The Icelandic Canadian - 01.08.2009, Qupperneq 13

Vol. 62 #3
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
103
Historical tour of Winnipeg
Report from the Icelandic National League of
North America Meeting
by Vi Bjarnason Hilton and Judy Thorsteinson
In April of 2007, the Icelandic
National League of North America held a
conference in Winnipeg at the Hotel Fort
Garry. At this conference, we offered a
tour for our guests showing where the
Icelandic people settled and worked in the
early years. We also pointed out historical
buildings from the turn of the century.
There were two busloads. One tour guide
was Vi Bjarnason Hilton and the other was
Judy Thorsteinson. We have made a copy
of the tour for the readers of The Icelandic
Canadian to enjoy.
We began the tour at the Hotel Fort
Garry, built in 1913 by the Grand Trunk
Pacific Railway. This grand old lady was
built when the railway was completed
between the east and west and is only one
block from the railway station. Apparently
there is a ghost in one of the rooms.
Next, the Manitoba Club on
Broadway Avenue, just east of the Hotel
Fort Garry, is the oldest clubhouse in west-
ern Canada (1874). The first building
burned down, as the fire engines, on their
inaugural run did not make it in time. This
new building was opened in 1905 by then
Governor General Earl Grey. The jubilee
window was acquired during the club pres-
idency of Sir Plugh John MacDonald, in
honour of Queen Victoria's diamond
jubilee. There have been many notable
guests at the Manitoba club.
On the corner of Broadway at Main
we turned left on to Main Street. On the
right is the Union Station, one time home
of the Canadian National Railway. Warren
Whitmore, architect of the Grand Central
Station in New York City, designed this
station in 1911. Today the station is the
entrance to “The Forks” (the confluence of
the Red and Assiniboine rivers), which is
where the settlers arrived by boat or rail
when they first arrived from Iceland.
Our tour continued along Main Street
to York Avenue and we turned right on
Waterfront Drive to The Forks Market
Road. Shanty Town was located at the
intersection of Water and Gilroy and was
where the Icelanders first built their shacks.
Fridjon Sigurbjornsson built the first house
in 1875/1876. Two forts were located in
this area, Fiddlers Fort and Fort Gibraltar.
Aboriginals were trading here when the
Selkirk Settlers arrived from Scotland. The
Forks housed immigration sheds, which
held 500 people each. The Johnson
Terminal was the storage building for
flour, sugar, etc., during the boom years of
1870-1920. The building that housed the
stables is now used for restaurants and
small boutiques. The Forks, now a heritage
site, is a tourist attraction and a busy shop-
ping and dining place. During The Pan Am
Games in 1999, the awards ceremonies
were held there. At the north section of
The Forks, the Canadian Human Rights
museum is being built, envisioned as an
iconic symbol of Canada.
As our tour progressed through The
Forks on the right is the Esplanade Riel
Bridge, which is one of Winnipeg's most
distinctive landmarks.
At one time Broadway Avenue went
through to Provencher in St. Boniface, but
our tour stopped at The Yellow Brick
Road, which runs from the Esplanade Riel
Bridge to the Via Rail station. The Yellow
Brick Road signifies the important role
played by the railroad in the building of
Canada and opening up the west. Winnipeg
was known as the "Gateway to the West."
The Yellow Brick Road represents "the
spine of the eagle feather."