Ghosts of Christmas past: Historical photos illuminate Winnipeg's festive season
Winnipeg's styles — vehicles, clothing, architecture — have changed over the years, but one thing that has run strong and constant throughout that evolution is its Christmas spirit.
Before-and-after photos show Christmas in Winnipeg through the years
Winnipeg's styles — vehicles, clothing, architecture — have changed over the years, but one thing that has run strong and constant throughout that evolution is its Christmas spirit.
The bright displays sparkling with tens of thousands of lights, particularly along Portage Avenue, have helped the city earn a reputation as the Christmas capital of Canada.
CBC Winnipeg spent time in the city's archives, finding images to bring the past to light — from the old gingerbread city hall and the Mile of Lights along Portage, to the giant candy canes that circled the Hudson's Bay department store and the Mad Men-esque clothes of the shoppers in Eaton's.
Have a stroll down memory lane from the 1930s through the '60s and '80s and into current day.
Start with these before-and-after photos then enjoy a selection of images from bygone days.
PHOTOS from Christmases past in Winnipeg
There's a romanticism about historical photos of Winnipeg, particularly the black-and-white images where the lights flare into blurry halos, reflecting off wet roads and the curves of 1930s coupes and sedans.
Those old Chevys and Model A Fords, angle parked along Portage Avenue, look ready to roar away in a prohibition-era mob chase.
It's a time of jazz and a booming city that became known as the Chicago of the North.
Then there's the Mad Men era of long coats, high hairdos and crisp fedoras, when department stores — decorated with oversized snowflakes and candy canes — were crowded with Christmas shoppers and gleaming display counters.
Winnipeg still lights up well at Christmas time with trumpets and stars on the street lamps, but the main avenue isn't lined with colourful trees anymore or a canopy of string lights. Instead, metal poles hold up displays shaped out of rope lights.
Gone are the window displays at Hudson's Bay and Eaton's. Well, Eaton's itself is gone. Many of the old buildings have long since been torn down — like the old gingerbread city hall and the Prairie Cities service station.
But many still do exist with different names, different facades. Winnipeg's history is still there, if somewhat hidden.
A festive Prairie Cities service station welcomes drivers in downtown Winnipeg in 1937. This is the southwest corner of Fort Street and Graham Avenue. Going there now will get you a double-double at the street-level Tim Hortons in the Cargill Building. (City of Winnipeg Archives)
A postcard, circa 1950, featured this photo of the Christmas lights along Portage Avenue, looking west from Main Street. The caption on the postcard states: "A brilliantly lit avenue of lights, Portage Avenue at night, looking westward from the heart of the city. Often referred to as the widest street in the world, it measures 132 feet from building to building." (Kenmont of Winnipeg/Manitoba Archives)
The Toronto General Trust Building, at the corner of Portage Avenue and Smith Street, decorated for Christmas in 1931. The Marlborough Hotel can be seen in the background to the right. Both buildings still stand today with the trust building now called the Sterling Building. (Peter McAdam Collection/Manitoba Archives)
The Hudson's Bay in downtown Winnipeg was always a seasonal sight with windows decorated and garland strung along the Portage Avenue side. This shot was taken in 1931 before the sidewalk overhang was added. (Peter McAdam collection/Manitoba Archives)
Winnipeg's old city hall, affectionately known as the gingerbread city hall, symbolized Winnipeg's coming of age at the end of the nineteenth century. It was completed in 1886 in Victorian grandeur but structural issues spelled its end in 1962 when it was demolished. (City of Winnipeg Archives)
Portage Avenue, seen here in 1935, was also known as the Mile of Light for its multiple strings of bulbs across the road. (Peter McAdam collection/Manitoba Archives)
Christmas trees and candy canes decorate the sidewalk overhang of the Hudson's Bay in this 1961 photo of Portage Avenue and Memorial Boulevard. (University of Manitoba Winnipeg Building Index)
Eaton's shoppers stroll among the Christmas decorations in 1961. (University of Manitoba Winnipeg Building Index)
Shoppers fill Eaton's at Christmas in 1961. (University of Manitoba Winnipeg Building Index)
People walk along the Memorial Boulevard side of Hudson's Bay during the Christmas season in 1961. (University of Manitoba Winnipeg Building Index)
A view of Main Street, looking south, from in front of Winnipeg city hall. Year unknown. (City of Winnipeg Archives)
Winnipeg City Hall's council building, seen in 1986. The new, and current, city hall was completed in 1964, replacing the gingerbread city hall. (City of Winnipeg Archives)
