After a restful sleep, Greg and I wake early to start the day at my parents' condo. After breakfast, I walk him over to West Broadway for a scheduled interview with someone participating in research he is conducting. During the short walk, we take in the neighbourhood within the borders of the University of Winnipeg to the north, Westminster Avenue to the south, Colony Street to the east, and Furby Street to the west. As an urban planner, Greg is interested in how neighbourhoods, especially those in the inner city, evolve. The area known as West Broadway, which has experienced only moderate positive changes in the last ten years, is of interest to Greg's study. We remark on some changes that have taken place since our last visit of the area.For one, there is the new science complex currently under construction for the University of Winnipeg. It replaces the old Winnipeg Roller Rink that stood on the north side of Portage Avenue at Langside Street for decades, first opening in 1912, as an ice rink. A search reveals that it shared space with livery stables, until 1936, when it was transformed into a roller skating rink. The new building, formally named the University of Winnipeg Science Complex and Richardson College For the Environment, will devote 155,000 square feet to research, development, and commercialization in the field of science.
For another, there is the transformation of Spence Street, bordering the University's main campus on the west side, into a pedestrian corridor. Other changes include those south of the University. Spence Street, between Portage Avenue and Broadway Avenue, though largely unchanged in its physical state, feels more fresh, cleared of its past baggage, and as a result, safer.
Greg and I have some time before his interview to take in more of the area, so head further south, to Westminster Avenue. Along the way, we pass the Broadway Community Centre, serving the community of West Broadway. I note how, in contrast to when I lived in nearby Wolseley, the open fields outside the centre that used to act as a repository for derelict cars and other detritus, have been transformed into communal gardens. The apartment buildings that border the south end of these gardens look newly painted, reflecting potential changes, both in physical form and, hopefully, in attitudes. Building renovations, spurred on by government incentives and grants, and the proliferation of community gardens, have rekindled investment and activity in the area, restoring its dignity, and a renewed hope for further growth.
The Hudson's Bay Company was created by royal proclamation. In 1670, King Charles of England created a charter for a corporation, which he entitled his cousin, Prince Rupert, to oversee. The charter entitled the prince and his investors complete control of over a million and a half square kilometres of north-western Canada, south of Hudson's Bay. A chairman answered to the stockholders (or "proprietors"), who elected the governor, deputy governor, and the board of governors (or "committee"). For the first two hundred years, most of the company's business centered on the fur trade, operating posts from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island and from the St. Lawrence River to the Arctic. Affiliations with American traders also established posts in Alaska, Hawaii, and as far south as Texas, which was Spanish territory at the time. The company also formed alliances with the Russian far east. Company trade introduced employees to aboriginal life, and much intermarriage between European employees and aboriginal women occurred.
In 1870, however, much of the company's land holdings, then known as Rupert's Land, were absorbed by the newly-created Dominion of Canada, for which the company received a generous settlement from the federal government, and compelled it to adapt to the growing agricultural path onto which the country was embarking. In addition to the fur trade, the company became involved in the selling of farm lots and the opening of retail stores in small towns that were quickly emerging throughout the country. By the 1960s and up to the 1990s, the company had acquired many other retail companies, including Zellers, Simpson's, and Woodward's.
Winnipeg was the site chosen for the company's headquarters, and a small retail store was initially opened in 1881 on the corner of Main Street and York Avenue, considered the centre of the city at the time. By 1900, however, the city centre had moved to Portage Avenue, so plans were made for a larger store to be built on the corner of Portage Avenue and Memorial Boulevard. Construction commenced in 1925, enlisting hundreds of men and over a hundred teams of horses. When the store opened in 1926, over 50,000 customers came through its doors.
The T. Eaton Company was started in 1869, with a small retail store on Yonge Street, in Toronto. By the late 1880s it re-located to a larger, three-storey building, divided into 35 departments. Eaton's initiation of a mail-order catalogue service quickly established the company's wealth and was the impetus for its expansion to western Canada, at the start of the 20th century. Company founder, Timothy Eaton's son, John, oversaw this expansion, opening enormous headquarters on the corner of Portage Avenue and Donald Street in 1907. The department store became a huge success, at one point boasting 8000 employees and its own library, fire department, and water supply. The store attracted international attention and is considered the pre-cursor to other mega-department stores, such as Macy's, in the U.S. With the company's eventual declaration of bankruptcy in the late 1990s, the Winnipeg headquarters was partially demolished and replaced with an arena.
