Hello, loyal readers of WoMH. As you may know, this little prairie blog started off with three fine contributors, of which only Emma has remained to hold down the fort.  Well fear not for the future, because I am here to reverse the exodus trend. My name is Ian and I hope to make a semi-regular contribution to WoMH, to add my own thoughts and observations on this great city as seen through the eyes of a newcomer to Winnipeg and Manitoba. I am, coincidently, also an ex-pat British Columbian who moved out here for a career change and new opportunities and adventures.

I am just days away from my one year ‘Pegiversary, which I believe commenced when I was issued my funky (and now sadly defunct) two-piece Manitoba drivers’ license.  In this short time, I have explored many of Winnipeg’s diverse neighbourhoods, partaken in its cultural events from the symphony to the social, the fringe festival to Folkorama. I have also walked in the sand at Grand Beach, visited the Icelandic museum in Gimli and ridden the train to the northern reaches of Manitoba (where I happened to spend most of my first Manitoba winter!!!) But now I am back in the ‘Peg, living and working downtown and eagerly awaiting my second summer in the city (this time with more sun!).

So that’s a brief introduction of my story.  I hope that you’ll enjoy my occasional observations, kudos and critiques of life at junction of the Red and Assiniboine (I can finally spell that name!) rivers.  Cheers, and enjoy this wonderful weather while it lasts!

–Ian

I’d never heard of Manitoba-based Canadian Dimension magazine until I stumbled across this article, and I see that the entire current issue is devoted to Winnipeg. I’m off to read the other articles (about the North End and the city’s radical past) now!

Read Ed Janzen’s The Power of Myth: How Winnipeg and Its Art Became Such a Big Deal at Canadian Dimension magazine.

Anyway, since the end of the year is the perfect time for lists, and in particular, lists of resolutions, I decided to put some thought into what I’d like to do in 2010 here in my adopted hometown.

• Try the hot chocolate at Constance Popp Chocolatiers… I’m told it’s spectacular!
• Go skating on the world’s longest naturally-frozen skating trail, a.k.a. The River Trail.
• Go to Grand Beach, apparently one of the best beaches in the world!
• Do Part 2 of the search for Winnipeg’s Best Imperial Cookie with Laurel when she visits in February during Festival du Voyageur
• Go to the Farmer’s Market more often
• Start backyard composting
• Explore the Exchange District
• Go to more concerts (looking forward to 2010: The Concert this weekend!)
• Patronize local businesses more often. Some recent neighbourhood discoveries include Sam’s Place and Sonya’s Family Restaurant (see an awesome write-up of Sonya’s at Breakfast in Winnipeg). The closure of McNally Robinson is yet another reminder to shop locally if local businesses matters to you! I’m going to try to make more of an effort this year to do that.
• Find a family doctor, dentist, and massage therapist – this one may prove the hardest. I found an optometrist close to my house who I really like, but my current doctor’s office is a 25-minute drive away and not really doing it for me. I have yet to find a dentist though I’ve got some leads. An RMT would be great, too! Any recommendations for these health professionals in East Kildonan?

Off the top of my head, those are just a few of the things I’d like to do over the next year. With any luck I’ll accomplish most of them and remember to report back this time next year. I’d love to hear others’ Winnipeg-related resolutions for 2010… please share in the comments!

With the year almost through, I want to give big props to my fellow Winnipeg bloggers — thanks for all the great reads this year.  To everyone who’s commented at Winnipeg O’ My Heart, I appreciate your thoughts, suggestions, and ideas. You’ve all provided an excellent orientation to this fine city.  I wish you all a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2010!

What’s been bugging me about Winnipeg lately is, well, downtown Winnipeg. Every weekday, I walk a couple blocks from my office to Portage & Donald to catch the bus home. Sometimes I have an appointment or something to do at lunch that keeps me downtown, so I’ve done a fair amount of jamming up and down Portage during the noon hour. Occasionally, I have met up with friends for after-work drinks at Tavern United or in the Exchange, but between that and my daytime adventures, that’s about the extent of my time spent downtown. And truth be told, that’s about enough for me.

So, what’s my beef with downtown?

This will seem like an exaggeration, but some days, it seems like the only people I see outside when I’m downtown are people smoking, people spitting, and people panhandling. In short, people who are not all that pleasant to be around. We all know that tons of people work downtown in jobs that require them to dress somewhat nicely and bathe regularly, so where are they? I figured it out not too long ago: they’re inside. If not in their offices, they’re in the walkway system staying warm, and well, avoiding the aforementioned people outside.

