Chapter 3.- Winnipeg: In which the author reveals an irrational fondness for Winnipeg

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~scroll down for the pretty pictures that you are actually here for~

 I bought a journal, which is mixed news for my production of this blog. On the one hand, writing in it comes easier and I can jot notes at my convenience. On the other, it adds an additional layer to the process of producing work that I find fit for public consumption. Case in point, my margins are now filled with possible titles for my Winnipeg entry, including sure hits like ‘Winnipeg: Grand Capitol of Nowhere’ and ‘Winnipeg: Perfect Metropolis of the Future’ and ‘Winnipeg: Evidently we Still Have More to Say about Winnipeg’. With the journal, my ideas are in constant flux as I cross out and doodle and add parenthetical asides and write up the sides of the pages. Writing on the computer makes things much more crystallized. Hopefully, the two step process of writing and then transcribing will make the entries better and not just far less organized.

First surprise- Winnipeg is hot. Florida hot. The kind of hot that makes you scan anxiously for the most shaded possible path as you walk. You drink from every water fountain you pass. The moment you step outside you audibly say ‘oh shit’ to no one in particular. You sweat just standing there and every individual article of clothing or object in your pockets just adds to your discomfort. On the train I learned that Winnipeg is most famous for being one of Canada’s coldest spots (below -40 in the winter), but the harsh weather extends to the summer as well.

Winnipeg is an odd duck in a lot of ways. Back in the early 1900’s, it was a major hub of trade, receiving goods from the east and shipping them off west. Winnipeg more or less was the Northwest Passage, in other words. It grew extremely quickly to and at one point looked like it was going to become Canada’s most populous boom town. A lot of money and effort was put into making it a respectable big city. Its Union Station was designed the same firm who did New York’s Grand Central. The capital building there is impressively grand, more appropriate for the capital of a large country than a province. They planned well for the city’s growth and implemented an impressive circular highway system that would encircle the burgeoning metropolis. It was once estimated that Winnipeg would grow to be a city of 4 million. Winnipeg has a fourth of that.

So what happened? Well, the Panama Canal was constructed, and suddenly there was a much more convenient way to cross the continent. Winnipeg became a place without a purpose. The station, although beautiful, is woefully underused. The capital building is austere and awesome, as any great seat of power should be, but of course Winnipeg is definitively not a seat of power. The highway originally planned for easing transportation within the sprawling city, now encircles mostly farm land, too far from the compact city center to effect much at all. This story has all the makings of a tragedy, and in some ways it is, but Winnipeg is still a city that was built with greatness in mind.

The principles of heavily involved city planning have served it well.

Because Winnipeg is such a cold city, it has a complex network of indoor skywalks and underground paths, all lined with shops and restaurants. I was able to navigate through the entire downtown without stepping outside once, laughing aloud with pleasant surprise at how cool and futuristic it all felt. I can only imagine how important this is when the city gets inhospitably cold. It has a great, centrally located park, with tons of pedestrian paths and public art. The theaters and museums of a much grander city. My approach when I get to a new city is to plan a complex walking path around everything that I'm interested in seeing. These pictures meander around various notable city sights.

 First, we have the Forks- a large and varied city park with a great farmer's market in the middle.

Le Bench

 A lot of really neat public art attached to Manitoba's Native peoples. This one, I think, is representative of a meeting circle that tribes once gathered at.

A rather impressive pedestrian bridge across to the french district of Winnipeg, St. Boniface

I mean, I know we're in pseudo-france, but this is just ridiculous

 

University in French district

The titular St. Boniface Cathedral. It was gutted by a fire, but the front wall still stands

 

that's... a lot of cathedrals. Maybe it's time to call it quits, guys?

And here's local hero Mark Tw- What do you mean that's not Mark Twain?! (More on this guy later)

Back in the Forks now, bridge from St. Boniface. I told you my path meandered.

I can't emphasize how cool this structure was. Combination star-gazing/fire pit/cultural meeting place

Each metal thing points you to the stars that make up certain constellations if you look through them from the correct angle

Ok,now we're at the state building

"Here's that shipment of brightly pained bears you ordered sir"
"Just strew them about all over the place"

 

The figure atop the building is called 'the golden boy'. There's some kinda tale associated with him, but I don't know it. I am such a bad blogger =(

There's a ton of occult symbolism in this building, I guess it was fashionable at the time.

So grand! The people at the security desk asked me what I wanted to do and I told them I just wanted to kinda look around. They kinda shrugged at each other and said 'sure, as long as you don't go into any offices or anything'. I don't think it was a request they get often.

Lotta important decisions about, like, Manitoba, gettin made here.

 

They are still quite fond of the queen here in Canada. A lot of banners still up for the recent Jubilee.

Randomly, a classic car show on the front lawn of the capital building. Yeah, whatever.

Finally, the under-construction museum of Human Rights looms ironically over the city, looking for all the world like a terrible dreadnaught of war, or a fascist terror-monument meant to crush the spirits of the proletariat. Maybe it’ll look better when it’s finished.

Next time, we'll learn a little more about Manitoba (you can hardly wait!)