As kids, my mother used to bring my siblings and me to the Bay and Eaton's to shop for clothes, shoes, gifts, and to enjoy the throngs of shoppers and revellers during the Christmas season. These stores provided not just a shopping experience, but a social one as well. My grandmother, an avid window shopper well into her late 80s, used to recruit each grandchild, as we came of age, to accompany her on her Saturday shopping jaunts. These would take us to, in addition to the downtown branches of Eaton's and the Bay, the suburban malls, including St. Vital and Unicity Malls. My grandmother especially enjoyed browsing the clothing, jewellery, and specialty foods departments, the latter's items of which she would note for making purchases for "pasalubong" - Filipino for souvenirs to send to family and friends back home. For our time and commitment, my grandmother would cover our bus fare, treat us to lunch, and buy us a small present. We would try different restaurants, including all the fast food joints. She really enjoyed french fries and the malted milkshakes served in the Bay basement eatery.
As someone who, in his young teens, accompanied her for a few years, these weekend shopping jaunts were quality times between my grandmother and me. Typical of other Filipino families, my grandmother lived in my parents' house; it was natural for us, while shopping, to talk about our lives there. I would recount my week at school - my homework, my friends, the challenges of fitting in - and she would talk about her cooking and crocheting projects, regale me with stories of life in the Philippines, and vent about domestic matters she did not feel comfortable discussing with her daughter, my mother. Reflecting on my grandmother's long life (she died at 100), I can see how those years in which she regularly took the time to do things for herself amidst the busyness of her daily routines, were ones that assured her longevity. So, as bizarre as it is to be, I am grateful to Eaton's, the Bay, Sears Polo Park and St. Vital, Grubees, A & W, and the Malt Stoppe for the opportunities they unwittingly provided in strengthening the bond between my grandmother and me, one that, long after I had outgrown the role of shopping guide, only deepened, despite the passing of years and the diverging of our lives.
The Bay that I walk into today, in light of my reminiscences, is a shadow of its former self. Where once the first floor aisles brimmed with racks of high quality, sophisticated merchandise, today there are only open spaces. And what there is looks shoddy: leather bags the quality of plastic and orthopedic shoes labelled "designer". Heavily creased, merchandise is evidently hung straight out of the delivery boxes they come in. The crowds, too, are sparser now than in the past, though this may have something to do with it being early in the day, as well as being mid-week and mid-summer. I mount the rickety escalators, note the empty platform that used to display inspired tableaus, and head up to the 2nd floor. I note the bare display walls uniformly painted rose where once they would have been coloured more vibrantly. I also notice the silence; it is deafening. Once, popular music complemented the din of the crowds coming in during lunch breaks. Now, I feel I am intruding in someone's vast personal wardrobe.
I recall twenty years earlier when, as an undergrad at the University of Winnipeg, I would regularly pass through the Bay on my way to my bus stop. One season, I was captivated by their "Made in Italy" campaign when the entire store was devoted to all things from that country: from clothing to fragrances to decor to food. As a PR exercise, it could not have been more elegant or captivating. Now, there is only a disconcerting stillness, and a lone cashier reading a newspaper at her counter. I wonder if this overall lack in the store - of people, of merchandise, of ambiance - is reflective of the exodus from the the downtown core, resulting in a decline in demand and inspiration. If so, I remark on how this trend had its likely start ten years earlier, to the time when the Eaton's downtown store was closed, demolished, and replaced with an arena. More importantly, I question whether steps have been taken to staunch this flow from the downtown, and if so, what these steps are and whether they have they been effective in luring people back. Is the spate of new U of W buildings in the area a sign of its revivification?
