In 1862 Henry McKenney opened a dry goods store at the junction of two fur trading trails north of the original settlement at The Forks; one following the Assiniboine River to the western plains, the other the Red River to Hudson Bay. Soon other merchants followed and today this corner is known as Portage and Main, the most famous intersection in Canada.
It is the heart of Winnipeg's business district, with office towers on all four corners.
Last summer the first panels on Winnipeg's Downtown Hall of Fame were installed. Running along Portage Ave from Spence St to Main St, the panels commemorate politician and financier Sir Donald A. Smith, as well as the Hudson's Bay Company, the Paris Building, and Portage Avenue. There will eventually be 140 panels.
Assiniboine and Red River Junction (The Forks):
It is the city's main waterfront area, where shops, outdoor activities, festivals and entertainers all come together, and without a doubt has become the city's most popular destination. But this wasn't always the case.
While archaeological evidence suggests that indigenous peoples first gathered here 6,000 years ago for trade and commerce, for most of the 20th century this area was an uninhabited rail yard. The Forks has come a long way since 1738, when Pierre de La Verendrye was the first European to establish a fur trading settlement here. That first settlement, known as the Red River Colony, was a hub for the fur trade until the 1880s, when grain production became the principal industry in Western Canada.
Upon completion of the cross-country rail line, the newly incorporated city of Winnipeg became the gateway to the West and enjoyed a thirty-year growth boom. But not the Forks site, which languished, interlaced with railway tracks and used as a storage yard.
That changed in 1987 when an award-winning development of the site began.
Paved paths now connect The Forks to the towering Esplanade Riel, a spectacular pedestrian corridor along the Provencher Bridge which leads across the Red River to the city's French Quarter.
The Forks Market, a former horse stall, offers fresh produce, baking, and meat. Food kiosks serve taste sensations from around the world, while shops stock handmade clothing, jewellery and crafts, from both local and international craftspeople.
The next door Johnston Terminal is an exciting home for a variety of shops and restaurants.
The Manitoba Children's Museum occupies another restored building, with its many exhibition galleries. Nearby, the Manitoba Theatre for Young People performs in the colourful CanWest Global Performing Arts Centre. Local television station City TV has converted an old area steam plant into a funky, open-concept television studio.
Along the river's edge a lighted RiverWalk heads north to Provencher Bridge and west to Osborne Street Bridge.
The Scots Monument:
Just two blocks north of the hotel, on the west bank of the Red River near the Alexander Docks, the beautiful monument is dedicated to Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk.
It is located at the site of the original Fort Douglas the log fort erected by the Selkirk Settlers in 1815. It follows the form of a thistle, and is created in bronze, limestone and stainless steel.
The story and names of Selkirk Settlers are inscribed on the monument and it is surrounded by stonework in which are embedded stones from parishes of all parts of Scotland.
The Burns Statue:
Reportedly inspired by news of the unveiling of a Robert Burns statue in San Francisco; in 1911, the same year that the Burns Club joined the Burns Federation, the club, under President Colin Campbell, made a decision to raise, by public subscription, a sum sufficient to erect a statue to Robert Burns.
The subscriptions raised $3,297.25 by the outbreak of World War. Due to prudent investments, this amount was increased through the war and, finally, the statue, similar to the one in Ayr, was erected and unveiled on October 12, 1936 a cold wintry Thanksgiving Day before a crowd of over 300, on the grounds of the provincial Legislative Building, by Lieutenant-Governor W. J. Tupper.
No trip to Winnipeg would be complete without a trip to the fabulous:
Assiniboine Park:
Established in 1904 it is located in South West Winnipeg and covers 1100 acres, 400 of those designed in the English Landscape style.
It includes the 700 acre Assiniboine Forest directly to the south, as well as the Assiniboine Park Zoo, Assiniboine Park Conservatory and the historic Pavilion (a favorite place for weddings and graduations) and the Lyric Theatre, an outdoor band shell.
Among the park's more prominent attractions is the nearly 3 acres of flowers, shrubs and trees known as The English Garden. Established between 1927 and 1929 it is known throughout North America for its luxuriant display of annuals and perennials. A large rose garden (with more than 400 bushes of Floribunda, Grandiflora and Rugosa) broken into four sections surrounds a central lily pond (with fish)
One of the earliest park features, and still one of its most popular is the Assiniboine Park Conservatory which houses more than 8,000 flowers plants and trees that are non native to Manitoba but grow abundantly under the ideal conditions of the Palm House and Display Garden. The original Palm House was built in 1914 and in 1968 a fully modern structure was built over and around the Palm House, enclosing it.
Both the Conservatory and the English Gardens are open free of charge to the public 365 days a year.
The Assiniboine Park Pavilion early on became a focus of Winnipeg's social life. Destroyed by fire in 1929 it was rebuilt in the Early English style and reopened in 1930 and is one of the city's most familiar landmarks.
The Lyric Theatre is a large outdoor stage located behind the Pavilion. It opened in 1999 but continues the tradition begun in the early 1920's.
The 90 acre Assiniboine Park Zoo, has always been highly regarded and contains about 100 animal species.
The Formal Garden, next to the southeast park entrance, is Winnipeg's largest and finest example of the French formal garden.
Toward the north of the park, and just to one side of the footbridge from Portage Avenue (across the Assiniboine River) is the serpentine Duck Pond.
Unveiled in 1992, and twice expanded, one of the newer attractions in the park is the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden.
Leo Mol OC OM RCAA is a Ukrainian born Canadian artist and sculptor. Mol studied sculpture at the Leningrad Academy of Arts from 1936 to 1940. In 1943, he studied in The Hague, and in December, 1948, he and his wife, Magareth (whom he married in 1943), emigrated to Winnipeg. In 2002, his sculpture Lumberjacks was featured on a Canadian postage stamp.
Over three hundred of his works are displayed in the Sculpture Garden. They can be classified in distinct groups; with bust of prominent people and religious leaders, wildlife and figures. As well as sculpture, ceramics, oil paintings and pastel drawings are on display in the main gallery. Also on the grounds is Mr Mol's former studio and a gift shop.
The Leo Mol Sculpture Gardens represents the lifetime work of one artist. Unique to North America, it is a celebration of the work of Leo Mol.
It is supported by private donations, and Mol personally donated most of the sculpture. Tours can be arranged.
Winnipeg is proud of our connection to AA Milne's Winnie The Pooh, and Assiniboine Park is home to a statue to the real bear that inspired Pooh Bear.
The Winnipeg Connection:
A black bear cub was discovered during a stop in White River, Ontario, on their way to the battlefields of France during World War I members of The Fort Garry Horse. Smuggled into Britain as the regiment's unofficial mascot, the bear was bought for $10.00 by the regiment's veterinarian, Harry Coleburn, who named him Winnipeg after his hometown.
Before leaving for France, Coleburn left Winnie in the care of London Zoo, where she was a popular attraction, and a favorite of Christopher Robin Milne, who renamed his own stuffed bear (previously Edward Bear) "Winnie"
Winnie's eventual destination was to be the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg, but at the end of the War, the officers of the Fort Garry Horse decided to allow her to remain in London Zoo, where she was much loved for her playfulness. She was known as a gentle bear and never attacked anyone. This is exactly what inspired Milne to write about Pooh Bear.
The story of Winnie the bear has been portrayed in the 2004 movie, A Bear Called Winnie starring Michael Fassbender as Harry Coleburn.