Diversity Garden in Assiniboine Park

The Diversity Garden presently under construction at a cost of tens of million is looking more like roller coaster than glass encased garden. My brother actually took it to be a roller coaster under construction and was bitterly disappointed to hear it wasn't.

Saturday Morning Cartoons in Winnipeg

In 1970 my family moved from a rental property in River Heights to the home my parents continue to live in today. Our TV as I just began school was black and white had CBC and CJAY (later CKY). Cable had started in 1968 but reception was still an issue especially in summer and we had a black and white TV in a large cabinet to boot. Our first priority was a new colour TV but by fall of 1972 my father had broken down and got Videon cable that was priced at $10 to install and $5 a month. That was still pricey for a service that came in fuzzy with bad weather nearly every summer. By the way, the colour TV would have to wait another year.

My first sci-fi was comics and Saturday morning cartoons. It is funny that my first encounter with Star Trek and Planet of the Apes was through their animated shows of around 1973. The Jetsons was also one of the first animation shows totally set in the future. In fact, there were so many shows based on live action TV series such as Addams Family, Brady Kids and Jeannie (which featured the voice of Mark Hamill of Star Wars).

By 1973, all three kids in our family were up at the crack of dawn to watch cartoons before breakfast. Invariably, sports like hockey and soccer would take up chunks of time each weekend but with re-runs, we watched Fat Albert, Scooby-Doo and Bugs Bunny and its doubtful any episodes were missed over the years.

My passion for sci-fi came about in the 1970s via comics and television programming. Primetime series such as Wonder Woman, Six Million Dollar Man, Bionic Woman as well as Spider-Man were on in the evenings. Saturday morning cartoons introduced me to first space-based series which was Star Trek The Animated Series in 1973. I had never even the live action series as it had not reached syndication in Manitoba yet. I would also go on to see the Planet of the Apes both as a TV series in 1974 and an animated series in 1975 long before I saw the movies. Rounding out my early 1970s Saturday morning live and animated fare was Land of the Lost (1974), Shazam (1974), Isis (1975) and Ark II (1976).

I can honestly say that Space: 1999 was a game changer for me when it came on in 1975. For two years, it showed a near future story that was space-based and full of adventure. I was already sold like much of the population because of NASA, the Apollo missions and the moon landings. A story of a base on Earth's moon was amazing. Having the moon flung out of orbit and from place to place had me enraptured. This program didn't come from from the U.S. networks but on CBC via ITC, a British producer. It featured Martin Landau and Barbara Bain, a married acting couple famous from Mission Impossible. I never did see Mission Impossible till decades later so the two were new to me. Two full seasons of Space: 1999 would be broadcast and I'd see the show over and over which was a good thing since when it was gone, it would a very long time before it would become available on TV or DVD again. It was replaced by Star Trek which would run for year upon year after that. By the time the Star Trek movie came to the screen in 1979, pretty much every kid in Canada would have had seen or known about the show because of CBC.

Kids were only vaguely aware that the shows they were watching were re-packaged programs from prime time 1960s animated shows or Bugs Bunny and Road Runner clips from Warner Bros. for their theatrical releases. It was all new to kids. And even seeing them once, kids were prepared to watch them again and again. This, of course, set up a whole new marketing opportunity for companies producing Flintstones and Jetson's labelled products. Yogi Bear featured on Saturday mornings inspired campgrounds called Jellystone Park which exist to this day.

The 1970s Saturday morning cartoons were filled with superheroes, sci-fi, mystery and music. Bill Cosby, in the days when he was associated with family comedy, was there with Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids which was very popular in Canada. There was also a huge amount of programming related to prime time comedy such Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley and Mork and Mindy. Even the Dukes of Hazzard had an animated TV series.

Old programming was still mainstay in the 1980s but Smurfs came to dominate in 1981. Star Wars animated shows also began to appear. However, it was clear that some 1980s programming was aimed at a much younger demographic other than young teens. There were many junior versions of animated characters. Hello Scrappy-Do.

It was safe to say that each generation of kids growing up decade by decade grew up and probably ended up working Saturday mornings, doing sports and activities or found new programming wasn't reaching them as it was aimed at very young kids. Federal rules on what could be broadcast and what commercials could be run began to change the Saturday morning landscape by the 1990s. Syndicated animated programs like G.I. Joe and He-Man, Thundercats, Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles could appear more freely on TV television after 1984 and away from Saturday morning cartoons. This was both a good thing and bad thing as it gave older teens animated shows to watch but it gave pause to the networks to create material for Saturday that was increasingly held to a different standard for education. Moreover, specialty cable channels such Disney, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network grew each year they were on till the dominated Saturday Morning Cartoons.