Can I blame them? No. When I have occasion to walk from my office to Portage and Main for lunch meetings, and I almost always walk inside. I should also disclose that I often head into CityPlace and then through the MTS Centre even when I’m just walking my regular route to the bus. This is partly because I think taking the walkway is fun – I thought the same of the Plus 15 system in Calgary and the massive, interconnected mall/office towers/transit station system where I worked in Vancouver. There’s something inherently neat about travelling a long distance without ever going outside (to an extent, anyway — think Waydowntown). But it’s also because even though walking through the MTS Centre takes longer than walking outside, some days, I just really don’t feel like sidestepping puddles of spit and listening to people yell at each other.

Winnipeg’s walkway system probably evolved more in response to our chilly winters than anything, but even when the weather is just right, people are still inside. Summer is a bit better: live music in the fresh air brings lots of people outside to eat lunch in the sunshine. But I wonder. Do we really need to hibernate for 8 or 9 months of the year? What else is going on here?

Despite efforts to spice up its image, downtown also just seems a bit sad. To me, the epitome of this is The Bay. Have you been to The Bay downtown? Structurally, it’s amazing. Stately pillars. Mile-high ceilings. Hardwood floors. The ladies’ bathroom is a snapshot in time: there are banks of little vanities where you can actually sit down on a chair, place your purse on the counter, and fix your hair or lipstick. It’s the sort of thing you’d expect to see in a film set, not in modern day. It’s wonderful. And yet, the store is run down. There seems to be no sense of pride in the gem we have on our hands. (And I was really surprised to see it made the Sun’s list of 100 reasons to love Winnipeg.) This Bay doesn’t seem to be given as much attention as the ones in the malls. That being said, my experiences with the Bay in most cities is not what it used to be.

We have such an iconic, historic building that houses an equally meaningful institution. Maybe I’m nostalgic for the good old days I was never a part of, but it seems like a tragedy to me not to restore it to its former self. But of course, it’s not just The Bay. There are dozens of gorgeous buildings in downtown Winnipeg, but so many of them have been left to age and decay. Downtown Winnipeg could have such a cosmopolitan feel to it.

But then, if no one shops downtown, why would anyone bother investing in restoring these old beauties or in opening new businesses in the area? I’m with Graham at Progressive Winnipeg when he wonders why “every major development that is announced here, isn’t downtown”. I mean, there’s only one MEC in the city, and people make the trip downtown to go there. I don’t pretend to know enough about urban planning to say that if you build it, they will come, but, well, I think if the destination store is attractive enough, they will come. This is probably completely unrealistic (because where, oh where on earth would everyone park?), but what if they’d decided to put Ikea downtown? Can you imagine the draw that would have been?

Why don’t people spend much time outside in downtown Winnipeg? My guesses are that they associate downtown with crime and with feeling unsafe, and that moreover, there’s not much to draw them there. Halfway through writing this, I came across this post from Slurpees & Murder, which takes a look at the MTS Centre and vicinity and asks “Would you put your team here?” The photos and commentary in the post are a grim but realistic illustration of downtown.

Now, this wouldn’t be a Winnipeg O’ My Heart post if I didn’t try to look on the positive side of all of this. To me, some progress is being made. The recent announcement about the Union Bank Tower being converted into the RRC culinary arts centre and student residences is wonderful news. More people will inevitably mean a bigger market for all sorts of business; starving as they may be, students always have money for coffee, clothing, and nightlife. And it’s nice to see some care being given to the Metropolitan Theatre – it will be interesting to see what the final product will be. Things are picking up in the Exchange; it seems new stores and restaurants are popping up down there all the time.

I haven’t lived in Winnipeg long enough to feel particularly qualified to comment on city politics or planning. All I know is what my experiences have been in other major cities, and what works for them. In Calgary, downtown’s Stephen Avenue is a bustling strip of bars and restaurants and adjacent shopping that is extremely active – even after work and on weekends. In Vancouver, Robson Street is much the same: truly convenient public transport and tons of nearby residences makes it easy to get to, and the variety of stores and restaurants make it a popular destination. Perhaps more importantly, pretty much all of downtown Vancouver feels safe. This is in large part, as former WoMH’er Laurel pointed out, because there are always people around. But I just don’t see how downtown, in its current state, can attract more people than it does now.

So I will watch with great interest at the developments occurring in Winnipeg’s downtown over the next few years. I will commit to exploring downtown a little more often, and to try to look bright side of things. It won’t be easy, though. I’m hard-pressed to think of anything I actually like about downtown (well, The Forks is pretty nice), but I’m open to suggestions. Anyone? Anyone?