Winnipeg is at the geographic heart of Canada, with a population of 730,000. For the city’s most exciting sites, thank you to the Manitoba Historical Society and to my late mother’s large family in Winnipeg.
1. The Forks was made a national historic site to preserve ancient heritage, where the Red and Assiniboine Rivers join. The Forks is a shopping-entertainment district set in historic buildings. It was once a railway repair facility, then the buildings were restored to new shops. Visit Forks Market, where fruit and vegetable sellers set up in the main hall.
2. In the early C20th Winnipeg experienced an economic boom, and the Manitoba Legislative Building was built as a symbol of that wealth. The magnificent neoclassical building, made of local Tyndall stone and Italian marble, was completed in 1919. Note the neoclassical design, hidden hieroglyphics and Freemason symbols. The Legislative Chamber is where the members of the Legislative Assembly meet, watched by visitors.
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Manitoba Legislative Building
The grounds display statues, monuments and perfect gardens. Atop the building, on the 72-meter dome, is The Golden Boy, a heavy four-meter bronze statue plated with 23 carat gold. It symbolises progress and agricultural prosperity.
3. The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is the city's new landmark that examines human rights across the world. From the ground floor, ascend over 6 levels and visit 11 galleries along the way. Many issues have raised controversy (abortion, pollution, indigenous issues, the Holocaust etc) so most Canadians believe it is an important Canadian cultural institution to visit.
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Museum for Human Rights
4. The Manitoba Museum reflects on the province’s human and natural history: local history, culture and local geology. There is virtual time travel at the Urban Gallery, where the visitor walks down a 1920 replica of Winnipeg’s streets, complete with old log cabins. The nine permanent galleries include: Science Gallery, and Planetarium which displays the night sky. Highlights include ancient fossils, the Northern Lights, a recreated Hudson Bay Fur Trading Post and Nonsuch, C17th replica trans-Atlantic ketch.
5. Winnipeg's oldest park, Assiniboine Park covers 445 hectares of lawns, trees and cultural facilities. The Assiniboine Zoo is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna. See Arctic creatures eg polar bears, and exotic species like the Siberian tiger, red panda and gorilla. There is a steam train, conservatory, playground and the historic Assiniboine Park Pavilion.
To the south, a nature reserve adjoins the park. Its Leo Mol Sculpture Garden combines art and nature in its park, museum and art gallery. See hundreds of garden sculptures, made by the famous sculptor Dr Leo Mol.
6. By 1900, ambitious architectural projects abounded. St Luke's Anglican Church is a fine example of Gothic Revival style. The main building (1904–05) and the attached parish hall (1913–14) were designed by local architects, allowing space for great stained glass windows and carved wooden rood-screen. The Toronto studio of Robert MacCausland produced most of the glass in the nave, with one special William Morris and Co window coming from the UK.
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St Luke's
Now House of Ashkenazi Synagogue is Winnipeg’s oldest functioning synagogue, built on the old Tabernacle Baptist Church site. Daily services have been held here since 1922. This was a time when there were many shules in Winnipeg, mainly in the city’s North End where most Jews lived then. The original building was burned in 1945 and was soon replaced by the present brick structure.
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House of Ashkenazi Synagogue
8. Winnipeg Art Gallery’s modern building is shaped like a ship bow with a rooftop sculpture garden that frequently hosts a range of performances. Being Canada’s oldest civic art gallery, it analyses the art and its influence over local life. It holds c25,000 artworks ranging from C15th European paintings to C21st American multi-media art. The collections include classic & contemporary art by Canadian, American, European and Inuit artists.
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The new St Boniface Cathedral
13. Louis Riel was the leader of the Metis (one of the three recognised Aboriginal peoples) and led two rebellions against the newly Federated Canadian government (1869, 1884). He was executed in 1885! The Louis Riel House Historic Site, in the Red River-frame style, is typical of early settler homes and has been restored to reflect social, economic and cultural life then.
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Louis Riel House
14. The lovely Kildonan Park has splendid gardens, bird watching, a Witch's Hut and swimming pool. The park is spread over 99 acres and has 3 ks of recreation trails along the Red River. Kildonan Park is also home to Canada's oldest open-air theatre, Rainbow Stage.
1. The Forks was made a national historic site to preserve ancient heritage, where the Red and Assiniboine Rivers join. The Forks is a shopping-entertainment district set in historic buildings. It was once a railway repair facility, then the buildings were restored to new shops. Visit Forks Market, where fruit and vegetable sellers set up in the main hall.
2. In the early C20th Winnipeg experienced an economic boom, and the Manitoba Legislative Building was built as a symbol of that wealth. The magnificent neoclassical building, made of local Tyndall stone and Italian marble, was completed in 1919. Note the neoclassical design, hidden hieroglyphics and Freemason symbols. The Legislative Chamber is where the members of the Legislative Assembly meet, watched by visitors.
The grounds display statues, monuments and perfect gardens. Atop the building, on the 72-meter dome, is The Golden Boy, a heavy four-meter bronze statue plated with 23 carat gold. It symbolises progress and agricultural prosperity.
3. The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is the city's new landmark that examines human rights across the world. From the ground floor, ascend over 6 levels and visit 11 galleries along the way. Many issues have raised controversy (abortion, pollution, indigenous issues, the Holocaust etc) so most Canadians believe it is an important Canadian cultural institution to visit.
