Landmarks Unique and iconic Winnipeg locations

Landmarks is a monthly feature in which columnist Alison Gillmor explores unique and iconic Winnipeg buildings and locations.  

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Landmarks is a monthly feature in which columnist Alison Gillmor explores unique and iconic Winnipeg buildings and locations.  

 


 

Polo Park has weathered the whims of consumer culture

Winnipeg Free Press file
Polo Park reopened after a refurbishment on Aug. 13, 1986.

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In a strange twist of design history, the man who helped develop the North American shopping mall, Vienna-born architect and planner Victor Gruen, later repudiated it.

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Quirky Fort Garry neighbourhood combines urban planning and nature

Jodi Pratt cross country skiing in Wildwood Park, Sunday, April 14, 2013. (TREVOR HAGAN/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

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In popular culture, planned suburban subdivisions are often used as a kind of visual shorthand for conformity and rigidity, for the slow death of the soul. Suburbia, at least according to the movies and TV, is bland, beige and uniform.

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Circular condo building looks spacey, but shape is grounded in practicality

WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES
The 62M Condo is project located on MacDonald Avenue near the Disraeli Bridge.

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I’m always interested in buildings that get nicknames. Usually these monikers indicate affection, occasionally the opposite, but they always mean people are paying attention.

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Précieux-Sang church fuses together modernist design and religious renewal

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Precious Blood Roman Catholic Church in Winnipeg on Tuesday, May 22, 2018. This is the 50th year of worship inside the unusual building.

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On my way to visit l’ Eglise du Précieux-Sang in St. Boniface, I got lost. There was road construction, and I somehow missed my turn. I managed to find my way, though, when I glimpsed that distinctive spiralling roofline in the distance.

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WAG's angular architecture combines form, function in a building both timeless and of its time

ken gigliotti  winnipeg free press  dec4 2002 feature on wpg architecture- Winnipeg Art Gallery WAG ,(old beater cars parked  at base  could not get better shot as building is underconstruction )-kg

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Asked to talk about the Winnipeg Art Gallery building, Stephen Borys pauses for a moment.

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Luxuries, amenities put to many uses during life of Academy Road building

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Winnipeg architect Max Blankstein’s design for the Uptown Theatre referenced the Moorish style, using architectural elements from the western Islamic world mixed with some Spanish forms.

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The Uptown Lofts, once the Academy Uptown Lanes and before that the Uptown Theatre, remind us that buildings can have long, varied and sometimes unexpected lives. The recent mixed-use renovation, which combines commercial spaces and residential apartments, is sleek, clean and contemporary, but it rests on layers of local memory and architectural fantasy.

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The Fort Garry Hotel hearkens back to a more glamorous time

The Fort Garry Hotel was one of the tallest buildings in Winnipeg when it was constructed in 1913. (City of Winnipeg archives)

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When you’re wedged into a middle seat on a packed airplane, sustained only by bad coffee and a packet of pretzels, glamorous travel can seem like an impossible dream.

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Curvy, confident Winnipeg Clinic appears to be reaching for a better tomorrow

ALEX LUPUL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
The Winnipeg Clinic with Its distinctive curved lines and layered canopies make it a familiar landmark in Winnipeg’s downtown.

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Nicknames can be a sign of fondness and familiarity, so it means something that people often affectionately call the Winnipeg Clinic “the Jetsons building.”

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Alison Gillmor

Alison Gillmor
Writer

Studying at the University of Winnipeg and later Toronto’s York University, Alison Gillmor planned to become an art historian. She ended up catching the journalism bug when she started as visual arts reviewer at the Winnipeg Free Press in 1992.

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Why are women and young girls being murdered in Mexico?

Peter McKenna 5 minute read Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025

Feminist activist Susana Chávez Castillo from Ciudad Juárez — who was strangled to death in 2011 — coined the phrase: “Not one woman less, not one more death.”

But murders of women and girls in Mexico have continued unabated. In fact, they have been on the rise in recent years. The lion’s share of these women are Indigenous or mixed race, poor and unskilled labourers and migrant factory workers who are viewed as worthless, subhuman and, ultimately, disposable.

