Arlington Bridge turning 100 (to the Taxi theme !)

Love her or hate her, the Arlington Bridge is turning 100 in a few days ! It opened for traffic with little fanfare on February 5, 1912.

Last year I did a three part series on the history of the bridge. The fourth part, dealing with the whole Nile legend, kept getting put off as I dug deeper into it. I decided to shelve it and post it for the 100th birthday.

Here's something that I've wanted to do for years: drive over the Arlington Street Bridge while listening to the theme from Taxi ! For those of you too young to remember, the television show Taxi opened with a Checkered Cab driving across the Queensboro (59th Street) Bridge in New York to Angela's Theme by Bob James.

For more photos of the bridge.

Another fire on Austin MB's main drag

ca. 2009 (Google Street View)

January 28, 2012

On Thursday a two-storey apartment block on Austin, Manitoba's main drag burned down. Nobody was injured and the building was torn down before it could damage the neighbouring block.

Above ca. 2009

Austin is just in the process of filling in the final gap left after two buildings, also on 2nd Avenue, burned to the ground in February 2010.

The City of St. James - Manitoba's Newest and Fastest Growing City

April 14 1956, Winnipeg Free Press

Five times lucky for the Lakeview Hotel project on St. Mary Ave?

Earlier this month one of the city's most announced projects was announced yet again: the Lakeview Hotel on St. Mary Avenue at Edmonton Street.

First proposed in 2004, the plan has undergone a number of changes. The most recent incarnation calls for two hotels on the site: one facing Edmonton Street and another facing St. Mary Avenue.

It would be great to have that site filled and the last link of the southern loop of the Skywalk system completed. Unfortunately, the connection is to be part of the St. Mary hotel which will be built as a second phase.

To be honest, I am not holding my breath that either hotel will be built any time soon. Here's a look back at the various announcements of this Lakeview Hotel project:

November 6, 2004, Winnipeg Free Press

The proposal was first made public back in November 2004. The Lakeview Group announced the construction of a $12m, six storey, 115 room all-suite hotel connected to the downtown Skywalk system. Construction was to begin in Spring 2005.

June 25, 2005, Winnipeg Free Press

Summer came and Lakeview announced that the project was on hold while they reconfigured the design. It would now be ten storeys with 97 hotel rooms and 25 condominium units. Construction was to begin begin in the Autumn of 2005.

May 23, 2006, Winnipeg Free Press

Autumn passed but no construction. In June 2006 Lakeview told the Free Press that the final design details were being worked out. The project would also contain heated indoor parking, an exercise room, a small coffee shop and connection to the Skywalk. Construction was expected to begin by the end of 2006.

December 19, 2007, Winnipeg Free Press

A 2007 story about Lakeview's Sheraton Four Points development at the airport reported that construction of both hotels would begin in April / May 2008.

September 8, 2008, Winnipeg Free Press

In 2008 a new configuration was announced. The site would consist of two hotels. Facing Edmonton Street an $8m, 80 room, 3.5 star hotel. Facing St. Mary Avenue a four star hotel of seven to sixteen storeys with at least 150 hotel rooms and a connection to the Skywalk. Construction was to begin once the Convention Centre expansion plans were announced.

October 3, 2010, Winnipeg Free Press

One month later the Convention Centre announced their expansion plans. After the press conference Lakeview's Jack Levit told the Free Press that the 80 unit, 3.5 star hotel would go ahead but that the four star, 150 room hotel was on hold until they found out more about the proposed hotel addition to the Convention Centre. “Our plans are to go ahead with the 80 rooms and suites and see what happens” and said he expected that the hotel would be open in a year-and-a-half.

January 4, 2012, Winnipeg Free Press

In January 2012 Lakeview again floated the hotel proposal. In the Free Press story Murray McNeill was generous when he wrote that "Lakeview has been talking for more than a year ..." about the plan.

The latest proposal is similar to the 2010 version. A four-storey, 85-room Lakeview Signature Hotel facing Edmonton Street which ".... will take about a year to complete." The second is a $19-million, 12-storey, 150-room Lakeview Inn connected to the Skywalk, is on hold until the Convention Centre construction is well underway.

For a history of the site see my Winnipeg Downtown Places post.

Seriously, Gail ?

