Winnipeg | Historical discussion

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by cllew

Just checked the WFD museum web site and it said 5 people died and 175 left homeless.

A report by Public Safety Canada Emergency Planning area on the fire said there was a working fire alarm system but it was subject to false alarms. One resident interview for the report said it would go off 2 to 3 times a week and maybe as much again on Saturday and Sunday.

Most of the residents ignored the alarm until they either smelled smoke or had other residents banging on the doors yelling fire.

The final ruling was arson by person or persons unknown. You're right ... It was just five older men, four in their 60s and one aged 90.

[Kinguni]

Originally Posted by Andy6

I thought that the York underpass was related to a plan to redirect the traffic from the reconfigured Provencher bridge on to York and St Mary rather than Pioneer and Water.

The original plan would have added an underpass for St Mary to make St Mary and York tie directly to Provencher. Forks North Portage kiboched that idea.

[LilZebra]

Transcona Elevator Tips Over - 1912-14.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Isk4kcFR1I4

[BubberMiley]

Nice opening shot of the Rancho Don Carlos which, I believe, was roughly where McMunn and Yates is now on Pembina. Cab Calloway's backing band included some pretty good Winnipeg jazz musicians from the 1950s too.
https://youtu.be/fBZEXRdOSyA

[1ajs]

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

Nice. Looks like 1951 or 1952 with the new Bank of Toronto going up. It would have been the first major new building downtown in a long time. Too bad it was demolished for no real reason - it was a real gem.

[CoryB]

Not sure where the Bank of Toronto tower was but that photo sure looks like Portage and Main looking west. I assume the Bank of Toronto tower is the building under construction on the right of the picture at Portage and Fort, home to the 201 Portage courtyard today.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by CoryB

Not sure where the Bank of Toronto tower was but that photo sure looks like Portage and Main looking west. I assume the Bank of Toronto tower is the building under construction on the right of the picture at Portage and Fort, home to the 201 Portage courtyard today.

That's correct. That building did not overlap at all with 201 Portage, in fact they stood together for a little while before the older building was demolished. It was a bit of a tragedy in that it was a great example of 1950s architecture of which there is precious little downtown, and it was replaced with jack squat.



Source: U of M Tribune Archives

Also, interesting comment by Andy6 about the dearth of building projects downtown in that era. Looking at the WBI timeline, it appears that the only buildings of note that went up downtown between the Winnipeg Clinic (1941) and the Bank of Toronto (1951) were a couple of modest apartment and office blocks on Broadway or Osborne N./Memorial.

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by esquire

Also, interesting comment by Andy6 about the dearth of building projects downtown in that era. Looking at the WBI timeline, it appears that the only buildings of note that went up downtown between the Winnipeg Clinic (1941) and the Bank of Toronto (1951) were a couple of modest apartment and office blocks on Broadway or Osborne N./Memorial.

Just imagine the discontent on skyscraperpage had it existed in that era.

I find that I can often quite readily identify an image of downtown to within a few weeks or months if it's between 1905-1915 - because buildings were going up so fast - but to tell a 1925 image from a 1950 image you often have to rely on the cars and the clothing. Movie marquees and handbills or streetcar-side ads announcing events and performances are the best indicators - as with the marquee on the Province Theatre next to the Bank of Toronto in that Trib shot - armed with that information, newspaper archives will usually let you date a photo down to within a few days.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by esquire

Looking at the WBI timeline, it appears that the only buildings of note that went up downtown between the Winnipeg Clinic (1941) and the Bank of Toronto (1951) were a couple of modest apartment and office blocks on Broadway or Osborne N./Memorial.

Not surprising considering that time period heavily overlaps World War II. I would suspect buildings planned for close to the start of the war were outright cancelled and while the war effort was in full swing minimal planning was being done for new construction leading to the delay after the war.

In terms of Bank of Toronto, the original plan for 201 Portage called for two smaller sister towers. It is possible the Bank of Toronto was demolished in advance of those plans which got cancelled for whatever reason. Might anyone know if the footing for a building were put in place on what is now the 201 Portage food court, essentially the basement of the courtyard where Bank of Toronto used to sit.

