.jpg)
Heritage Winnipeg is preparing to showcase the hidden mysteries and stories of Winnipeg’s historic streets and buildings with its annual Doors Open Winnipeg in the coming days. The event provides an avenue for Winnipeggers to get in touch with the city that was and provide a new perspective on the infrastructure that still plays a vital part of Winnipeg’s infrastructure.
“It really is a way to discover the entire city,” says Cindy Tugwell, executive director of Heritage Winnipeg.
The tours, which take place on May 24 and 25, showcase not only the history of Winnipeg’s buildings, but how they have adapted to the city’s needs. Tugwell highlights fire halls converted into museums and the Millennium Centre on Main Street that has departed from its banking history to being an event centre.
“That’s what I love about this Doors Open,” says Tugwell. “You see buildings that have been rehabilitated that could have been lost. You see buildings that have changed over time for usage to evolve with social change. It’s a window into ongoing history, not just the past.”
The event, which will take place for the twenty-second time this year, will feature familiar sites such as the ever-popular Vaughan Street Jail site, but also some new tour opportunities. Tugwell spotlights the base of the Royal Canadian Air Force’s 17 Wing, which will be celebrating its centennial anniversary in 2025.
“This is a window, a very rare window, to participate in various activities on the base,” says Tugwell, “whether it’s a bus tour, whether it’s interaction with various buildings and facilities and the bands and what they do.”
Tugwell also observes that as the city’s infrastructure changes with updates to the Portage and Main intersection and heritage buildings always under threat of planned or unplanned destruction, the Doors Open Winnipeg events help people to become more invested in the preservation of heritage structures. “What I’ve seen over the years is that Doors Open gives an educational experience,” she explains. “It’s wonderful entertainment, but it’s also education. So, we get a lot more support from the public, understanding why we protect these buildings, why they’re important to Winnipeg’s history, and that support goes a long way when we have to advocate to City Hall why we want to see this buliding protected.”
The city’s evolution around its history has allowed Doors Open Winnipeg to update its perspectives on history to look at the city through perspectives beyond the typical colonial lens. “We’re just starting collectively to understand that social connectivity across Canada and it’s quite empowering,” Tugwell notes.
To learn more about the tours with Doors Open Winnipeg and to register, people are encouraged to visit their website.
