My latest column is about the rare double hanging at Headingley Jail on October 2, 1918 of two men convicted for the murder of Winnipeg Police Constable Bernard Snowden during a botched robbery: www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communit...

Howell Court, 661 Broadway, is slated for demo to make way for a mixed-use block w/ 21 housing units. Over the past 122 yrs, it has been a private residence, medical clinic, & apartment block. Here's a look back at its history before it is gone: winnipegdowntownplaces.blogspot.com/2025/09/661-...

Charlotte Elsie Galloway's name has been forgotten to history. During her time in WInnipeg she lent her organisational abilities and fundraising skills to many prominent charities of her day. More about her life and work: westenddumplings.blogspot.com/2025/09/the-...

It's your LAST CHANCE to buy trees at our 2025 Fall ReLeaf sale. The online sale ends at midnight tonight. Visit releaf.tw/collections/... to place your order. The pickup date is Saturday, September 27 at Deer Lodge Community Centre!

Another West End house and street history, this time McGee Street! winnipegdowntownplaces.blogspot.com/2025/09/351-...

Back to School, 1925 style! From the Winnipeg Tribune of Sep 1, 1925. The boys are off to Carlton School (1881-1929) on Carlton St. where True North Square is today, that operated from 1881 to 1929. The ad is from Eaton's, Aug 26, 1925.

One of the city-owned lots being proposed for possible housing development is 546 Sherburn St.. This was the driveway into Carson's Hygienic Dairy built in 1912 and demo'd in 1988. For more about the building, see my #Winnipeg Places post: winnipegdowntownplaces.blogspot.com/2021/11/546-...

Join me tonight at 6:30 for Trees Winnipeg's first Park Walk of the summer. For something different, we're visiting multiple sites in West Broadway! Meet outside Broadway Neighbourhood Centre, 185 Young Street at 6:30. The walk should last 75 minutes.

I'm slowly pecking way on a blog post about Loftur Jorundson who built a lot of houses and a couple of apts in the West End circa 1900 - 1913. His largest was likely the Quo Vadis Apts, now demolished. It was on Qu'Appelle Street next to Knox Church. Here's a now and then.

1/2 The former Wesley Church has been at William Ave and Juno since 1898. I noticed last year that it was boarded and hoped that the outcome wouldn't be demolition. Another big, old inner-city church bites the dust. On the bright side, Living Gospel Church received funding...

That era when inner city folk couldn't keep track of their cows. The reward might still be good, so keep your eyes open. (August 7, 1890, Winnipeg Tribune)

For those of you that like stealth housing, the ca. 1915 205 Good Street is for sale. Take a look inside! www.realtor.ca/real-estate/...

Another interesting old mixed-use neighbourhood building for sale is the old Hill Bros Grocery at Langside and Sara. I wrote about its history here: winnipegdowntownplaces.blogspot.com/2016/07/164-... Here's the listing: www.realtor.ca/real-estate/...

🚒 We're declaring a TREE EMERGENCY! 💧

I still haven't found a period photo of the Coliseum / Alhambra Dance Hall on Fort Street. Someone sent me a copy of the historic building report created just before its demolition in 1989. For more about The Coliseum and 225 Fort Street: winnipegdowntownplaces.blogspot.com/2025/07/225-...

1/2 My latest blog post is a two-fer! At Winnipeg Places is the history of 225 Fort St., site of the city’s first year-round dance hall from 1912 to 1926 (the Coliseum, then Alhambra). It was then a taxi garage until its demo ca. 1989: winnipegdowntownplaces.blogspot.com/2025/07/225-...

My latest West End Dumplings post is a look at the early development of the Fisher Park area of Riverview. westenddumplings.blogspot.com/2025/07/the-...

My latest Free Press Community Review column looks at the fromer Lizzie Street Playground off Logan Ave created 85 years ago by the Council of Women of Winnipeg. Recently, it received a new name and a major renovation. www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communit...

My latest blog post is about the death of Peter Hutzel and other workers at Manitoba Gypsum Company formerly of Sargent Avenue: westenddumplings.blogspot.com/2025/07/the-...

Why thank you, @cityofwinnipeg, I will enjoy a cool water bottle refill on my walk through the neighbourhood!

We were at Robertson School today planting trees with their students. It was a hot day, the ground was hard as a rock, and they worked hard to improve their school ground for generations of students to come!

Thanks to everyone who came out to the First Unitarian Universalist Church on Wellington Crescent tonight. We planted 32 trees and shrubs along the riverbank!

Join us tomorrow for our 24th Arbor Day Celebration and the Henteleff Park Foundation's annual tree planting! The main event will be a 100+ tree planting, we'll also have tree-related information booths, chainsaw carvers and face painters!

With another postal strike looming, I thought I'd look back at Canada's first large-scale postal strike of 1918 when #Winnipeg was the centre of national attention. Read my column here: www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communit...

The Gas Station Arts Centre's first on-stage show opened June 1, 1983 - the Ottawa-based Great Canadian Theatre Company’s Sandinista which ran until June 5. How did this old gas station site become a theatre? Check out this old blog post of mine: winnipegdowntownplaces.blogspot.com/2014/05/445-...