A good post over at The Purple Rod about Gail Asper's irreverent "quip to the editor" in yesterday's Free Press about the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

I'm sure my father, Israel Asper, would have found the continuing discussions for and against the Canadian Museum for Human Rights to be fascinating. For my part, all I can say is, hey, at least it's given the detractors something to complain about beside our weather.
GAIL ASPER, Winnipeg

Anything I have ever read or heard about Izzy Asper leads me to believe that he would have grabbed the problem by the nuts long ago, banged a lot of heads and table tops and got things back on track before they got to the sad state the project finds itself in now.

I consider myself a supporter of the project but seeing things like this goes a long way to point out why the project has stumbled so badly and, perhaps, if it will ever be realized.

When museum fundraisers have to go back to some of the people that Asper herself talked out of millions in donations, (don't mind the various levels of government), to ask for more to get the project finished in her lifetime, I wonder if they'll have the same "aw shucks" attitude.

The Royal Artillery Museum at Shilo turns 50 !

On Thursday, January 26 the Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA) Museum at CFB Shilo turns 50 !

Admission is free for the remainder of January and they have some special hours. On the 26th they will be open from 10 am - 10 pm and on Saturday, January 27 and Sunday, January 28 from 10 am - 5 pm. (It's also the weekend of Shilo's winter fair !)

Thursday will feature fireworks at 7:45 pm and at 7 pm the opening of a new exhibit from the Museum of Civilization in Ottawa called “Profit and Ambition: The Canadian Fur Trade 1779 - 1821."

Strangely, their website doesn't actually mention anything that's happening at or located in the museum so check out this write up for an overview. Here are a few other things that might be of interest:

The most complete collection of Canadian-made military vehicles in the world and the largest artillery collection in Canada.

An original December 1915 Punch Magazine featuring Dr. John McCrae's poem In Flanders Fields and a printing plate of his hand-written submission.

There are two Victoria Crosses on display, those of Sargent Robers Spall (left) of Montréal and Winnipegger Captain Christopher O'Kelly*. Only 1351 V.C.'s have ever been awarded, 96 of them to Canadians, so to see two together is rare.

If you want to make it a military remembrance sort of day, just 15 minutes up the road is the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum, a national historic site. In Brandon is the The XII Manitoba Dragoons and 26 Field Regiment Museum. (Contact them to see if their hours mesh with RCA's.)

For more about Canadian Artillery history

*More on Christopher O'Kelly, V.C.

April 15, 1918, Winnipeg Free Press

When he enlisted, O'Kelly was a student at St. John's College and worked at his father's Main Street real estate firm Harrison and O'Kelly.

The V.C. was O'Kelly's second major award. He had been in the trenches for just a month when he was awarded the Military Cross for his action at Vimy Ridge.

ca. 1922 ad

In 1922 the firm's name changed to C. O'Kelly and Son. In November of that year he was presumed drowned after a boating accident near Kenora. His body was never found.

West End History: Minto Armouries Fire (1956)

© 2012 and 2020, Christian Cassidy

 Source: Winnipeg Tribune Photo Collection

At 5:25 a.m. on Sunday, January 22, 1956, Bert Polson, the Minto Armouries' night furnace man, was eating lunch when he noticed smoke entering the boiler room and called the fire department. 

When firefighters arrived they knew they had their work cut out for them. The fire was burning directly above the main entrance of the massive building, which blocked their access. Temperatures in the minus 20 degree range hampered firefighting equipment.

At the other end of the building a different drama was unfolding. The armouries' live-in caretaker couple, Robert and Lily Mainer, had fled to the roof to escape the smoke. Due to the darkness and the noise of the fire they spent half an hour crying out in vain.

Lily, who was partially paralyzed due to lateral sclerosis, recounted: "Does anybody hear us? Like heck they do. They're (neighbours) all asleep. Half an hour we stand there screaming and shivering and shivering and screaming." (Source: January 23, 1956, Winnipeg Free Press.)

They were finally spotted by a passing police car and firefighters were alerted. The couple and their pets were saved.

Source: Winnipeg Tribune Photo Collection

As news of the fire spread, soldiers began to arrive at the armouries. Some fought the fire while others went about saving the contents of the building that housed ten reserve units.

The first to arrive was a Lt. Smith, who drove ten vehicles out of the basement. Others removed the remaining vehicles as well as regimental trophies and records, musical instruments, kilts, rifles and "refreshments", (the newspapers didn't elaborate on the latter.) Sadly, though, not all of the memorabilia could be saved.

