Misplaced Pages

#175824

24-463: It has five levels including indoor parking for 729 vehicles, and three levels of various meeting trade show space totalling 260,000 square feet (24,000 m). The main exhibit hall has 131,000 square feet (12,200 m) of pillar-less space. The convention centre is connected to the Winnipeg Walkway system via a skywalk connection crossing St. Mary Avenue and Hargrave Street, connecting

48-584: A sports venue and was home to the Winnipeg Cyclone basketball team from 1995 to 2001. A $ 180-million expansion, completed between 2012 and 2015, roughly doubled the size of the facility, adding 131,000 square feet (12,200 m) of exhibit space and underground parking. In July 2013, the facility was rebranded as the RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg after its naming rights were purchased by Royal Bank of Canada . By 2017

72-492: Is a 9-block transit mall in downtown Winnipeg that is mostly reserved for Winnipeg Transit buses, as well as cyclists and pedestrians . Having been in the planning stages since the 1970s, Graham Mall was completed in 1995. Today, the Mall sees 1,800 buses and 100,000 transit users every day. It is built mostly of highway-grade concrete and features cobblestone brick at all intersections. Funding and construction of

96-598: Is a network of pedestrian skyways and tunnels connecting a significant portion of downtown Winnipeg , Manitoba . The City of Winnipeg described the Walkway as a system of 14 skyways and 7 tunnels connecting 38 buildings and allowing for a maximum protected walk of 2 km. The system also provides year-round climate-controlled access to over 170,000 m (42 acres) of space, including over 200 shops and businesses, 10 office complexes, 60 restaurants and snack bars, 700 apartment units, 2 hotels, 11 financial centres, and

120-527: Is a residential and commercial complex consisting of the Convention Centre and the various buildings of Lakeview Square . A network of pedestrian tunnels and skyways connects the following buildings, from east to west: The Convention Centre is connected by skyways to both 185 and 155 Carlton Street. The Lakeview Square development forms a 'U' around an open central courtyard which faces the Convention Centre across Carlton Street. In addition to

144-619: Is one atop each end, and there is currently a plan for an office and hotel tower to be built on the western pad. The Saint Mary Skywalk is both the smallest, and the most tenuously-linked segment of the Winnipeg Walkway System. Its only connection to the network is via the parkade of The Bay department store. Beginning from The Bay parkade eastward, the Saint Mary Skywalk connects two buildings between Vaughan and Edmonton Street: The western segment of

168-482: The Winnipeg Millennium Library , bringing together 21,000 employees. The walkway system has expanded since its initial construction. The Walkway is subdivided into four interconnected segments: its skyways chiefly cover Portage , Graham , and St. Mary Avenues; and its underground section includes Winnipeg Square and the underground Portage and Main concourse. It is open every day of

192-1069: The "Signatures Handmade Market", the Mid-Canada Boat Show, the Manitoba RV Show and Sale, the Winnipeg Career Fair, the Home & Garden Show (formerly Home Expression Show), the Winnipeg Comicon Show, a Wedding Show. In the 1970s it was the host venue for the Progressive Conservative (1976) and the Liberal (June 1984?) leadership conventions. The WCC was the site of the January 1983 PC party convention where Joe Clark decided to step down as leader. All provincial leadership conventions, except recent NDP, since 1975 have been held at

216-502: The Graham Avenue Transit Mall began in 1994, and after two years (1994-95) opened in the summer of 1995. In recent years, road work around the mall has begun to degrade and is in need of serious maintenance work on concrete and cobblestones to keep the roadway smooth. In December 2018, due to safety concerns, including the killing of 58-year-old bus driver Irvine Fraser by a passenger, a Transit Inspector Station

240-565: The Power Building on the south side of Portage Avenue. Via an open-air connection through the covered parkade of The Bay, the network reaches further south, providing access to the Saint Mary Skywalk. More specifically, from east to west, the Portage Skywalk links the following: As was the case with the construction of Winnipeg Square , structural pads were built atop Portage Place to allow for future upward expansion. There