Add to the mix rental videos and game systems such as Atari, Nintendo and Sega, most networks gave up on doing anything Saturday and by 2002 in Canada, cartoons were dropped, In some cases live programming for young people like Saved by the Bell entered the picture but more and more U.S. networks extended news programming into their weekend shows. The power of the networks ended and with it nearly 40 years of Saturday programming.

Still, this programming today feeds several kids networks as well as adult networks and now gets play as feature films. So what once was old is new again. CBS in the U.S. seems to have re-discovered Star Trek animated material and there are announcements being made almost every week. In Canada the Adult Swim animated channel for older audiences now warrants its own channel.

Some might ask when the golden period of Saturday Morning Cartoons was and for many it will be the time when they were kids. It is safe to say though by the 1990 it was fading fast due to the aforementioned rules in broadcasting as well different entertainment options. The 1950s were still and content still limited. The 1960s were a huge deal with full blocks of programming. That only got bigger in the 1970s. By the 1980s cartoons a mix of old and new but neglected older teens. Syndication in the 1990s brought back the teens but those shows were not seen on early morning TV. By 2000s it was all over.

By virtue of a mix of old and new, the golden era was probably the 1970s.

Keycon 36 May 17 to 19

There are a number of long running pop cultural festivals in Manitoba but there are likely none that are closing in on near four decades of continuous operation. Science fiction and fantasy are among the biggest sellers in the multimedia world from books to television to movies to games. Keycon has always been the more literate of the festivals but just as fun loving. This year they have guests of honour representing both writers and authors. Carrie Vaughn, Tanya Huff and Lee Moyer will be present to discuss their work.

Traditionally the May long weekend has been marked by Manitobans heading to the cottage or camping for the first time of the new year. Some nip down to the States for a last shopping weekend before summer. However, the Victoria Day weekend in the city was often marked by a sleepy whole lot of nothing. 

No sci-fi festival wold be complete without costume masquerades and competitions, panels and discussions, gaming and fights as well as dinner and dancing with friends. The venue is the Radisson Hotel on Portage Avenue in the downtown area and is spread out through most of their ballrooms and guest suites. 

Attendance has ranged as high as 600 for a weekend pass but day passes are also available for those who have only a day to spare. There are lots of celebrations for sci-fi culture that Keycon will be tipping the hat to including vampire stories, Mad Max, Monty Python as well as Wizard of Oz.

Tickets in advance are the best course of action and reviewing the schedule and times for programming. Costumes are always welcome but check to see when cosplay and masquerades are happening. There are vendors selling a variety of goods and art so be sure to check that out as well.

Keycon is a more intimate look at sci-fi and fantasy than some of the biggest shows out there but then it is all about forming close relationships with the people and groups that share interests. And once again, not everyone goes out of town on the May long weekend.

http://www.keycon.org/36/

Portage and Main 1913 Back in Parking

This 1913 pictures shows a number of things. It shows that back in parking which is in vogue now was common back in 1913 in Winnipeg. Horses were still used all over the city but it was streetcars that transported the bulk of people and simple walking. The city was far less spread out.

Also note that electric cables are everywhere. During the 1960s and 70s, Winnipeg Hydro began the process of burying all the cables. People talk about how good the good old days were but downtown looks better with them gone.

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.

Netflix Review: Secret City

There are two seasons of Secret City on Netflix starring Anna Torv as an investigative reporter on one the Daily Ntion based out of Australia's capital Canberra. The term Secret City comes from John le Carre's The Honourable Schoolboy, the follow-up to the George Smiley epic Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. This should give viewers an idea that the series will have a strong espionage angle.

This series was based on the political novels of Chris Uhlmann and Steve Lewis and their books The Marmalade Files and the Mandarin Code. The main protagonist is journalist Harriet Dunkley working with the Daily Nation who stumbles upon a young man drowned during the course of her morning rowing. Immediately she sniffs a story and leads to a conspiracy that threatens her life as well as others.

