![\"Aerial9\"](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Aerial9.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo: Peel’s Prairie Provinces,<\/a> a digital initiative of the University of Alberta Libraries<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nThe Fort Garry Hotel (the royal-looking building\u00a0on the left) was built by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railroads in 1913. Charles Melville Hays, the president of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railroads, didn\u2019t get to see the finished product because he died when the Titanic sunk in 1912. The Fort Garry is thought of as one of the most haunted hotels in the country — legend has it that a woman hanged herself in room 202.<\/p>\n
Looking north along\u00a0Main Street, date unknown<\/h2>\n
Part of the reason why the streets\u00a0of\u00a0downtown Winnipeg are so wide is because they were built to\u00a0accommodate the streetcars and trolley buses which used to travel through the city. The Winnipeg Electric Company was one of the main transportation services in the city up until 1955 when the service ended and all the metal was sold for scrap.<\/p>\n The early 20th Century proved to be a tough time for early Canadian immigrants, but they weren\u2019t the only ones suffering through long, cold winters. Icelandic people had endured volcanic eruptions and brutally cold weather for far too long, and Manitoba was in need of new immigrants, so an ideal opportunity for a new life arose. By 1940, a good portion of Icelandic people were living in the prairies and Winnipeg had become their second largest settlement.<\/p>\n Before European settlers arrived, Winnipeg was a major trading centre for aboriginals. The word Winnipeg is a combination of the Cree words \u201cwin,\u201d meaning muddy, and \u201cnipee,\u201d meaning water.<\/p>\n In 1924, Winnipeg celebrated its 50th year as a city with a Jubilee Parade. Over 300 floats took part in the three-mile-long procession.<\/p>\n Before construction of the Legislative Building began, the Manitoba government held a contest to find the most majestic, imposing design out there. Architects from all over the British Empire were chosen to participate and the architect with the winning design, one Frank Worthington Simon, was awarded $10,000, which is equivalent to about $250,000 today.<\/p>\n Some of the areas affected by the Red River flood of 1950 can be spotted in this photo. The flood proved to be a devastating catastrophe for the citizens of Winnipeg as eight dikes gave away, four bridges were destroyed and around 70,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes. Damages totaled about $600 million.<\/p>\n Downtown Winnipeg is a mecca for art and culture buffs. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is the oldest ballet company in Canada and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America, while the Winnipeg Art Gallery has the largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art in the world.<\/p>\n The busiest streets in Winnipeg today, Portage Avenue and Main Street, were originally used as trails for fur traders. New developments began popping up along Main during the 1860s, a decade which saw significant urban expansion in the city.<\/p>\n Union Station opened its doors in 1911, and in 2011 Via Rail commissioned a special project to celebrate its 100th anniversary. The National Film Board of Canada compiled over 70 years of archival material to create a work exploring the history of trains in Winnipeg. You can watch it here.<\/a><\/p>\n One of the most historic homes on Edmonton Street in Winnipeg originally belonged to John Walter Harris, a notable surveyor in the city. Once part of a luxurious residential area, Edmonton Street today is mostly lined with commercial buildings and apartment blocks.<\/p>\n On a visit to Winnipeg, the famous author and creator of Sherlocke Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, attended a baseball game between the Winnipeg Arenas and the Minneapolis All-Stars in Wesley Park. After the game, he declared \u201cI have all the prejudices of an old cricketeer, and yet I cannot get away from the fact that baseball is the better game.\u201d<\/p>\n Winnipeg\u2019s economy and population saw significant growth during the early 20th century. By 1903, business was booming and the ‘Peg was well on its way to becoming one of the largest\u00a0cities in Canada.<\/p>\n Henry McKenney, a merchant from Upper Canada, was one of the first to build a store at the corner of Portage Avenue and Main Street. His store helped to establish the intersection as the main point of commerce in Winnipeg.<\/p>\n Not too many citizens of Winnipeg owned cars in 1914, but the ones that did had to abide by a speed limit of 15 miles per hour and share the road with horse-drawn carriages, motorcycles and bicycles. How\u2019s that for road rage?<\/p>\n The Bank of Montreal at 335 Main Street was designed by the renowned neo-classicist architects, McKim, Mead & White. In 1975, the Bank of Montreal restored the building to its former glory by cleaning the exterior walls, replacing the roof, refurbishing all the marble surfaces and installing modern heating and electrical systems.<\/p>\n Take a trip down memory lane with these bird’s-eye views of early Winnipeg.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":124595,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11108],"tags":[11105,11131,6486],"coauthors":[10332],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n<\/a>Photo: Peel’s Prairie Provinces,<\/a> a digital initiative of the University of Alberta Libraries<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nCentral Winnipeg, ca. 1947<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo: City of Winnipeg<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nLooking east on Portage Avenue towards Main Street, ca. 1935<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo: City of Winnipeg<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nLooking north along\u00a0Main Street from Broadway, ca. 1924<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo: City of Winnipeg<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nLooking south on Memorial Boulevard toward the Legislative Building, ca. 1935<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo: City of Winnipeg<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nRiverview District with Norwood across the river protected by Lyndale Dike, ca. 1950<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo: City of Winnipeg<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nWinnipeg Skyline, ca. 1920<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo: City of Winnipeg<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nMain Street looking south from City Hall, ca. 1882<\/h2>\n
<\/a> Photo: City of Winnipeg<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nCanadian National Railway Station on Main Street, ca. 1940<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo: City of Winnipeg<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nLooking west along\u00a0Edmonton Street, date unknown<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo: Peel’s Prairie Provinces,<\/a> a digital initiative of the University of Alberta Libraries<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nLooking south from Wesley Park at rear of United College, ca. 1937<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo: City of Winnipeg<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nLooking north along\u00a0Main Street, ca. 1903<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo: Peel’s Prairie Provinces,<\/a> a digital initiative of the University of Alberta Libraries<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nCorner of Portage Avenue and Main Street, ca. 1910<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo: Peel’s Prairie Provinces,<\/a> a digital initiative of the University of Alberta Libraries<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nLooking south on Fort Street, ca. 1914<\/h2>\n
<\/a>
\nPhoto: Peel’s Prairie Provinces,<\/a> a digital initiative of the University of Alberta Libraries<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nLooking southwest at the corner of Main Street and Portage Avenue, ca. 1913<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo: Peel’s Prairie Provinces,<\/a> a digital initiative of the University of Alberta Libraries<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n