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Downtown Winnipeg
Neighbourhood
View of Downtown Winnipeg.
Downtown Winnipeg
Coordinates: 49°53′44″N 97°8′19″W / 49.89556°N 97.13861°W / 49.89556; -97.13861
Country	Canada
Province	Manitoba
City	Winnipeg
Area
• Neighbourhood	16.3 km (6.3 sq mi)
• Metro	5,306.79 km (2,048.96 sq mi)
Population
• Neighbourhood	66,850
• Density	4,095.3/km (10,607/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central Standard Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (Central Daylight Time)
Forward sortation areas	R3A, R3B, and R3C
Area code(s)	Area codes 204 and 431

Downtown Winnipeg is an area of Winnipeg located near the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers. It is the oldest urban area in Winnipeg, and is home to the city's commercial core, city hall, the seat of Manitoba's provincial government, and a number of major attractions and institutions.

The City of Winnipeg's official downtown boundaries are: the Canadian Pacific Railway mainline on the north, Gomez Street and the Red River on the east, and the Assiniboine River on the south; the western boundaries of downtown are irregular, following along a number of different streets, back lanes, and across properties. Generally speaking, the western boundaries are rarely much further west of Balmoral and Isabel Streets. In 2016, Canadian Geographic produced a map that generalize Winnipeg's downtown boundaries.

Neighbourhoods in the downtown area include the Exchange District, Central Park, The Forks, and Chinatown. The downtown area is roughly 3 square kilometres (740 acres). Winnipeg Square, Canada Life Centre, Portage Place, and the flagship store of The Bay (closed 30 November 2020) are all located on the downtown section of Portage Avenue. On Main Street are Winnipeg's City Hall, Union Station, and the Manitoba Centennial Centre, which includes the Manitoba Museum, the Planetarium, the Centennial Concert Hall, and the Winnipeg Railway Museum. Although over 60,000 people work downtown, only 17,190 people live in the area covered by the Downtown Zoning By-Law.

There are several residential projects under construction on Waterfront Drive and in the Exchange District, and the residential population of the area is projected to increase substantially in the next few years.

Neighbourhoods

The Downtown Winnipeg Zoning By-Law defines the boundaries of the Downtown planning area, and several sectors within it. The downtown census area is slightly smaller, omitting a three-block extension at the north edge. There is also a significantly larger Downtown community area, used for Community Social Data Strategy for Winnipeg.

Waterfront District

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (June 2021)

The Waterfront District is a newly emerging mixed-use development located in the northeast corner of downtown Winnipeg. The district runs along the west bank of the Red River along Waterfront Drive and features Stephen Juba Park.

The Waterfront District has seen a number of residential construction projects since 2005. Moreover, there have been plans to extend Waterfront Drive further north, to connect it with the Disraeli Fwy. Developer Leon A. Brown has offered up to 12 properties for redevelopment in the area. Sunstone Boutique Hotels had an $11-million plan to build a three-storey, 67-room boutique hotel on what is now a gravel parking lot, along with a new casual-dining restaurant in the one-storey brick former Harbourmaster's building. The plans also involve construction of a public plaza area at the south end of the property.

The design of the Waterfront District also led to a new road system that included Winnipeg’s first roundabout, at the corner of Bannatyne Avenue and Waterfront Drive.

Central Park

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Central Park is one of Winnipeg's most densely-populated neighbourhoods with 13,755 people per square km according to the 2001 Census. Seventy per cent of all refugees coming to Winnipeg live downtown, in and around the Central Park area. Central Park includes many different ethnicities including Arabs, Vietnamese, Chinese, Ojibway, Filipinos, and African (more than half being African).

With the increase in the African population, Central Park has been transforming in recent years. It is now the home to the 'Central Market', with more markets planned to come. Many of the markets will sell handmade fashion and imported African crafts.

During warm Saturday nights, live entertainment fills the air, residents enjoy free Sunday movie screenings to enjoy an evening outdoors. The Knox Centre at Knox United Church presents international films in various languages - with English subtitles - every Thursday evening.

Exchange District

The Exchange District is a National Historic Site of Canada. Just one block north is one of Canada's most famous intersections, Portage and Main, the Exchange District comprises 20 city blocks and approximately 150 heritage buildings, and it is known for its intact turn-of-the-century collection of warehouses, financial institutions, and early terracotta-clad skyscrapers.

Winnipeg's theatre district is located on the east side of the Exchange District, home to the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, and Centennial Concert Hall which houses the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and the Manitoba Opera. The west side of the Exchange is home to Cinematheque, a small movie theatre located in the Artspace building on Albert Street.

