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June 23, 2021
If It Ain’t Got That Swing: Jazz Clubs in Winnipeg
In June of 1942, some 2,000 Winnipeg dance and jazz enthusiasts packed into the Civic Auditorium (200 Vaughan Street) for an evening of entertainment. There was going to be a two-night Jitterbug Contest, attracting what the Winnipeg Free Press colourfully called the “alligators” and “hep cats” of Winnipeg. The evening’s entertainment however, stopped the dancers…
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/ Blog Entries
June 9, 2021
A Keystone of Culture: The Manitoba Museum
Four years after the Province of Manitoba was created, a paragraph appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press imploring the citizens to establish a historical society and museum for the preservation of the area’s rich history. It would take another 100 years before the Manitoba Museum we know today officially opened its doors on July 15th,…
May 27, 2021
Capturing the Magnificent Exchange District!
There is something about the Exchange District that captures peoples imaginations; from tourists, filmmakers, entrepreneurs and artists, to all the people who call the neighbourhood home. The Exchange District is the former warehouse section of Winnipeg, which has evolved and adapted over the past 150 years to become a hub of arts and culture, filled…
May 19, 2021
Dragons in Winnipeg: The Mandarin Building
The architecture firm of Barber & Barber is likely best known for designing Winnipeg’s elaborate “Gingerbread” City Hall in 1884, though the family-run firm completed a number of other projects in Winnipeg from schools, private homes, and other public buildings. Among their myriad of Winnipeg works was Winnipeg Police Court at 223 James Street, built…
May 12, 2021
Manitoba’s History Lives at Riel House
Most Canadians will know the name Louis Riel. The founding father of Manitoba and Métis leader, Riel’s story is well-known, especially in Manitoba. Evidence of his legacy is scattered throughout the City of Winnipeg; be it the barrier established by Riel and fellow Métis soldiers to prevent land surveyors from the Canadian government from entering…
May 5, 2021
A Hollywood Home: 8 Kingston Row
If you had the chance to enter a contest to win a home sponsored by a movie star, would you? The answer seems obvious: of course! Winnipeggers were presented with this question early in 1944, when the Kinsmen Club of Winnipeg announced plans for a new fundraising drive. The Kinsmen were founded in Ontario in…
April 28, 2021
A Theatre Under the Stars: Rainbow Stage
If you find yourself in Kildonan Park on a summer night, you might hear the sounds of music and applause carried across the air. The noise is, of course, coming from Rainbow Stage (2021 Main Street). Built in 1954, Rainbow Stage is Canada’s largest and longest running outdoor theatre and it is situated, fittingly, in…
April 21, 2021
An Art Deco-rated History: 239 Selkirk Avenue
One of Winnipeg’s few Art Deco buildings stands at 239 Selkirk Avenue. Despite the 1930s façade, the building has a much longer connection to the community. The original building was constructed in 1889 as the North Presbyterian Church, replacing the church’s original building on Aberdeen Avenue. A congregation member, Architect John W. Grieve, designed the…
April 14, 2021
A Very Merry Education: St Mary’s Academy
The official opening of St. Mary’s Academy in 1869 was a race to the finish. Near the end of April of that year, Archbishop Taché had caught wind of a rumor: the Anglican’s in the Red River settlement were planning on building a school. At the time, there was no religious school in the area…
April 8, 2021
All Aboard! Tourism on the Rivers
As the weather begins to warm, and the ice on the Red and Assiniboine rivers melt away, a familiar sight will grace our waterways once again. The water taxis will start running, boat tours will begin again, and pleasure crafts will take to the water. All of this excitement pales in comparison to the boats…