In May, 23 year-old Valeria Marquez, a noted Mexican influencer, was shot and killed while livestreaming on TikTok. Days later, Yesenia Lara Gutiérrez, a candidate for mayor in Veracruz state, was also fatally shot (along with three others) as she livestreamed a campaign event.

Not surprisingly, the Mexican government does a poor job of collecting data on the precise number of women murdered every year. An undated report by Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography states that 22,482 women were murdered during the years of 2007-2016, which translates into a violent death of an adult woman or young girl every four hours.

Silver linings at Canadian Lawn Bowling Championships

Grace Penner 1 minute read Preview

Silver linings at Canadian Lawn Bowling Championships

Grace Penner 1 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

There were multiple Manitoban bowls players in the 2026 Canadian Lawn Bowling Championships last week.

Sam Forrest placed silver in the U18 boys’ Canadian Youth and Junior Championships in Hanover, Ont., that was held from Aug. 10-14.

And in the North Vancouver, B.C., leg of the championships that was held Aug. 16-23, the 13-year-old competed with his grandfather, John Bjornson, as well as Rod Rose and Wayne Trindall in the men’s fours. Forrest was honoured with the Spirit Award.

Women’s pairs Shirley Fitzpatrick-Wong and her mother Clarice Fitzpatrick won silver falling short to the B.C. duo they faced.

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2:01 AM CDT

Allen misses out on league MVP award

Taylor Allen 3 minute read Preview

Allen misses out on league MVP award

Taylor Allen 3 minute read Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026

Winnipeg Sea Bears guard Teddy Allen has come up short in his bid to win a second career CEBL Most Valuable Player award — and he’s not happy about it.

The league revealed its award winners Thursday, with Scarborough Shooting Stars guard Myles Powell taking home the MVP honours over Allen who was the finalist out of the Western Conference.

Powell, who was also named the Clutch Player of the Year with nine target score winners, averaged 22.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists while leading Scarborough to a historic 20-4 record.

“A dude who averaged 23 on 38 per cent. You will never see me again. Lost ya credibility,” Allen commented on Instagram.

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Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026

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2 minute read Thursday, Jul. 23, 2026

Winnipegger Botterill candidate for MVP of hockey broadcasting

Mike McIntyre 9 minute read Preview

Winnipegger Botterill candidate for MVP of hockey broadcasting

Mike McIntyre 9 minute read Sunday, May. 2, 2021

Connor McDavid has been crushing the competition. Auston Matthews has been magical. But there's another legitimate MVP candidate emerging from this unique NHL season north of the border, one who keeps bringing their "A" game night after night after night.

Take a bow, Jennifer Botterill. For my money, the Winnipegger has become appointment viewing on Sportsnet's coverage, adding to an already impressive resume which includes three Olympic gold medals from a decorated playing career that ended a decade ago. The Harvard-educated Botterill, who celebrates her 42nd birthday today, has made the transition to broadcasting look easy and is a shining star in an industry desperate for fresh faces, voices and perspectives.

"I think it's an important parallel to draw in hockey, how much it's grown and evolved for women and girls. Not every girl has to play hockey, but I love that it's a choice now. I firmly believe that it should be the same for any role within hockey, or sport. Whether it's in broadcasting or producing or as an executive in hockey," Botterill told me this week in a telephone chat from Toronto.

"I take a lot of pride in this opportunity, and hopefully it will provide other choices and opportunities for girls down the road."

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Sunday, May. 2, 2021

Wait times for MRIs getting worse in Brandon, Dauphin

Rylee Gerrard 3 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

BRANDON — Wait times for MRI scans have surged in the Prairie Mountain Health region during the last two years.

Despite a campaign promise by the NDP in September 2023 to increase the number of allied health professionals capable of administering diagnostic imaging in northern and rural areas, wait times for MRIs have increased dramatically in Brandon and Dauphin.

Median imaging wait times tripled at Dauphin Regional Health Centre between 2024 and 2026, increasing from eight to 24 weeks, according to the province’s wait time dashboard.

The Brandon Regional Health Centre median wait times for MRI scans more than doubled during the same period, from nine to 23 weeks.