The Exchange District's Old Market Square annually hosts the Jazz Winnipeg Festival, the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival, and the Manitoba Electronic Music Exhibition. Renovations to Old Market Square completed in 2012 added "The Cube", a $1.5 million stage, with a skin made up of 20,000 aluminum links. The stage contains a built-in lighting system, green room and two performance levels.

The district is home to Red River College's Roblin Centre and the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute.

Broadway-Assiniboine

Broadway-Assiniboine lies in the southern part of downtown on the north bank of the Assiniboine River. The neighbourhood is one of the more densely-populated in Winnipeg, with 15,452.2 people per square kilometre. It features many notable landmarks such as the historic Upper Fort Garry, Hotel Fort Garry, and the Manitoba Legislative Building. Broadway-Assiniboine features the "Assiniboine Riverwalk" and is home to many notable restaurants.

The population of Broadway-Assiniboine was 5,270 as of the 2016 Census. The most common transportation method of the people in South Portage is walking, with 31.8%, more than 6.5 times higher than the overall 4.9% for Winnipeg. The average employment income for the area is just $47,268, which is lower than Winnipeg's average employment income of $61,164.

Current plans are for a new bicycle-pedestrian bridge to connect McFadyen Park with Fort Rouge Park over the Assiniboine River. The bridge would be partly financed by a grant from the Winnipeg Foundation. There are three designs vying for final approval.

The Forks

The Forks is a 99-acre (40 ha) national historic, recreational, cultural, and entertainment area site in downtown Winnipeg, deriving its name from being located where the Assiniboine and Red Rivers meet. The Forks was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1974 due to its status as a cultural landscape that had borne witness to six thousand years of human activity.

South Portage

South Portage is the group of city blocks located between Portage Avenue, Main Street, Broadway, and Memorial Boulevard.

The population of South Portage was 1,865 as of the 2016 Census. The most common transportation method of the people in South Portage is walking, with 42.4%, more than five times higher than the overall 4.9% for Winnipeg. The average employment income for the area is just $52,267, which is lower than Winnipeg's average employment income of $61,164.

South Portage is the location of the main branch of the Winnipeg Public Library system, the Millennium Library.

The area also has the Winnipeg Convention Centre with 160,000 sq ft (15,000 m) of meeting, exhibition and banquet space. Lakeview Square, the largest mixed-use development downtown in the 1970s, was constructed at the same time as the Convention Centre and completed in 1974.

Opened in 2004, the Bell MTS Place is located just south of Portage Avenue and is home to the Winnipeg Jets.

The area also has the Norquay Building, the Law Courts, Cityplace mall, and VJ's Drive Inn. There are numerous office buildings and hotels in this area, including some of Winnipeg's tallest buildings.

A 42-storey apartment building, 300 Main, is currently being built by Artis REIT, owners of 360 Main St. and Winnipeg Square. When completed, it will be the tallest apartment block in the city.

Winnipeg's public transit hub is located on the Graham Avenue Transit Mall, as many bus routes converge there.

Chinatown

Formed in 1909, the area is home to many shops and restaurants including Asian grocery stores and an herbal products store.

Winnipeg's Chinatown covers 0.1 square kilometres (0.039 sq mi) northwest of City Hall and is home to about 600 people, of whom 90% are in the Chinese visible minority group. 40.5% of the area's residents speak neither English nor French (as compared to 1% of Winnipeg as a whole), while 71.1% of residents speak some variant of Chinese (including Cantonese, Mandarin and Chinese not otherwise specified).

River crossings

Downtown Winnipeg has four bridges that directly connect to other Winnipeg neighbourhoods or suburbs across the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. They are the Main Street Bridge, Midtown Bridge, Osborne Street Bridge, and the Provencher Bridge.

One of the first bridges in Winnipeg was the Main-Norwood Bridge. It carries traffic between St. Boniface, St. Vital, and points east from Marion Street. Originally a toll bridge, it carried Winnipeg's first horse-drawn streetcars between downtown and River Avenue in the early 1880s.

Osborne Street Bridge connects Osborne Village to the downtown core. The first iteration was built in the late 1880s. In the 2010s the bridge was upgraded with a lit wall using LED technology.

The Midtown Bridge carries traffic to and from south Winnipeg. It was first opened in September 1955. The Bridge sees upwards of 59,300 vehicles average weekdays.

The Provencher Bridge is the third one built. The first version, called the Broadway Bridge, was not engineered correctly and fell into the Red River four days after opening due to ice jams colliding with it. The second version outlived its usefulness and was replaced in the 2000s. The new Provencher Bridge opened to vehicular traffic in December 2003. Located adjacent to the Provencher Bridge is the cable-stayed pedestrian and cycling bridge, Esplanade Riel, opened in 2004. It features space for an indoor restaurant.

