Last week, the City of Winnipeg began demolition of Air Canada Window Park at 355 Portage Avenue to begin work on the park’s new design. The site was home to a number of shards from demolished historic buildings, including Northern Crown Bank (built 1908), McIntyre Block (built 1899), and Devon Court Apartments (built 1909). The shards were incorporated into the park’s 1985 design from the three buildings that had been recently demolished.

Almost 40 years later, these historically significant shards were mindlessly destroyed during the park’s demolition. When asked why they chose not to relocate these pieces of our built heritage, City officials claimed that the process was too costly. However, they were unable to give an estimate on what that cost would have been.

Heritage Winnipeg was never consulted on the fate of these shards. The heritage community has expressed “great disappointment” in the City of Winnipeg’s actions. We urge the city to consider the significance of our built heritage in future projects, and to approach situations such as this with greater respect and care!

A diagram of Air Canada Window Park shards, their original buildings, and the current demolished site. Courtesy of Christian Cassidy, West End Dumplings.

Thank you to Christian Cassidy for granting permission to use images.

Sources:

Bernhardt, Darren. “Winnipeg history among ruins of Air Canada Window Park demolition, say heritage advocates” CBC News, 23 September 2024.

Pursaga, Joyanne. “City criticized after parts of historic buildings demolished” Winnipeg Free Press, 24 September 2024.