The fire was believed to have started in the sergeants' mess at the southwest corner of the second floor, but by the time firefighters arrived it had spread throughout the building using a series of false ceilings and the interior wooden balcony. The fire then got into the roof structure and behind the walls making the flames impossible to get at.

It took firefighters about twelve hours to put out the main fire and extinguish the numerous  hot spots that kept reigniting.

The battle took its toll on firefighters, injuring two and killing Battalion Chief Andrew Hebenton.

Hebenton, 65, was a 42-year veteran of the force and entered the building numerous times over the course of the morning. On one trip he felt chest pains and had to be helped outside by his men. He refused to leave the scene and directed the fight from his car. When his chest pains continued he was brought, against his will, to hospital.

Hospital staff thought that the feisty Hebenton might be delirious from heat exhaustion and began asking him questions, to which he shot back: “I know what day it is. There’s nothing wrong with me. It’s Sunday. And there’s a fire at Minto Armouries and I’ve got to get back there fast." He died shortly after from a heart attack. (Source: January 23, 1956, Winnipeg Free Press.) 

It had been a devastating few weeks for the Winnipeg Fire Department. Chief David Clawson was unable to attend fires due to a heart problem, the deputy chief was injured in a fall at a fire back in December, and in November Battalion Chief Robert Beatson was killed at a blaze.

Morale had been low at the department for a number of years due to administrative matters. It was further lowered when a couple of firemen told the media that that the second alarm for the Minto Armouries fire, which was called in 10:30 a.m., came hours too late and allowed the blaze to become an inferno.

March 3, 1956, Winnipeg Free Press

The fire caused $600,000 in damage and spawned a number of investigations.

The first was by the provincial fire commissioner. He ruled that the fire was accidental, believed to have been caused by a smouldering cigarette butt on a chesterfield in the second floor sergeants' mess.

The Public Safety Committee of city council ordered the fire department to do a special investigation because of the public comments made by firefighters at the scene about the delay in calling in a second alarm. 

The two firemen who went public about the delay refused to sign official statements to that effect. One said that he spoke out of emotion and couldn't remember all of the facts. The other denied ever speaking to a reporter. The department's 68-page report came in early March and concluded that: "Fire department records indicate that proper fire fighting techniques were employed in the fighting of the fire" and that having additional firefighters on-hand earlier than 10:30 would not have made a difference. (March 3, 1956, Winnipeg Free Press.)

The report was "received as information" by council.

 February 25, 1956, Winnipeg Free Press

Initially, it was thought that the building was a write-off and would be cheaper to rebuild than repair. The Defense Department hired consultants, including Green, Blankstein, Russell and Associates, to examine the structure and provide cost estimates for both repairs and reconstruction.
While this was going on, there was a lobby to have the armouries relocated to another part of the city. It had been built on what was the outskirts of town in 1913, but now was in the heart of a residential neighbourhood. The constant noise and traffic from the building was a sore point for some.

Some on council examined whether a zoning technicality could prevent its reconstruction in the same place, (it couldn't.) Then, the city looked into purchasing land immediately north of the armouries to prevent any future expansion. It turns out they were too late as the Defence Department had already purchased this land along with a section of land to the south of the building on the other side of St. Matthews Avenue.

Right: armycadethistory.com

On March 16, 1956, it was announced in the House of Commons that the cost to restore the Minto Armouries was $470,000, a figure that was considered within reason by the Defence Department.

In July, plans were announced for a $900,000 redevelopment that included renovating the original structure and adding two more buildings to the site, one to the north and one to the south. Work began soon after and the building reopened gradually over the next year and a half. (The building to the south, a gun drill and maintenance building, was never built.).
One noticeable difference between the old and rebuilt structure, see above, is the height of the roof over the central drill hall area.

Minto Armouries is still in use today. It is home to the Royal Winnipeg Rifles and their regimental museum as well as the The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders Cadet Corps.

Related:
Fire at Minto Armouries Royal Winnipeg Rifles Museum
Armouries in Winnipeg Swept by $600,000 fire Ottawa Citizen (1956)
Visiting Winnipeg's Historic Minto Armouries The Bomb Garden
Photos of Minto Armouries

Do you have a Thelmo Mansions (Burnell St.) connection ?

Do you have a connection to the Thelmo Mansions at 519 Burnell Street ? Perhaps you or a family member once lived there ?

