Winnipeg | Historical discussion

[Ando]

Great article in the FP on digitized mugshots from the early 1900s, from the police museum.

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/multimedia/fp-slideshow/Getting-a-mugful-474320463.html

[Gm0ney]

Originally Posted by Ando

Great article in the FP on digitized mugshots from the early 1900s, from the police museum.

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/multimedia/fp-slideshow/Getting-a-mugful-474320463.html

Was there a meaningful distinction between a "house of ill fame" and a "bawdy house"?

[Gm0ney]

Also, I guess you could just tell them whatever age you wanted...not much in the way of official ID so everyone just guessed or lied? (I'm looking at you, Robt. J. McAuley),

Everyone's so short too...

[OTA in Winnipeg]

Originally Posted by Gm0ney

Everyone's so short too...

Noticed that too. No welfare in those days and oftentimes not so regular nutrition.

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by Gm0ney

Was there a meaningful distinction between a "house of ill fame" and a "bawdy house"?

Not really. Bawdy House was the Criminal Code term, I believe, and the other more of a euphemism.

[BubberMiley]

Speaking of which, this Police history article on red light districts in Winnipeg is interesting.
http://www.winnipeg.ca/police/history/story17.stm

[1ajs]

1940's main st

[OTA in Winnipeg]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

1940's main st

Is that Main at Broadway?

[wardlow]

Originally Posted by OTA in Winnipeg

Is that Main at Broadway?

Yes. The apartment block in the background (Fort Garry Court?) stood at the NW corner of Main and Broadway and was destroyed by fire in the late 1970s or '80s. Union Station would be just to the left of this view.

[Roger Strong]

Originally Posted by wardlow

Yes. The apartment block in the background (Fort Garry Court?) stood at the NW corner of Main and Broadway and was destroyed by fire in the late 1970s or '80s. Union Station would be just to the left of this view.

And the streetcar tracks - which were simply paved over - were finally torn up in the late '90s.

[Kinguni]

Originally Posted by wardlow

Yes. The apartment block in the background (Fort Garry Court?) stood at the NW corner of Main and Broadway and was destroyed by fire in the late 1970s or '80s. Union Station would be just to the left of this view.

1976. I remember seeing it's icy ruins afterward.

[OTA in Winnipeg]

Originally Posted by Kinguni

1976. I remember seeing it's icy ruins afterward.

That created a huge void only aggravated afterwards by the loss of the Empire then the entire city block between Graham and Portage, It's hard to believe the new amalgamated city hall at that time allowed that. Hopefully 300 Main will be the beginning of a new renaissance for Main St and especially on the east side, something significant will get built. What finally happened at the Scott block along with Fortune, MacDonald and hopefully the Winnipeg Hotel is definitely encouraging.

[wardlow]

Originally Posted by OTA in Winnipeg

That created a huge void only aggravated afterwards by the loss of the Empire then the entire city block between Graham and Portage, It's hard to believe the new amalgamated city hall at that time allowed that. Hopefully 300 Main will be the beginning of a new renaissance for Main St and especially on the east side, something significant will get built. What finally happened at the Scott block along with Fortune, MacDonald and hopefully the Winnipeg Hotel is definitely encouraging.

Those were huge losses for sure, and definitely added to south Main feeling like a bit of a wasteland. That said, I think south Main Street has always been underbuilt and off-the-beaten track relative to Main north of Portage, and of course Portage Avenue. This despite the presence of a very busy railway station and a massive hotel. (Good lesson for ‘megaproject=results’ believers.)

I would think this condition goes back to the earliest years of urban growth in Winnipeg (c.1860-1875), when the area around south Main was owned and occupied by H.B.C. and government, and would have been remembered as close to an ancient burial ground. (Whereas Main Street north of Pioneer was being subdivided by enterprising landowners and became the nucleus of the city.) Later (c.1875-1885), when the stodgy old H.B.C. started to subdivide and sell off their land on south Main, they would have been seen as too far from the central business district. (And unlike the secondary business district along Main north of city hall, around the CPR station, properties on south Main would have been larger and more expensive, so the result was there was less of that fine-grain texture and colour (and seediness) that existed on north Main.

[esquire]

^ Good historical account of how that came to be, wardlow. I always found it peculiar that there was so little around the CN station. Even in the 60s when passenger rail travel was still a bit of a big deal, that strip of south Main was already starting to look like a bit of a wasteland.

These days it's downright disgraceful, you step out of Union Station and you're greeted by a huge void masquerading as a park on the SW corner, a surface lot on the NW corner and a bunch of lacklustre buildings, vacant lots and junky looking sidewalks along Main. Try walking out the main doors of the station from the perspective of a visitor who has never been here before and you'll see what I mean.

[wardlow]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ Good historical account of how that came to be, wardlow. I always found it peculiar that there was so little around the CN station. Even in the 60s when passenger rail travel was still a bit of a big deal, that strip of south Main was already starting to look like a bit of a wasteland.

These days it's downright disgraceful, you step out of Union Station and you're greeted by a huge void masquerading as a park on the SW corner, a surface lot on the NW corner and a bunch of lacklustre buildings, vacant lots and junky looking sidewalks along Main. Try walking out the main doors of the station from the perspective of a visitor who has never been here before and you'll see what I mean.

True, and I think the wasteland it's especially been over the past 30-40 years (a gas station, parking lots, poorly maintained and/or junky buildings) has only seemed more obvious and depressing because of how grand Union Station is... like south Main should be better than it is. I remember a first-time visitor to Winnipeg who was staying at the Fort Garry saying of Main and Broadway something like 'it looks like a bomb went off and the train station was the only thing that survived.'

It's been good to see some of the old buildings being restored, so maybe things are starting to turn around. And maybe now that there's a clear public concourse through Union Station, this part of Main won't be so cut off from The Forks.

[OTA in Winnipeg]

There used to be a couple businesses where Earl's is now. One was a steel shop of some sort. I got a strip of steel to reinforce a door in my home from there back in the early 80s. And the guy didn't charge me a cent. I was pretty impressed. The lots to the north was all car dealership IIRC.

[esquire]

Before Earls, NE Main and York was a car rental agency... Avis, I want to say? It was more consumer-oriented than their anonymous little location these days at York and Fort.

Then beyond that I think it was a car dealership... they sold Jaguars among other cars. Metro Motors, was it?

For all the vintage pictures you see of Portage Avenue and of Main north of Portage, you hardly ever see any of south Main.

[OTA in Winnipeg]

You're not kidding. Pictures are impossible to find. Found these though:

Old Grapes on Main:


Both are wrong side of the street from what I am remembering. From old historical photos it looks like the Empire was where Earl's is now.

[esquire]

^ Terry Balkan and before that, Inman, are where Grapes on Main used to be in a building that still stands. I think they had cars stored on a lot where the Wawanesa building is now, as well as maybe across Main too.

The Empire was at SE Main and York, where a parking lot is now.

The car rental agency was at NE Main and York, where Earls is now. Before that it may have been additional car lot space for Balkan/Inman.

EDIT: Not the best views but these give you some idea. You can zoom in on the pics a bit:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9513047@N05/33666821780/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9513047@N05/33691846550/

[esquire]

A couple more:

Looks like there was an Esso north of where Earls is now, I forgot about that
https://www.flickr.com/photos/9513047@N05/23981388969/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9513047@N05/24323016046/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9513047@N05/23722373613/