Year End Clearance: top posts of 2011

Now back to regularly scheduled programming.....

Here is my annual look back at my most popular posts according to Google Analytics. So much of my content is history-based, I find that many posts from previous years continue to hover near the top and that is the case again with this year !

1. Kenneth Leishman - the Flying Bandit
By a 2:1 margin this is my most popular post of 2011. It's from 2008 (before West End Dumplings was created) and still gets numerous daily hits. You can see from the comments section that there are many friends and family out there who still remember and love the man. Why a movie hasn't been made about him, I have no clue.

2. Safeway in Winnipeg - Sweeping Styles (1950s - 70s)
This is part 4 of a 2010 series looking at the great architecture of Safeway's past. Part 2 also made the top 10 but I am including only one post per series.

3. Great Winnipeg Stadium Moments - Construction (1958)
This was the first post of a series that looked back at the old Winnipeg / CanadInns Stadium.

4. Winnipeg Building Demolition Derby
This featured a handful of buildings that came down in a short span earlier this year with little fanfare or interest. The post got a lot of attention, though, including in the Free Press and on CBC news.

5. A look back at Winnipeg's airports (Part 2)
A feature on the recently closed terminal. Part 3 of the series, looking at the groovy public art, was also in the top 10.

6. Former Brandon Asylum site
Another golden oldie, this time back to 2009. One of the most beautiful built sites in Manitoba, it is being converted into the Assiniboine Community College campus. Definitely a must-see site for Manitoba travelers.

7. The King's Winnipeg Speech
Looking at (and listening to) the last big address that the King made prior to the one featured in the movie. It was made in 1939 from Manitoba's Government House.

8. A look back at the Paddlewheel Restaurant
There are few Winnipeggers who don't have fond memories of this place. Whether it be tossing coins into the water or Breakfast with Santa.

9. Remembering the Wolseley Elm
If it hadn't been blown up by vandals the Elm would have been 150 years old in 2011. A look back at the battle to save it.

10. Winnipeg's Sweetheart Deanna Durbin
This series just went up earlier this month to celebrate her 90th birthday but already made the top ten thanks to her legions of international fans.

10. (tie) Urban Myth Busted: West Broadway as Murders Half Acre
It was a neat sounding headline in the Winnipeg Free Press but it was an error. The number of murders for an entire police district were attributed to the West Broadway neighbourhood. It was repeated over and over again in their coverage until the name stuck and the neighbourhood gained a reputation that took years to live down.

More Year End Clearance !
- Top stories of 2011
- Top blog posts of 2011
- Most disappointing story of 2011
- Completed developments