[Andy6]

There weren't really any buildings being built during the Dirty Thirties, other than make-work projects like the Auditorium (now Provincial Archives) and the Federal Building. Obviously during the War no one was around to work on new buildings either. But even in the 1920s (or even after the Paris, Curry and Bank of Hamilton buildings were completed around 1915-16) there wasn't much going on. Other than the Legislature, which opened in 1920, what are the most important 1920-29 buildings in Winnipeg?

• The Bay.
• The original part of the Wheat Board (not very big).
• The final expansion of the Grain Exchange and the extension of the Bank of Nova Scotia (now the A.A. Heaps building).

Probably a few more, and a fair number of apartments (I'd guess) but surprisingly little. Someone who'd left the city in 1915 wouldn't have had too hard a time finding his way around if he'd returned in 1965.

[esquire]

^ I find that amazing considering that Winnipeg was still a heavy hitter on the national stage, easily the number 4 city behind Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. Sort of the Calgary of its day.

Even if the city was in a post-WWI/General Strike/Panama Canal funk, you would think that the critical mass built up in the boom years would have led to more growth and development activity from the 20s to the 50s.

By contrast, the 20 year stretch from about 1967-1987 almost completely reshaped downtown. And that was at a time when the city wielded much less influence on the national stage.

[esquire]

Not quite ancient history, but here's a great shot of the Winnipeg Arena before game 3 of the 1972 Summit Series:


Source: TeamCanada1972.ca

[bomberjet]

Thanks for the photo! Crazy to think part of the prestigious and historic Summit Series was held in Winnipeg.

Also, I like how the Russians are lined up in numerical order. Or else mother Russia will come and disappear you!

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

Thanks for the photo! Crazy to think part of the prestigious and historic Summit Series was held in Winnipeg.

Also, I like how the Russians are lined up in numerical order. Or else mother Russia will come and disappear you!

In those days, if an event was to be shared among four Canadian cities, those cities would have been Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver. It would have just been obvious.

We're also lined up in numerical order.

[bomberjet]

Ya back when Winnipeg was in with the big dogs. I come from the generation who knows nothing more than the 90's unfortunately..

And you are right about the numbers, just in opposite order.

[esquire]

Probably fair to say that the 1972 Summit Series game was the most historically significant hockey game to ever take place at the old Winnipeg Arena.

The Jets Avco Cup clinchers in 1976, 1978 and 1979 (all on home ice, it appears) would be up there, along with the momentous game 4 of the ill-fated 1990 Smythe Division semifinals, not to mention the very last Jets 1.0 game in the 1996 playoffs would have to be the others that come to mind. Those are certainly the games that have lived on in local hockey lore.

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by esquire

Probably fair to say that the 1972 Summit Series game was the most historically significant hockey game to ever take place at the old Winnipeg Arena.

The Jets Avco Cup clinchers in 1976, 1978 and 1979 (all on home ice, it appears) would be up there, along with the momentous game 4 of the ill-fated 1990 Smythe Division semifinals, not to mention the very last Jets 1.0 game in the 1996 playoffs would have to be the others that come to mind. Those are certainly the games that have lived on in local hockey lore.

Bobby Hull scoring a hat trick to match Rocket Richard's 50-goals-in-50-games is one I also remember, although I can't recall if it was in Winnipeg or on the road in Houston.

I honestly barely remember anything of those Avco Cup wins. I guess it's partly because we didn't see them on TV (maybe the last year we did - I can't remember) and there aren't many visual images. What I remember more is things Friar Nicolson said and how he would be very exasperated about so many things, and particularly about referee Wally Harris, whom he despised. The players' faces we mostly knew from pictures in the newspaper, other than seeing them at the odd game we actually would have got to go to.

[esquire]

^ Actually, that's a good point. I recall the Avco Cup wins from the "Great Moments in Winnipeg Jets History" photo-murals at the old Arena (anyone else remember those?) which seemed to consist solely of WHA events. But outside of that, I guess I haven't seen all that many photos or heard that many stories about those cup runs. By contrast, you see footage from the Oilers 1980s cups fairly often, even today. I suppose the Jets' cup wins are historically significant in that something important actually happened, even if the moments weren't universally remembered the way that a Stanley Cup win now would certainly be.

Hopefully we'll see the Jets at another cup presentation within our lifetimes...

[trueviking]

^the jersey I wear to jets games was worn by Bobby Guindon in the game shown in that photo.