Taylor Avenue over the Assiniboine River. The old CN line called the Oak Point Subdivision should have been grabbed for future city use after CN abandoned it. Sadly, the idea of anything aside from green space for the line torpedoed any acquisition. Now, residents are reaping the seeds of that dissent as condos are squeezed into the space that they thought would remain green forever. No one seemed to consider that a private owner such as CN might want to actually develop the property rather than leaving it as private parkland for people of the neighborhoods to park their extra cars or to dig a garden. This picture shows the line as it passes through St. James.

Here is the picture of it running through River Heights.



The old line through St. James is now occupied by retailers such as Future Shop and Best Buy who took the opportunity to have bigger setbacks from St. James Street. Who can blame them but what a waste to the city who could have created actual walking and bike paths travelling north/south.

Back in the 1970s or 1980s, there was a proposal for a bike bath along the Burlington Northern Line that also runs through River Heights. The idea was squashed by opposition from an activist who generally fought for social causes. I always remembered that. If I can find the archived news story about that incident, I will include it.

Today we are seeing all sorts of issues in regards to the bike path down Assiniboine Avenue. It has created a nightmare for commuters and people living in the area. One wonders why they didn't utilize the existing east-west corridor in the area.

Here, I will show it to you:



There it is: Between the trees on Broadway.

Here is what originally went down the center of Broadway:



Is it not too late to look at that choice on Broadway?

In any event, those represent some of the choices the city could have made on bike paths that might have made sense.

The traffic circles in River Heights along Grosvenor, including Lanark, Borebank, Waterloo and Waverley are causing some people in the area consternation. The street will also include a bike path and eliminates all parking west of Cambridge Street. There is a picture of the circle on the top of the page.

Many of the people living in the area have a legitimate beef that the discussion about the changes were rushed through to ensure that federal dollars were spent before the deadline.

The first time bump outs of curbs were attempted in 2001 along Lyndale Drive, the residents there rebelled and they were removed a year later. The people of St. Boniface gave councillor Dan Vandal an earful about them.

I am not opposed to roundabouts or traffic circles. The one along Waterfront Drive works well enough. A few more of them are appearing in the Waverley West area. However, I can say from experience that some people still aggressively enter the traffic circle, tailgate and try to maintain high speeds.

I was a longtime resident of Kingsway and at the open house on the subject of the active transportation corridor, planners admitted they wanted to turn Kingsway into more of a thoroughfare. Certainly the people of that street are not going to be happy with speeders running past two schools at high rates of speed to avoid Grosvenor.

River Heights is already a speedway as people try to avoid Kenaston, Corydon and Academy Road during rush hours.

The issue with Grosvenor will be about whether it will be too narrow for buses, cyclists and cars to co-exist with traffic circles. The side effects of the change will also have to be examined. Those side effects would include: changes to traffic patterns elsewhere, the loss of parking on Grosvenor and the issue of parents dropping kids off at River Heights Junior High.

It would be fair to say though that not all problems in Winnipeg are the result of poor city planning. Winnipeg has some very aggressive drivers and there is a distinct lack of courtesy among people. Tailgating, weaving in and out of traffic, speeding along lanes in attempt to cut in to traffic are all examples of treating commuting into some sort of bloodsport measured by if you win or lose.

Here is an example of one driver's attempt to end the bloodsport and break-up traffic jams.



I will talk more on the lack of courtesy in a future post but I will leave readers with this thought: If you drive at a regular speed, leave space between your car and the one ahead of you, stay in one lane for the most part, use your turn signals and pay attention, it is very likely you can help ensure fewer stoppages along your commute.



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Good Bye Lord Selkirk II

Lord Selkirk II rusting away.



River Rouge and it snazzy blue colours.



Paddlewheel Princess.



Paddlewheel Queen.



There was a time when you could watch the River Rouge, Paddlewheel Queen, Paddle Wheel Princess and Lord Selkirk II ply the Red and sometimes the Assiniboine Rivers.

The Lord Selkirk II has not sailed the rivers or Lake Winnipeg since 1986. The ship has sat rusting around Selkirk for ten years. Now, it has been announced that the ship that once carried the Queen will be scrapped and sold for its metal parts.

The ship, commissioned in 1970, cruised Lake Winnipeg for many years. It was a majestic ship but at some point, new owners decided to make a go of it in competition with the river boats that did short afternoon and evening tours around Winnipeg. It proved too hard a task to make money at and the ship was retired.

Now, the three remaining river boats in Winnipeg have had to contend with high waters that have made their seasons even shorter.

It has become a regular occurrence that the ships cannot even cruise through most of the city.

Let's hope that the fate of the Lord Selkirk II doesn't befall any of the others ships.

There is a site dedicated to the Lord Selkirk II here.



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Assiniboine Avenue

The artist drawing of Heritage Landing.



Outline of the new Crystal Developments property.



Blueprints of Heritage Landing.

It is no easy task being a developer when it comes to downtown development. If you express and interest in building some place, you have to jump through numerous hoops. And so it went with Crystal Developments who at first wanted to build at Fort and Assiniboine in 2008 but backed off when prominent citizens lobbied to have the land set aside for a historical park.

I felt it was a real shame that the only time that a group got together to protect the site is when someone expressed interest in it.

I had no problem with the idea of a historical park to represent Winnipeg's history from its origins at Upper Fort Garry. What is did have a problem with is how slapdash and late to the party it was.