4. The Manitoba Museum reflects on the province’s human and natural history: local history, culture and local geology. There is virtual time travel at the Urban Gallery, where the visitor walks down a 1920 replica of Winnipeg’s streets, complete with old log cabins. The nine permanent galleries include: Science Gallery, and Planetarium which displays the night sky. Highlights include ancient fossils, the Northern Lights, a recreated Hudson Bay Fur Trading Post and Nonsuch, C17th replica trans-Atlantic ketch.
5. Winnipeg's oldest park, Assiniboine Park covers 445 hectares of lawns, trees and cultural facilities. The Assiniboine Zoo is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna. See Arctic creatures eg polar bears, and exotic species like the Siberian tiger, red panda and gorilla. There is a steam train, conservatory, playground and the historic Assiniboine Park Pavilion.
To the south, a nature reserve adjoins the park. Its Leo Mol Sculpture Garden combines art and nature in its park, museum and art gallery. See hundreds of garden sculptures, made by the famous sculptor Dr Leo Mol.
6. By 1900, ambitious architectural projects abounded. St Luke's Anglican Church is a fine example of Gothic Revival style. The main building (1904–05) and the attached parish hall (1913–14) were designed by local architects, allowing space for great stained glass windows and carved wooden rood-screen. The Toronto studio of Robert MacCausland produced most of the glass in the nave, with one special William Morris and Co window coming from the UK.
7. Built in 1907, Shaarey Shomayim Synagogue was used until the move to a new building on Wellington Crescent in 1949. The first building is now used as the Sudanese Canadian Community Centre.
Now House of Ashkenazi Synagogue is Winnipeg’s oldest functioning synagogue, built on the old Tabernacle Baptist Church site. Daily services have been held here since 1922. This was a time when there were many shules in Winnipeg, mainly in the city’s North End where most Jews lived then. The original building was burned in 1945 and was soon replaced by the present brick structure.
8. Winnipeg Art Gallery’s modern building is shaped like a ship bow with a rooftop sculpture garden that frequently hosts a range of performances. Being Canada’s oldest civic art gallery, it analyses the art and its influence over local life. It holds c25,000 artworks ranging from C15th European paintings to C21st American multi-media art. The collections include classic & contemporary art by Canadian, American, European and Inuit artists.
Art Gallery
9. Victorian and Edwardian commercial architecture typifies the city's Exchange District National Historic Site, the site of the financial institutions that powered Winnipeg until the 1920s. Now the Exchange District is reviving, with old warehouses, banks and business premises redesigned and re-used. The Exchange District is also a focus for the city's cultural life, with venues like the Pantages Playhouse Theatre, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre and Manitoba Centennial Centre: drama, ballet, concerts and opera.
10. Royal Canadian Mint makes 55 billion coins for Canada (and other countries). Follow the whole minting process in the tour and see interactive displays. The very modern, triangular-shaped building has tropical gardens and fountain.
11. In 1818 Father Joseph-Norbert Provencher went to Manitoba to help locals, Hudson’s Bay Company and Scottish Lord Selkirk found the first Roman Catholic cathedral west in Western Canada: St Boniface Cathedral. This beautiful piece of French Romanesque architecture has been rebuilt several times due to fire, though note the modern cathedral still incorporates the historic façade. The cemetery has old gravestones from the very first settlers.
9. Victorian and Edwardian commercial architecture typifies the city's Exchange District National Historic Site, the site of the financial institutions that powered Winnipeg until the 1920s. Now the Exchange District is reviving, with old warehouses, banks and business premises redesigned and re-used. The Exchange District is also a focus for the city's cultural life, with venues like the Pantages Playhouse Theatre, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre and Manitoba Centennial Centre: drama, ballet, concerts and opera.
10. Royal Canadian Mint makes 55 billion coins for Canada (and other countries). Follow the whole minting process in the tour and see interactive displays. The very modern, triangular-shaped building has tropical gardens and fountain.
11. In 1818 Father Joseph-Norbert Provencher went to Manitoba to help locals, Hudson’s Bay Company and Scottish Lord Selkirk found the first Roman Catholic cathedral west in Western Canada: St Boniface Cathedral. This beautiful piece of French Romanesque architecture has been rebuilt several times due to fire, though note the modern cathedral still incorporates the historic façade. The cemetery has old gravestones from the very first settlers.
with the original facade in front.
St Boniface Museum was built in 1846 for the Grey Nuns and was the first convent, girls' school, hospital and orphanage in the West. After restoration in 1967, it became a museum documenting the history of the province's French minority.
12. Visit the Manitoba Centennial Centre in Main St. Its Centennial Concert Hall and the Manitoba Theatre Centre are the home venues for the city's premier arts facilities: Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Manitoba Opera. Around the building, attractive fountains and sculptures fill terraced gardens.
12. Visit the Manitoba Centennial Centre in Main St. Its Centennial Concert Hall and the Manitoba Theatre Centre are the home venues for the city's premier arts facilities: Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Manitoba Opera. Around the building, attractive fountains and sculptures fill terraced gardens.
13. Louis Riel was the leader of the Metis (one of the three recognised Aboriginal peoples) and led two rebellions against the newly Federated Canadian government (1869, 1884). He was executed in 1885! The Louis Riel House Historic Site, in the Red River-frame style, is typical of early settler homes and has been restored to reflect social, economic and cultural life then.
14. The lovely Kildonan Park has splendid gardens, bird watching, a Witch's Hut and swimming pool. The park is spread over 99 acres and has 3 ks of recreation trails along the Red River. Kildonan Park is also home to Canada's oldest open-air theatre, Rainbow Stage.