The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1984, Page 21

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
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Now look to your right to see the site of
5. GRACE METHODIST CHURCH (SE
comer Main St. and Water Ave.). This
church is reputed to be the site of the
first Icelandic marriage (1876) and the
first Icelandic baptism (1877) in Win-
nipeg. The first church service in Ice-
landic held in Winnipeg (1877) also
took place on this site, conducted by
Rev. Jon Bjamason.
Turn right (east) off Main onto Water st.
and follow it until you are almost on the
bridge (Provencher Bridge) crossing the
Red River. On your right is Gilroy St. —
turn right (south) on it and follow it into a
large open area.
6. “SHANTY TOWN” (HBC Flats,
near present intersection of Water and
Gilroy). In the area south of this inter-
section (see map) was “Shanty Town”,
where the first Icelanders in Winni-
peg built shacks during the winter of
1875/76. The first house was built
here by Fridjon Sigurbjomsson. By
1880 the area had a sizeable Icelandic
population, although some were be-
ginning to move to other areas of the
city. Two old forts from furtrading
days were once located on top of what
is now Gilroy St.; “Fidler’s Fort”
(HBCo. 1817-26) which stood imme-
diately south of the intersection at
Water and “Fort Gibralter” (NWCo.
1807-16) which stood immediately to
the south of “Fidler’s Fort”.
7. IMMIGRATION SHEDS (on the
Levee, NW shore of the junction of
Red and Assiniboine). The first Ice-
landers in Manitoba arrived aboard the
river steamboat “International” on 11
October 1875, and stepped ashore at
this point. Many other early immi-
grants — Icelanders as well as others
— would step ashore here in the days
before the railroad.
At the corner of Gilroy and Water, turn
left (west) on Water and then proceed
along Pioneer Ave. (originally Notre Dame
East), the one-way street going west. As
you drive along Pioneer you will pass on
your left
8. “ICELANDERS HEADQUARTERS”
(86 Pioneer Ave.). This is the name
given to this site in the 1881 directory
of the city of Winnipeg. In all prob-
ability the name was used to identify
Icelandic housing in this area and was
less of a “headquarters” than the name
implies.
Turn right (north) at the junction of
Westbrook and Pioneer, then turn left
(west) at Portage Ave. East and follow it to
the corner of “Portage and Main” —
perhaps the most famous intersection in
western Canada! Turn right (north) along
Main St. and follow it north using a lane on
the right-hand side of the street.
9. ARNI FREDERICKSON’S STORE
(403'/z Main St., SE comer at Mc-
Dermot Ave.). This corner, now occu-
pied by the old Bank of Hamilton
Building, was the probable site of Ami
Frederickson’s store and shoe repair
shop — the first store in Winnipeg
owned by an Icelander. Frederickson
established it in June 1879, and sold
it within the year to Gisli Johannesson.
10. OLAFSON BUILDING (216 James
Ave., SE comer at King St.). Now
part of the city hall complex, this
building was erected in 1901 by Gisli
Olafson, a prominent contractor and
the first Icelandic member of the Win-
nipeg Grain Exchange, and was re-
puted to be one of the largest and most
dignified commercial building in the
city at the time.
11. “VICTORIA PARK” (located west
of the Alexander St. Dock, near the
bottom of Pacific Ave.). Bounded
originally by Pacific and James Ave-