Other features

Sports venues

There are two major sports venues located downtown, Canada Life Centre where the NHL's Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose have played since 2004; and Blue Cross Park, where the American Association's Winnipeg Goldeyes baseball team have played since 1999.

Winnipeg Walkway System

The Winnipeg Walkway system, popularly known as the Winnipeg Skywalk, is a network of pedestrian skyways and tunnels connecting a significant portion of the city centre.

Media

Several media organizations have broadcasting studio located in the downtown area, including television stations CTV, Global, Citytv, and Canadian specialty channel APTN; and radio stations QX-104, and 93.7 Nostalgia FM.

The television broadcast antennas for CBC Manitoba and ICI Radio-Canada Manitoba are located on the Richardson Building, while Global TV Winnipeg is located on top of 201 Portage Avenue.

Border Crossings, an internationally known arts magazine featuring Canadian art, publishes from offices in the Exchange District. Where Winnipeg magazine features listings of things to do in Winnipeg and is also published from the Exchange District.

Education

Isbister School is an Adult Education Centre operated by the Winnipeg School Division in the north Portage Avenue area. Other private schools serve business needs, such as CDI and Booth University College.

See also

• List of tallest buildings in Winnipeg

Notes

1. ^ Winnipeg, Government of the City of. "City of Winnipeg Community Area Profiles". winnipeg.ca. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
2. "Map for OurWinnipeg Adopted by City Council". Archived from the original on 3 April 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
3. Kylie, Aaron (27 September 2016). "Six maps that put Canada's downtown cores in context". Canadian Geographic. Archived from the original on 3 April 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
4. "2021 Census Data - Downtown Zoning By-law". City of Winnipeg. 2023. Archived from the original on 17 February 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
5. "(UD) : 2001 Census". Winnipeg.ca. Archived from the original on 1 August 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
6. "2016 Census - City of Winnipeg Community Area Profiles". Winnipeg.ca. 7 February 2019. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
7. ^ https://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/architecture/media/CiP_2009_Marli.pdf Archived 6 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine
8. ^ McNeill, Murray (4 July 2011). "Waterfront set for leap forward". Winnipeg Free Press. Archived from the original on 13 December 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
9. "Waterfront North". Leon A. Brown Ltd. Archived from the original on 21 September 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
10. "Harbour Master Hotel Landscape Concept Plan". February 2011. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
11. "Historic Exchange". Archived from the original on 24 February 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
12. "The Exchange District A National Historic Site Heritage Interpretation Strategy" (PDF). The Exchange District Heritage Partnership. July 1999. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
13. "Theatres". The Exchange District. Archived from the original on 24 February 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
14. "Cinematheque". Cinematheque. Archived from the original on 21 September 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
15. ^ "Old Market Square". Winnipeg Downtown Places. 19 June 2010. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
16. "The Roblin Centre". Red River College. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
17. Forlanski, Tamara (21 February 2013). "RRC opens high-end restaurant in Exchange". Global News Winnipeg. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
18. ^ "2016 Census Data - Broadway-Assinboine" (PDF). Winnipeg.ca. 24 July 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
19. Santin, Aldo; Turner, Randy (24 May 2018). "City unveils three options for pedestrian/bike bridge over Assiniboine".
20. "The Forks National Historic Site of Canada". www.pc.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
21. ^ "2016 Census Data - South Portage" (PDF). Winnipeg.ca. 24 July 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
22. "Winnipeg Millennium Library". LM Architectural Group. 17 October 2010. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
23. "Winnipeg Convention Centre". Winnipeg Convention Centre. Archived from the original on 29 October 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
24. "MTS Centre / True North Arena". MTS Centre. Archived from the original on 17 June 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
25. ^ "Chinatown | Tourism Winnipeg". Archived from the original on 28 May 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
26. ^ "2006 Census Data China Town" (PDF). 2006 Census Data. City of Winnipeg. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 November 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
27. "Bridge Opened: Another Needed". Winnipeg Free Press. 15 September 1955. p. 1.
28. "2018 Traffic Flow Map" (PDF). City of Winnipeg. 4 June 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 September 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
29. "Esplanade Riel opens to public". Winnipeg.ca. 30 December 2003. Archived from the original on 20 September 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
30. "Indoor Walkways". Downtown Winnipeg Biz. Archived from the original on 31 December 2008. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
31. "Historic Sites of Manitoba: Isbister School". Manitoba Historical Society. 11 May 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.

External links

• City of Winnipeg Site
• Downtown Winnipeg Zoning By-law No. 100/2004
• CentreVenture Site
• Downtown Winnipeg Plan (1969)
• Downtown Winnipeg BIZ Site

• Neighbourhoods in Winnipeg
• Central business districts in Canada
• Downtown Winnipeg