A number of series in Australia have explored the feelings Australians have on the subject of big brother and the state. The China and United States dynamic plays a huge role on modern Australia who feel squeezed and vulnerable while their own state monitors its citizens for signs of protest. It is a level of paranoia we don't see on Canadian TV too much as we seem more focused on corporate control on our lives. This could be a reflection of how much corporations like HBC and Canadian Pacific Railway settled huge portions of Canada. Distrust runs deep.

Anna Torv as Harry the investigative political reporter hearkens back to an older journalism that is hard to find today. She is not a TV personality but a writer who is part of the press gallery in Canberra covering national politics. Shot on location in the capital, Secret City really shows off an area of Australia that has largely been unseen by many. The modern capital building has only been in existence since 1988. Netflix has a number of series courtesy of some of the film funding from Canberra government support and the result is seeing a different side of Australia.

Insights into Australia's intelligence organizations works and fear of both China and the United States plays a huge role as Harry investigates cabinet ministers and spies alike. Murder follows her around, some of it very close to her, that leaves her reeling and not sure who to trust. The first 2016 season of six episodes end climatically but with some unresolved issues which set up the premise of the next season.

The second season in 2018 has Harriet being released from prison for crimes related to her news reporting which violated the law. She remains convinced she knows who the traitor working for China bit wants to turn her back on Canberra and almost succeeds. The troubles of her friend from her prison and a job offer to act as an Independent MP's media adviser bring her back to center of action.

It is there that she stumbles upon information revealing a cover-up of a bomb attack in Australia. The deaths of one family is pinned on Pakistan but Harriet gets video showing it was a drone missile from Australia itself responsible for the attack.

One again the espionage and politics of China and the United States pushes Australia one way and the other. She finds that the conspiracy keeps even the new prime minister out of the loop. Uneasy alliances with some Australian intelligence people and side stories of arms dealing keep the story clipping along. Over two seasons the times that Anna Torv plays second fiddle is when Oscar winning Jacki Weaver is on screen first as Attorney-General and later Minister of Home Affairs Catriona Bailey.

A political thriller worth watching for those who like a spy story, action and great acting and writing performances. Hopefully, a season 3 is in the cards.

University of Manitoba Broadway Campus

In 1956 the Broadway campus of the University of Manitoba was still going strong on what is now Memorial Park. The Osborne Stadium is still visible but would be demolished shortly after this picture was taken. It would not be long till the downtown campus was also headed for the wrecking ball.

Ten years after World War II, returning soldiers were hitting the market for school and work and the war rationing had ended along with the Great Depression. The era of the personal car was really moving ahead and streetcars came to an end in 1955 in favour of buses which were considered more flexible.

The suburbs of Winnipeg were really starting to grow. Case in point: The Osborne Stadium was ditched in favour of Winnipeg Stadium which was on the border of Winnipeg and the City of St. James. The Broadway campus of the University of Manitoba was about to be abandoned for the Fort Garry campus in the municipality south of Winnipeg.

The Drewery beer plant soon to be Labatt's can be seen on the right The one smokestack that can be seen, The Great-West Life building one and two still not built yet.

Winnipeg was no longer the third largest city in Canada. Vancouver had surpassed us twenty years earlier but still still was a titan of the west and would hold onto that for another twenty years forward when Edmomn and Calgary would speed past us.

New Stores for Garden City Shopping Centre

The construction at Garden City Mall continues so everyone should be careful. A pedestrian fatality took place this past week near where work was done and is still being investigated.

As reported in this blog long ago, Seafood City is coming to Winnipeg and is being constructed within the footprint of the old Sears. The Filipino grocer will be complete this summer. It will be accompanied by Bulk Barn and a Michaels store leaving only three other spots left in the old Sears area left to leased.

Garden City is anchored on the other side of the mall by Canadian Tire and Winners. There are a few other vacancies within the mall left but suffice to say it is the biggest investment in the mall in decades and it is the first former Sears to have something built on the market.

After the Northgate Mall upgrade and addition of Save on Foods, Garden City could not afford to be complacent.

The closure of numerous national stores across North America has had landlords scrambling. Garden City and Grant Park malls have added Goodlife Fitness locations to attack crowds earlier and later into their shopping area. At 45 years old. Garden City was in need of an upgrade and looks to make continued improvements in 2019. Bulk Barn and Michaels are to open in the fall of this year.