There is an oral history project underway about the Thelmo, which is now in the process of being renovated. If you have any stories or information that you would like to share please contact: winnipegking@me.com

Fore more about the history of Thelmo Mansions.

Support for the victims of the Sherbrook St. fire

From the Salvation Army: News about community members supporting fire victims.

Below is reprinted from the DMSMCA newsletter. For more information about donating. For more information about 577 Sherbrook and the fire.

Support for the Victims of the Sherbrook Street Fire

On the morning of Saturday, January 14, 2012, a fire consumed the former apartment block at 577 Sherbrook St. Many of the former tenants were without fire insurance, and some have struggled to find temporary housing. Material and financial donations would be greatly appreciated. See below for what would be useful.

To donate with Credit Card to the Spence Neighbourhood Association (specify that you want it to go to the 577 Sherbrook St. Fire issue)

If you would like to Donate Material Items please Contact Cortney Sinclair and the Spence Neighbourhood Assoc - 783-4141

Items Needed:

• *Clean* Clothing of all Sizes (shoes, jackets, shirt, etc.)
• Children's Clothing Items are especially needed
• Containers for Clothes
• Household Items (appliances, kitchen items, TVs, food etc.)
  
• Toys
• Bedding

Tipping Tip: Tip your gas jockey !

A couple of weeks back Winnipeg Girl gave a primer on how much you should tip your restaurant server. It got me thinking about a neglected group of servers that I have a soft spot for. The "gas jockey" or Vehicle Fuel Conveyance Technician (VFCT), thank you very much, often have a worse time of it and people rarely, if ever, consider tipping.

Library and Archives Canada ca. 1981

The job of the VFCT shares many of the same downsides as their serving brethren: minimum wage; constantly on their feet; lots of walking. Customers can be surly, especially after gas prices rise or when told that they need to butt out their cigarette.

There is also the VFCT's worst enemy: the weather. On days where it's 30 above or below and you can hardly bear to roll your window down a crack, your VFCT will dutifully come attend to you and your vehicle until you are on your way again.

Add to all this gas fumes, stained clothes, pinched fingers, (or worse if you work at a station where you need to open car hoods), the threat of robbery and a lunch break diet made up exclusively of gas station fare ... well, hopefully you get my point.

Volunteer gas jockeys, 1919 General Strike (source)

When getting your fill this winter, help acknowledge one of the unsung heroes of the service world and pass a twoonie along to your VFCT.

Related:
Life as a gas station attendant Globe and Mail

Abbott Clinic Building is Sussex Realty's new home

You may have noticed a change of bronze signs at the former Abbott Clinic Building / Mall Plaza on Memorial Boulevard. Next month Sussex Realty will be moving from Academy Road, their home since the company was created in 1978, to Memorial Boulevard.

Built in 1927 for the Dominion Business College, the commercial space has been vacant since 2006 when the Abbott Clinic closed. The 21-suite Mall Plaza, already managed by Sussex, will continue as residential units.

For a history of the now Sussex Realty Building check out my latest Winnipeg Downtown
Places Post.

The St. Joseph wind farm turns one !

The St. Joseph wind farm, Manitoba's largest, turned one year old last week.

On January 11, 2011 the first of the 80 metre tall, 2.3 megawatt turbines were put into service. By April all 60 were up and running and generating a total of 138 megawatts of power.

In a recent PortageOnline article about the anniversary, the owner of the $345m project, Pattern Energy, said that they would like to double the number of turbines.

It's the second large scale wind farm in that area. In April 2005 Manitoba's first wind farm, the Algonquin Power, 99 megawatt project near Saint Leon / Somerset, began operating. Its 63 slightly smaller turbines generate 99 megawatts of power.

The two farms generate enough electricity to power 85,000 homes, (St. Joseph 50,000 and St. Leon 35,000.)

View Larger Map

I've driven through the area a couple of times and have to admit that the turbines are mesmerizing. If you get a chance to drive from St. Joseph to Somerset, do. Aside from the turbines there's some lovely scenery, including rolling hills. ! (For a cyclist's perspective.)

Related:
Saint Leon celebrates 99 Megawatt Wind Farm Manitoba News release
St. Leon Energy Project Manitoba Hydro brochure (pdf)
Manitoba's largest Wind Farm Powers Up Province of Manitoba
St. Joseph Energy Project Manitoba Hydro (pdf)