Winnipeg Exchange District

Winnipeg was the gateway to the west and grew explosively between 1880 and 1913, building warehouses, banks and exchange buildings in terracotta, brick and cut stone across about twenty blocks. Then the Panama Canal opened in 1914 and shipping bypassed the prairie rail route; the boom stopped, and because there was no later pressure to redevelop, the district survived largely intact. It is a National Historic Site and one of the best-preserved turn-of-century commercial districts in North America, which is why film crews use it as a stand-in for Chicago and New York. The 1919 general strike centred on these streets.

What you actually see

• The warehouse blocks - twenty blocks of 1880 to 1913 commercial buildings.
• The terracotta and stone facades - bank and exchange fronts from the boom.
• The film locations - streets regularly dressed as period American cities.
• The 1919 strike sites - where the general strike and Bloody Saturday happened.

When to go

May to September for walking tours and the Fringe Festival in July, which fills the district. The buildings are visible year-round but Winnipeg winters make walking tours hard.

Honest expectations

Parts of the district are still underused with vacant buildings. Some streets feel rough at night. Winter walking here is genuinely uncomfortable.

Nearby

The Forks lies south; Saint-Boniface is across the Red River.