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February 24, 2021
Heritage Winnipeg’s Annual Preservation Awards: A Retrospective
Since 1985, Heritage Winnipeg’s Annual Preservation Awards (APA) have been held in mid-February, to coincide with now Louis Riel Day and Heritage Week. The APA’s have recognized conservation excellence in historic commercial and industrial buildings including residential homes throughout Winnipeg, by honouring the dedicated owners, community leaders and professionals that undertake these projects and make…
December 18, 2020
Heritage Winnipeg: Farewell 2020!
According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2020 was the Year of the Metal Rat. A symbol of fertility and abundance, rats are also the first animal in the Chinese Zodiac, the start of a new cycle. As 2020 arrived inconspicuously on a cold winter’s night, excited party goers in Winnipeg had no idea what was starting…
November 6, 2020
Designated Heritage: Saving the Past for the Future!
To designate or not to designate, that is the question! Heritage designations are headline news in Winnipeg, but they are all too misunderstood. Developers decry them, claiming all future plans for their building are being sabotaged, heritage supporters celebrate them, seeing an important part of our history being saved, while politicians are caught in the…
October 28, 2020
The Haunting of Winnipeg’s Heritage
Living in an older (and slightly creepier) building does not always mean its haunted, but its not entirely out of the question either… Winnipeg has plenty of haunted structures with equally haunting stories to go along with them, so it would not be surprising if the buildings you pass on the street or happen to…
October 7, 2020
Making History: The 2020 Manitoba Heritage Summit
Heritage belongs to everyone. It roots us in the past, and guides us into the future. It builds bridges and reminds us we belong, uniting us as a community. It pulls on our heartstrings and it gives us hope, all while enriching our day to day lives. It is artifacts and art, stories and songs,…
September 3, 2020
Doors Open Winnipeg 2020: United in Celebration
Are you ready to celebrate Winnipeg’s built heritage? Then you do not want to miss Doors Open Winnipeg 2020, a FREE public event during the weekend of September 12th and 13th! Join Heritage Winnipeg in supporting the historic museums, businesses, religious institutions, arts & cultural centres, and walking tours that strive to protect, conserve, and…
October 2, 2019
Missing Heritage on Main: The McIntyre Block
The 1960s and 70s were not banner decades for heritage preservation in Winnipeg. Scores of historic buildings were torn down in the interest of civic redevelopment – replaced by modernist office towers and, more often than not, drab surface parking lots. Occasionally, some concessions were made (such as the creation of Old Market Square to…
September 10, 2019
Main Street’s Bankers’ Row – An Historically Significant Streetscape
At the close of the First World War an informed pedestrian walking south on Main Street from the gingerbread style city hall to Portage and Main would have marvelled at Winnipeg’s magnificent bank architecture representing most of Canada’s major financial institutions. Along the west side of Main Street our pedestrian would have passed the Union…
August 7, 2019
The Making of a Memorable Millennium: The Canadian Bank of Commerce
Grandiose is the word that best describes the Canadian Bank of Commerce, now known as the Millennium Center. Although it rises only six storeys above the sidewalk, a person standing in front of the building cannot help but feel its dominating presence. An early 20th century bank reborn as a 21st century event space, it…
July 17, 2019
A Walk Through Winnipeg’s Wondrous Warehouse District
In the heart of downtown Winnipeg sits the Exchange District, frozen in time, forever paying homage to the golden era of a young prairie city. Shaped by the railway that once shipped grain from Canada to the world, the Exchange is filled with early 20th century warehouses that were strategically located around spur lines, which…
May 8, 2019
Ready, Set, Celebrate! Doors Open Winnipeg 2019
Doors Open Winnipeg 2019 is almost here! Are you ready to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike? This year we are excited to have over 100 buildings, events and tours opening their doors to welcome you on May 25th and 26th. No matter what your interest, Doors Open Winnipeg has something…
December 19, 2018
2018: A Year of Success and A Future Full of Challenges
It was another wonderful and challenging year at Heritage Winnipeg! 2018 marked our 40th anniversary and was filled with fantastic events and hard work advocating for Winnipeg’s built heritage. As we look back, Heritage Winnipeg is grateful for all of our supports that makes our invaluable work possible, and thank you to everyone who came…
October 10, 2018
The Mysterious Independent Order Of Odd Fellows Hall
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows Hall is located at 72 Princess Street in the West Exchange District. This historic building was built in the late 19th century for the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a fraternal order founded in 1819. The Odd Fellows Hall was given municipal heritage designation on September 8th, 1986. The…
August 8, 2018
Mathewson House: Dalnavert’s “Big Sister”
Dalnavert House is well known in the heritage and historic communities in Winnipeg as a beautiful restoration of a Victorian home. Still more people are aware of Dalnavert’s owner, the Honourable Hugh John Macdonald, son of Prime Minister John A. Macdonald. As a valued heritage treasure, Dalnavert enjoys protection as a designated heritage building. Mathewson…
July 18, 2018
Heritage Winnipeg: Forty Years on the Front Lines of Conservation
Heritage Winnipeg is a not-for-profit charitable organization that promotes the restoration, rehabilitation, and preservation of Winnipeg’s built heritage. The Heritage Winnipeg office is currently located at 509-63 Albert Street in the heart of the west Exchange District, a national historic site. Since its formation in 1978, Heritage Winnipeg has been instrumental in saving historic buildings…