Canada Poll of Members of Parliament

DeepSheet Analytics

In a poll of Canada's 338 members of Parliament, a varied list of questions was given to Canada's Members of Parliament on a wide range of topics and issues during the last week of March, 2019. A complete document of the responses is available on our website but the highlights of what was found are as follows:

Question: Do you believe Australia is a real country? 42 MPs believed that it wasn't real. 4 MPs believed it was in Europe and Adolph Hitler was born there.

Question: Do you believe Canada's economy is improving? 106 MPs believed their own personal finances had improved since they were elected. 2 MPs and formal cabinet ministers believed their own personal finances declined.

Question: Do you believe Canada's military is in a good state of readiness? 203 MPs believed that as long as other countries had aging equipment to buy, Canada would always be ready. 11 MPs wondered if the former submarines at West Edmonton Mall were still available.

Question: Do you personally ensure you and your family are vaccinated? 338 MPs said they did because they didn't want to get autism from the general public.

Question: Is a life in Ottawa hard on your relationships? 144 MPs said what their partners didn't know, wouldn't hurt them. 1 former MP and present premier said: what did he know...he lives in his mom's basement.

Question: What is Canada's national sport? 334 MPs replied Timmies. 2 MPs said Lacrosse. 2 MPs said Cricket.

Question: Has Canada leaned anything from Truth and Reconciliation? 338 MPs all agreed that there is no reconciliation in truth and no truth in reconciliation.

Question: Does 24 Sussex, the Prime Minister's residence, need to be fixed or replaced? 337 MPs said that only the resident needed to be replaced.

Question: How should Canadians prepare for retirement? 300 MPs said vote themselves a pension. 38 MPs said get appointed to the Senate.

Question: What is the major issue in your riding? 338 MPs agreed it was voter ignorance of the MP's achievements.

Question: Do you believe in prosecutor independence? 338 MPs didn't think if they personally faced charges.

Question: Do you read the Bible? 4 MPs said they had read it in the original Klingon. 1 MP said that they wrote it. 80 MPs said they watched it on TV.

Portage and Main 1922

In 1922 streetcars were still main transportation from Portage and Main all the way to Selkirk, Manitoba and to Headingley, Manitoba. They travelled in the two middle lanes. Diagonal parking was permitted on the east side of north Main for cars along banking row. Parallel parking was opposite.

Only one lane of traffic northbound to Higgins. Two lanes travelled southbound. Cars were far fewer in those years when Winnipeg was the fourth largest city in Canada. Vancouver had just surpassed our population in the decade earlier.

Future Winnipeg's needs might still find the wide roads of Winnipeg useful if trams or LRT once again take over the center lanes. Compared to a subway, it may Winnipeg's most viable option for a growing city.

Fionn MacCool's Closed on Regent

Fionn MacCool's Crossroads Station shopping center is closed today with a notice thanking people for their patronage. The Irish pub has been a fixture of the street since 2014 and is directly across from Kildonan Place. It seems suppliers were not even informed of the quick shutdown.

The notice in the window recommends that patrons go to the Grant Park location which has been open since 2017. It is not known what led to the shutdown of the Regent location. It is interesting to note that Hudson Bay Home behind it is also closing but one probably is not linked to the other.

Kildonan Place across the street is getting a multi-million expansion so the lucrativeness of that location should probably remain.

Will be interesting to see what comes in place of the Irish pub in the months ahead.

Union Stock Yard and Meatpacking Plants

In 1911 the movers and shakers convinced three different railways to partner up and become shareholders on industrial land in St. Boniface with the public having a say in the development as directors. Investor raised $1.5 million which is around $35 million today. The result was the Union Stock Yards off of what is Marion. It was a huge complex that included the stock yards, rail connections for all the rail lines, deep water well, administration building, restaurant and bank and concrete internal roads when it was common to have gravel roads elsewhere in the province. As the third largest city in Canada in 1911, Winnipeg was able to attract a fair amount of investment and was not afraid to think big

The above picture was taken most likely in the 1960 and features two of the six meatpacking plants that were built between 1918 and 1939. Harris Abattoir became Canada Packers and the plant next door was the Swift Plant. Prior to this near 70 per cent of processing was done in the United States. By 1922 the Union Stock Yards was the largest meat processor in the British empire with $20 million in production.

Nearly 3000 people would work at the Union Stock Yards and several hundred would work in each of the meatpacking plants. The picture below shows just how rural the Harris Abattoir (Canada Packers) was from St. Boniface and Winnipeg. A steam engine hints at how old the picture is and the Swift plant doesn't seem to have been built yet.