Thankfully, Crystal Developers wasn't completely chased away but two years to be able find a project to replace what was lost is a little much.

The announcement of the a new highrise between the Midtown Bridge and Bonnycastle Park and bordering the Assiniboine Avenue is the first 20 story plus building built in the downtown in two decades.

The new project called Heritage Landing will rise 22 stories above the Assiniboine River. It will have eventually have around 300 people calling its 209 residential units home.

The project probably won't see any major work done till late 2011 based on some of the challenges presented by hydro lines and river location.

Let's hope that the every other project to bring residents downtown doesn't take just as long.



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Tuxedo Park Shopping Centre Part 1

The picture is the Agricultural College in 1903. Now the Asper Jewish Community Campus of Winnipeg.

The Tuxedo Park Shopping Centre was built in 1962 to serve the town of Tuxedo. It initially had a Safeway, a Bank of Montreal branch, the headquarters of the Tuxedo Police and a hotel.

The land used to belong to the Hudson Bay Company but was granted to Lord Selkirk in 1811. By 1857, it had been surveyed into farmland from the Assiniboine River out to 2 and later 4 miles. The region was known as Assiniboia and by 1880 it became the Rural Municipality of Assiniboia.

One of the first buildings to be built in the area was the The Agricultural College in 1906 along Tuxedo Avenue. It was deemed to be too small and 1911-1913, the college moved to Fort Garry, home to the present University of Manitoba.

From 1914 until 1917 this site was used by the Manitoba School for the Deaf, the first such institution in Western Canada. In 1917, the facility became necessary for wounded men from World War I. The building served as a hospital until 1919. Thereafter, the Canadian Army took over the building and from 1919 to 1968, it was the Fort Osborne Barracks. The Asper Jewish Community Campus of Winnipeg bought the site in 1997 and it is used as an educational and cultural center.

In 1904, 283 acres of the land along the river was bought by the City of Winnipeg for the site of Assiniboine Park.

From 1905 to 1913, Frederick W. Heubach and various investor acquired land for their new Tuxedo Park development. In 1913, the Town of Tuxedo was incorporated and Heuback became its first mayor.

The American firm Olmsted Brothers designed the town and that plan was followed assiduously for many decades.

A British firm held a small piece of the new town. It was a small triangle of land bounded by Tuxedo Avenue, Roblin Boulevard (later Corydon Avenue) and Edgeland Boulevard which was zoned for three apartment blocks and a shopping center.

That shopping center became what is the present Tuxedo Park Shopping Centre.

(to be continued)

Wellington Crescent Part 1

Wellington Crescent began as an Indian trail along the Assiniboine River. It was names Wellington Street in 1893 after Arthur Wellington Ross, a landowner originally from Cornwall, Ontario who purchased land in Fort Rouge. He went on to become a Liberal MLA in Manitoba and later a Liberal-Conservative in Ottawa.

As Winnipeg steadily grew, land along both sides of the Assinibone River became attractive to the richest citizens. Between 1893 and 1914, large stately homes were constructed along Wellington. As it moved steadily west, it became Wellington Crescent.

From its starting point at the end of River Avenue, the Crescent eventually wound its way to present day Assiniboine Park.

Of all the houses built on the river side between River Avenue and Academy Road, only two remain: The Fortune House at 393 Wellington and the Ashdown House at 529 Wellington.

The Fortune House was spared demolition following a fire in the 1980s. The house was built in 1910 by Mark Fortune, a real estate investor. The family did not enjoy the house for long. Following a European vacation with his family, Mark Fortune and his son died aboard the Titanic in 1912. Fortune's wife and two daughters survived and returned to the city. The house was later sold to William P. Riley, President of Western Grocers in 1920.

In 1950, the house was converted into apartments following the Rileys departure for other Wellington Crescent digs. After a devastating fire in the 1980s, the house was faithfully preserved on the outside while converted into condos on the inside.

The other surviving house on the river side between Academy and River is the former Ashdown House at 529 Wellington Crescent. It was the fourth house built for James Ashdown. Ashdown was one of Winnipeg's most important businessmen and city movers. His hardware business operated out of the same downtown location for many years. In 1907, Ashdown served as the city mayor for two years.

In 1912, Ashdown built his newest house on Wellington Crescent. It was built in the Tudor style and Manitoba limestone walls. Immediately across the street was St. Mary's Academy, the oldest continually operating school in Manitoba. The school, started in 1869, moved to its present location in 1903.

Coincidentally, the Ashdown house came on the market in 1950, the same year that the Fortune House did. While the Fortune House was converted to apartments, the Ashdown House was converted to the headquarters of the Shriner's in 1956. Khartum Temple occupied the house until it moved to their new location on Wilke's Avenue in 2000. A meeting room addition was made to the house on the east side but the remainder of the house was unchanged aside from a parking lot built in the front yard.

There was a debate about what would happen to the house and eventually a restaurateur stepped up and the house has operated as 529 Wellington Steakhouse for the last several years.

Every other house fell to the wreckers aside from those two. The Isaac Pitblado and The William Mulock homes on either side of the Ashdown house were demolished.

Two houses adjacent to Ashdown house fell to the wreckers for the construction of Shaarey Zedek Synagogue in 1949. The house closest to Academy Road originally belonged to David Dyson whose family owned Dyson and Gibson Spice Mills. The company made Seven-Day Pickles. The other home was owned by John Gage, president of Consolidated Elevator which later became Federal Grain.

(to be continued)



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