Join us on Wednesday evening at Deer Lodge Community Club for our first tree workshop of the season. Learn about proper tree planting techniques, choosing the right tree to plant, and how to care for your mature trees. Those who attend will be able to buy trees if they wish! #Winnipeg

Save the date! Our Spring ReLeaf sale begins Tuesday, May 20th at 10 am.. The pickup date is Saturday, May 31 at Deer Lodge Community centre, 323 Bruce Street, from 10 am to 1 pm.. For more about ReLeaf: www.treeswinnipeg.org/our-urban-fo...

In better Stonewall news, Sigs, which was damaged in a big fire last year, has reopened. Gone is the 60s yellow metal siding facade for new stone cladding. They managed to save saved the retro Coke sign!

My Mom and I went to McLeod House Tearoom in Stonewall three or four times each summer for a bit of a drive and a nice lunch. We were sad to see on Saturday that it permanently closed at the end of September 2024. That's too bad. :(

My latest column looks at the Princess Opera House fire of May 1892 that destroyed 19 bldgs in what we now call the Exchange District around Chinatown. Below is an etching by A E Hurssell from the front page of the Wpg Tribune on May 2, 1892. www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communit... #winnipeg

One of my favourite places in my 'hood just opened for the season - Flowers In Bloom's garden centre on Ellice @ Maryland! A lovely little oasis. The owner says she's going to try out a mini cafe w/ Jamaican patties, iced coffee, etc. starting in July. Watch for the signs!

My latest ‘West End Street Oddities’ post heads to Wolseley to find out why Dominion Street is barricaded before the houses end. It’s from a 1950s riverbank failure likely created by a 1913 street extension: westenddumplings.blogspot.com/2025/04/west...

My latest “Behind the Photo” blog post explores the back story of this April 1925 Free Press image of a Crescent Creamery teamster standing next to a sinkhole that swallowed his delivery rig on McGregor Street. His horse was rescued but the wagon is still in the hole: tinyurl.com/2mtrcbn7

My latest Free Press Community Review Column: Despite disappearing from our retail landscape, vestiges of the HBC’s retail empire will be seen on Winnipeg’s streetscape for decades to come: www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communit...

My latest Winnipeg Places post looks at the history of a 120-year-old house on Sherbrook Street: winnipegdowntownplaces.blogspot.com/2025/03/421-...

1/2 I noticed last week that the Woodbine Hotel bar is still closed. One of downtown's most unique (and inexpensive) drinking spots. With the closure of the Winnipeg Hotel a few years back, this is likely the next oldest operating business in Winnipeg aside from the HBC...

My latest Winnipeg Free Press Community Review column is about the lead up to the opening of the Polo Park race track a century ago: www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communit... (Image: opening day ad, Winnipeg Free Press, June 12, 1925.)

I got a full tour of the remarkable former Bank of Commerce/ Millennium Centre today. It's an amazing space with so much potential. You can rent the main floor hall and manager's office as an event space but the upper 5 floors are hindered by no working elevator. See it at Doors Open in May!

The Wpg Architecture Foundation's latest book is the 336 page Winnipeg Places + Spaces. The ultimate walking tour guide of over a dozen 'hoods in the city, whether you're an avid walker or prefer to tour neighborhoods from your armchair. More info: shop.winnipegarchitecture.ca/product/winn...

It will be lovely out on Sunday. Join Trees Winnipeg for a winter park walk of Vimy Ridge Memorial Park!

Over the years, I have written several blog posts and columns highlighting prominent people and places in the history of Manitoba's Black community. Here they are all in one place! westenddumplings.blogspot.com/2025/02/cele...

My latest Free Press Community Review column is about the Free Press whistle, later an air raid siren, that could be heard throughout the city. For nearly 60 years it signaled breaking news such as election results and the end of both World Wars: www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communit...

On Wednesday, February 12, 2025, I will be speaking to the Black Manitobans Chamber of Commerce about the some Manitoba’s early Black settlers and their impact on our community. The event is online, free, and all are welcome to attend. To register: bmbcc.ca/events/

OTD in 1920, the Tilley family of Minto St. were among 15 people killed in a train crash near North Bay, ON. The headstone at their single grave in St. James Cemetery reads: “In their death they were not divided." Here’s a look back at their story: westenddumplings.blogspot.com/2018/11/trag...

Another long-time Main Street hotel looks set to close. The Manwin Hotel first opened in 1889 as the Windsor and has gone by many names over the decades. Its owner has received a vacate order from the city. Here’s a look back at its history: winnipegdowntownplaces.blogspot.com/2021/11/655-...

Did you know that the CFL was created in late January 1958 at the Royal Alexandria Hotel on Main Street? Winnipegger Syd Halter led the merger talks and served as its first commissioner from 1958 - 66. More about the man who brought the CFL together: westenddumplings.blogspot.com/2009/11/the-...

If you were a music enthusiast in Winnipeg in the early 1900s, you likely heard Nellie Campbell, (Mrs. E. M. Counsell), perform. The contralto was a favourite and destined for greater stardom but at the peak of her career semi-retired to raise a family: westenddumplings.blogspot.com/2025/01/nell...

Hey, thanks for all of the welcomes and follows. I was wondering where some of you disappeared to!

I spoke too soon. In today's Free Press: www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews... Glad that its story is being so well documented but sad that it took a fire and likely demo to be able to share it so far and wide. We need to do a better job telling these stories when they are still standing.

If you're not sick of me talking about the the Main Street fire yet, here's an in-depth look at the Craig Block (apparently a total loss), how it tells the story of #Winnipeg's early Black community, and what we've lost: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...