The above shows the Swift Plant in 1939. The scale of the building indicates just how important an industry this one was for Winnipeg.

By the 1980s the golden era of Union Stock Yards and the meatpacking district was over. Canada Packers and Swifts shut down in 1980 putting nearly 1600 workers out of jobs. Nearly the entire site is still awaiting it next purpose save for the Maple Leaf plant at the back end of the expansive property.

The Union Stock Yard water tower only hints at how many thousands used to work in the area.One of the last pictures below in 1988 before the stockyards were demolished.

Osborne Village in 1975

In the very early 1970s Osborne Village was very much in flux. The area around Roslyn Road remained popular as it connected to Wellington Crescent. A mix of nice home and high rise rentals popped up including the very new 55 Nassau at 38 storeys. However, some other stately homes were falling into disrepair and being turned into rooming houses. Some parts of River as as well Stradbrook got a lot rougher.

Osborne Street itself saw a change in businesses. At least two or three families began buying property and attracting renters and operating their own businesses that would given Osborne its cache in years ahead.

Most of the towers along the Assiniboine or the Village were very new in 1975. The density jumped in ways that were surprising. In today's day and age it might not happen with so many complaining that no development should happen in their own neighbourhoods. Even the present Safeway had its detractors although safe to say it has been essential in making Osborne Village the success it is.

Good design is important and there can always be debate on that. However, we have come to a period where no change at all ever is becoming the default position. At least four own neighbourhoods. Then 30 kilometer speed limits, speed bumps and road closures to through drivers are all the wage while same said neighbourhood wants a 12 lane 150 kilometer speed limit to get to the gates of the closed community.

The very new Winnipeg Convention Centre pre-expansion days is seen as well along with the very new Lakeview Square. Beside the Great-West Life building is the former Labatt's brewery. It became insurance company's second office on Osborne in the 1980s. The handsome Granite Club Curling Rink is visible beside the river across from the Village.

Osborne Village has gone through several incarnations including now but it has allowed density development that has made it vital over the years. The future is probably how to keep the neighbourhood safe and secure, affordable and avoid luxury blight where places are shuttered just because the rent is too high.

Cork and Flame Coming to St. James

It has been a while since the Nook and Cranny restaurant shut down in St. James. It was a second location for The Nook on Sherbrook with some added features such as a lounge. Around 2011 The Nook St. James opened but in the ever tough hospitality industry closed quietly last year. St. James is littered with some closed restaurant locations. Robin's, Mandarin and Gasthaus Gutenberg have all shuttered and remain closed.

The Nook and Cranny itself took over for the long running Schmeckers which had two locations and was the master of late nights for many years. The Big Schmeck would take a good long time to eat even for the ravenous. As for The Cranny, it seemed to be busy but running a restaurant is a seven days a week, at least two meals operation. And if you have a lounge, it means longer hours. It is backbreaking.

A sign along Portage Avenue says that Cork and Flame is coming soon. It has been up for a number of weeks now and contractor work vehicles have been outside all the time. The big trend lately for Winnipeg restaurants is a grill and it has seen some places in Charleswood transformed.

No word yet but will look to see the 350+ restaurant putting in the signage and opening soon.

Labatt's Broadway and Osborne

It used to be Manitoba's own Shea's but for many others it was remembered as the Labatt's beer plant across from the Manitoba Legislature. It was in 1953 the Shea's became Labatt's and the smokestack loomed large at Osborne Street and Broadway. It was Shea's that originally had the Clydesdale horses and Budweiser liked them so much he bought them and hired their Winnipeg trainer to come to St. Louis. Today's Budweiser Clydesdale horses are all descendants of the Winnipeg teams.

The name Labatt's Blue came from Winnipeg because fans of the Bombers and sportscaster Jack Wells kept calling the Pilsner "Blue" because of the label. The brewery eventually gave up and the name stuck as well as the connection to CFL football.

Old Exhibition Stadium was where the older of the two Great-West Life buildings is. For some time Great-West Life and Labatt's shared the land when the insurace company redeveloped the old stadium in 1957. The brewery had a beer store right on Osborne by the Great-West Life building entrance.

The Labatt's plant suffered a major fire in 1975 and in 1979 what remained was bulldozed setting up the expansion of Great-West Life into a second building. The new Labatt's plant was built in 1970 on Notre Dame and remained in operation till 1996.