I leave the Bay and head west, using the over head walkways that connect it to Portage Place. I explore this mall, opened in the late 80's to great fanfare and excitement, introducing high fashion to downtown Winnipeg, and I am struck by its significant decline. Where swank designer stores, epitomized by a Holt Renfrew boutique, once lined the corridors, now it is a Dollar Store, a Shoppers Drug Mart, and a Staples that dominate. This decline has likely been a gradual one, but as an infrequent visitor, the difference between the past and current manifestation of the mall is a stunning one to me. Was the mall's former incarnation and subsequent transformation reflective of economic fluctuations or to a phenomenon that is more specific to the downtown core? If the former, then how to explain the seemingly steady growth and flourishing of the suburban malls? If the latter, what are the circumstances that lead to downtown decline? How can this phenomenon be reversed?
I return to this site an hour later to meet Greg; my brother, Paul; my sister, Christine; her husband, Rob; and my mother, Alice. For now, I continue my exploration of the downtown area, where on spotting familiar buildings, I compare their current state to my memories of them as a resident. One of these buildings of significance, is the former Centennial Library, re-named the Millennium Library, since its makeover in 2006. It encompasses an entire city block, and fronts the corner of Donald Street and Graham Avenue.I vividly recall when my mother took my siblings and me to visit just after the branch opened in 1979. We raided the children's book sections and mounted the tiered, brown-carpeted seating area to read our finds. Since that time, it has become my second most favoured library in the city, after the Cornish branch. I did research and wrote my high school essays here, and later, as an instructor, I brought my students to hear lectures. Today, this great building has a recently added fifth floor, a huge east-facing window that brightens a previously darker interior, and an expanded collection of library materials. I appreciate how the renovations, which took over three years to complete, complements the pre-existing building beautifully. Those unfamiliar with its previous incarnation would be hard-pressed to tell which parts of the building are new.
On returning to Manitoba Hydro Place, Christine, Rob, Paul, Greg, my mother and I head to Marcello's, a restaurant on the ground floor, for lunch. The restaurant is too full to accommodate us, so we sit on a platform outside, in front of the building. The weather is perfect for an al fresco lunch and we enjoy the cool breezes. We chat about the new building and what it brings to the downtown area. Paul comments on Marcello's, with its deli-like format, and its reflection of current trends in healthy eating: One selects from a buffet and pays according to the weight of one's choices. Options are healthy from raw salads to fresh luncheon meats, with an edited selection of healthy drinks. Pop, though, is still available. The restaurant's format reminds me of La Commensal, a chain of vegetarian restaurants in Ontario and Quebec. After lunch, the group separates: Greg and I visit my long-time friend and former neighbour, Harry; Paul goes back to work at the MTS Building; and Christine, Rob, and my mom visit Dani and Renzy.
Greg and I enjoy our visits with Harry for the insights he offers on topics ranging from Gary Doer's appointment as Ambassador to the U.S. to gardening tips to the latest neighbourhood news to his opinions on Winnipeg's current mayor. Today, with his depression and cancer in check, Harry is healthy and energetic enough to oversee the continual maintenance of his house and garden.
Our afternoon visit complete, Greg and I proceed to the Forks to meet Manning, for dinner. I first met Manning when we both worked as instructors and junior administrators at the Division of Continuing Education, University of Winnipeg.
The three of us stroll the periphery of the Forks and take in the sights. The weather had been warm, but with the approach of evening, has become cooler. We chat as we walk, noting and commenting on the sights, which include the iconic St. Boniface Cathedral across the Red River, the construction site of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and the Provencher Bridge, with the popular Salisbury House Restaurant perched in its centre.
Another day has come to an end, and with it, another gratifying visit with Manning. He is off in the morning, back to his family cottage. We have another full day planned tomorrow, so need to turn in early. We part company with Manning, with hopes for another reunion in the future.
References:
1. Hudson's Bay Company Archives Website
2. HBC Heritage Website
3. Eaton's Company Website
4. Manitoba Hydro Place Website
5. University of Winnipeg Graduate Studies Website
6. University of Winnipeg Website - News
7. University of Winnipeg Website - Science Complex and Richardson College for the Environment
8. Winnipeg Millenium Library Website
See slide show below for more images (click on slide show to enlarge).
No comments:
Post a Comment