One amazing view is in 1957-58 along Osborne Street where the smokestack of Labatt's can be seen along with the construction of the new Great-West Life building. Osborne Village looks like a real village. One thing I don't miss is all the hydro polls and trolley lines.

Kildonan Place Mall to Expand

The three large Sears locations have remained stubbornly closed at Polo Park, St. Vital and Kildonan Place. It stands to reason that all of them have been looking for a large size replacement or at the very least two retailers to share the holes left by Sears.

For Kildonan Place, it is second time looking for a replacement after Target closed in their mall. This triggered one of their largest and expensive makeovers that added H&M, Marshalls and several others to the space. The closure of Sears must have made them say "not again."

However, with this closure might have come opportunity. The original Kildonan Place built in 1980 had a Dominion grocery store. The stores closed in western Canada leaving malls like Polo Park and Kildonan  scrambling to fill the space. Polo Park got a larger Safeway and Kildonan just replaced with other stores.

Today's malls do not have a large line-up of other large retailers ready to jump in the moment a competitor falters. Heck, with the closures of Payless and HBC Home/Outfitters and others, there are a lack of even mid to small retailers ready in the wings.

The closure of Target and the takeover of Safeway by Sobey's has represented opportunities for grocers to enter the Manitoba market who are new or have been on a long hiatus. Co-Op stores via the Competition Act took over some Safeways and now operate three grocery stores in Winnipeg through Red River Co-Op. The Grant Park location is presently going through a major makeover. The other new entrant is British Columbia-based Save on Foods which took over McPhillips old Zellers location, the old Polo park Future Shop location and built a band new Bridgwater location.

As for the biggies. Extra Foods stores have been converted to franchise-owned No Frills stores and some Safeway/Sobey's stores are being converted Freshco grocery stores. It has all been a bit of a whirl. Suffice to say though that grocery stores still have a bricks and mortar presence even in a delivery world.

Kildonan Place's old Sears is set for a grocery conversion. Best guess by most people is a Save on Foods location based on exterior design although no name appears just yet.

The store would face out to Regent based on the designs being presented to the city this week. As big as the grocer is though, the mall had some extra space as well as ideas left. It would appear the back space facing out to Reenders will be a new space and an upgrade for Cineplex Odeon movie theatres. No word on whether it will be the same six theatres or more.

Another huge improvement will be the food court which has always been undersized given the square footage of the mall.

It will be quite a sizable food court when done and much more of a gathering spot than what presently exists.

The new mall will see changes to the back end parking as well as entrances to street but more landscaping as well.

There are a few other spaces for some larger retailers who now presently known yet. In terms of costs this expansions will be tens of millions and that is on top the millions spent to convert the old Target location. It is a complete affirmation of the owners in the space and the largest refresh done since the mall was built.

This is also a shot across the bow for Polo Park and St. Vital as Kildonan will be the first to fill its space where Sears left while the two larger cousins may enter yet another Christmas with empty retail.

The rumour is that both malls are ready to make announcements soon. In other words, it is game on but we'll see just how retailing is changing in what comes.

Netflix Review: The Code

One of the things that many mystery and thriller lovers have gravitated towards is Nordic Noir.  The international fare from Sweden, Norway and Iceland have gripped audiences world-wide. But is this type of noir only limited to the icy north? The Code from Australia would seem to disagree. It was produced in 2014 and Season 1 is on the Netflix now. One more season is expected to be added soon.

Canadians have enjoyed series from Australia before. We just don't see them as often as say Britain who eat up all content from down under. Netflix is now bring more Australian content than ever into Canada.

The plot of The Code is set around two brothers. One of the brother's is a political reporter for an online news organization and the other is an autistic hacker who is barely functional after brushes with the law. The journalist Ned played by Dan Spielman stumbles onto a story in the outback of an accident involving a death that has political implications all the way to the capital. Against his better judge Ned asks his brother Jesse played by Ashley Zukerman to use his skills to clean up a cellphone video that might shed some light on what happened. As per usual Jesse goes too far and while investigating further hacks into a site sensitive to the government setting off a trail of violence that follows the two brothers around. Jesse has a form of autism that makes his adept at computers and not so good with people. His journalist brother has always looked out for him through it has worn him down in terms of not having a life truly his own.

Creator Shelley Birse focuses on a deeply ingrained fear of what the security apparatus of the country has done to Australia's liberties. Canberra features almost like a character in the series for those who have really never seen the capital say versus Sydney. The other beautiful but fly ridden place featured is Broken Hill in New South Wales. It is out in the Outback where a suspicious accident leaves one teenager dead and other suffering an unknown malady.

A blonde Lucy Lawless is a teacher named Alex out in the town of Lindara in the Broken Hill area and senses something is deeply wrong and connects with Ned who has received a tip from an old flame working in the Deputy Prime Minister's office in Australia. Eventually a cellphone video reveals something more sinister took place besides a collision and that the government is involved. The video becomes a McGuffin with people pursuing it and trying to shut it down.

The series taps into a very deep seated fear that seems to permeate Australia about the government, police and intelligence services. If Canadians feel they fixate too much on the United States, they should see Australian TV. The Code builds up the paranoia and fear to a crescendo as the two brothers try to figure out and get out of the mess of cracking the computer code of a government linked Corporation called Physanto.

At six episodes, the series moves at a great clip and concludes with just a little bit of paranoia at the end to make it all worthwhile. A fun series shot in an area of Australia not usually seen in a noir like way not done nearly often enough in Australia. Try catching it if you like thrillers, espionage, conspiracy and murder.

Vita Health and Mark's Warehouse Coming to Linden Ridge

The last few areas of Linden Ridge mall are set to be developed in 2019. The new Lowe's will see two buildings constructed across from their parking lot. This is quite a coup for the mall as Kenaston Common just north of their location will be seeing a contraction as Payless ShoeSource and HBC Home close there. In all, three HBC Home and eight Payless will close in the city this year.

The new construction appears to be triggered by two major retailers locating in Linden Ridge namely Vita Health and Mark's Warehouse.

Both retailers should find a market for their goods in the growing area.

Once the buildings are complete, Linden Ridge will be more or less fully developed in their very slow and steady approach over the last few decades.

Union Bank Building in 1904

A few interesting things to note about the construction of the Union Bank Tower in 1904. The first is that they appear to fill in the floors from the middle rather than the bottom. My speculation is that because they constructed this skyscraper without a crane, they needed to bring in building material though both the first three floors and up inside the structure. That, in addition to, a pully system on the outside.

Pretty much all horses up and down Main Street at this time. Streetcars were not allowed in the downtown area even though the first electric ones appeared by the 1890s further down Main Street. City council was against the electric lines and when they did finally approve construction, used a bigtime railway company rather than the local who built the system in the first place. Bribes were suspected.

The luxurious Leland Hotel is seen behind the Union Bank building. It was destroyed in a fire in this century after being abandoned.

Today's Union Bank building in now a vital part of Red River College's downtown campus serving as residence and home for the culinary arts school.

Portage and Main 1960

In 1960 Winnipeg still had trolley buses but five years earlier there were still streetcars throughout the city. The middle two lanes were replaced with cars along Portage and Main Streets as well as all over the city.

Polo Park was just a year old and still not yet enclosed. The city was not unified and other cities like St. Boniface and St. James were part of the urban conglomeration with some basic services covered by Metro Winnipeg but everyone had their own city halls, police and fire departments.

Not seen in this picture is the fact that the present site of the Richardson building had been largely a car station and parking lot for a few decades already. It was also filled with billboards that could be seen all the way down Portage Avenue. Construction of the Richardson building would not start for another eight years.

The Nanton building can be seen in the background flying the Red Ensign of Canada. The new flag for Canada featuring a maple leaf was still five years away, There are also flags of France flying which gives an indication that this may have been taken around Remembrance Day as so many Manitobans had their final resting place in that country as a result of two wars. In many ways Canada was still very much British in its establishment although Manitoba itself had quite a lot of European diversity as well as Metis and First Nations. We also had many re-located Japanese Canadians from the war fifteen years earlier. The first Filipinos started coming to Canada mostly doctors in what what would become a steady flow of immigrants from that country.

 Winnipeg was still very much the biggest city in the prairies at the time. Only Vancouver rivaled in the west. Rail still ruled compared the flying. And highways all over were nothing to get excited about. Most were two lanes.

Cars themselves, however as you can see from the picture, were getting bigger as gas was plentiful and cheap. Most neighbourhoods had a few gas stations and mechanics in them and that included downtown where an abundance of repair shops existed.

Winnipeg like much of Canada had an increasing amount of confidence that only built as the country neared its 100th birthday,