264-644: The Saint Mary Skywalk ends at 400 Saint Mary Avenue; however, it continues again from the RBC Convention Centre , whose entrance faces Edmonton Street, and connects into the Graham Skywalk via Cityplace . The connection between the pre-existing Convention Centre walkway system and the Winnipeg Walkway system was completed in 2010. On the two blocks bordered by Edmonton Street, Saint Mary Avenue, York Avenue, and Hargrave Street

SECTION 10

#1732772925176

288-549: The Winnipeg Convention Centre. The convention centre has hosted pop culture events such as the anime convention Ai-Kon , Central Canada Comic Con until 2019, and its spiritual successor Winnipeg Comiccon since 2021. It hosted Pemmi-Con—the 15th North American Science Fiction Convention —in 2023. Winnipeg Walkway The Winnipeg Walkway System , also known as the Winnipeg Skywalk ,

312-638: The Winnipeg Walkway, is another smaller enclosed pedestrian network in downtown Winnipeg that is not currently connected to the principal Walkway network. Another series of interconnected buildings straddle Main Street, approximately 1 km north of Portage and Main . On the west side of Main Street is the Winnipeg Civic Centre and on the east side is the Manitoba Centennial Centre . This pedestrian network's tunnels link

336-560: The announcing press conference. Originally named the Winnipeg Convention Centre, the publicly-owned facility was built and opened in 1975. The building, designed by Canadian architect Isadore (Issie) Coop , of the Number Ten Architectural Group, was among the first "purpose-built" convention centre of its kind built in Canada. Aside from trade shows and conventions, the Convention Centre has also been used as

360-451: The annual visitor count to the Winnipeg Convention Centre had increased by about 50,000 to 557,000 which was directly related to the WCC expansion. Beginning in January 2021, the facility began operating as a "super site" for COVID-19 vaccinations. The Winnipeg Convention Centre hosts regularly scheduled annual events such as a New Years' Eve dinner and dance, a Christmas crafts show known as

384-751: The following public buildings: Unlike the Convention Centre pedestrian network, creating a pedestrian link between the Civic Centre and the principal Winnipeg Walkway System is unlikely in the foreseeable future. Not only is the distance great between the Main Underground and the Civic Centre, but any connection between the two would require sensitive tunneling underneath turn-of-the-century heritage buildings over several blocks. 49°53′44″N 97°08′19″W  /  49.89556°N 97.13861°W  / 49.89556; -97.13861 Graham Avenue Transit Mall The Graham Avenue Transit Mall

408-428: The following: The Canada Life Centre can be said to be a major hub in the Winnipeg Walkway network as it connects the Graham Skywalk to the Portage Skywalk. The Portage Skywalk segment of the Winnipeg Walkway boasts many of the shopping and entertainment attractions most often associated with downtown Winnipeg . An extensive network of skyways and second-floor pedestrian rights-of-way connects various buildings on

432-454: The intersection of Graham Avenue and Fort Street, there are escalator, lift and stairway connections to the second floor of 200 Graham Avenue, thereby connecting the Main Underground to the Graham Skywalk. There are several structural pads atop Winnipeg Square, with 360 Main and 300 Main built upon them. Construction of the 42-story residential tower at 300 Main Street began in Fall 2018, and

456-438: The network is centred underneath the historic intersection of Portage and Main . At street level, this intersection is closed to pedestrians; it is not (legally) possible to cross it without going underground. On a much smaller scale, this segment is somewhat reminiscent of Montreal's Underground City . Via a network of tunnels, the Main Underground connects the following: At the southwestern corner of Winnipeg Square , near

480-511: The south side of Portage Avenue , with the three-block Portage Place shopping and entertainment complex between Carlton and Vaughan Street on the north side. Several neighbouring residential, recreational and commercial buildings, including the One Canada Centre tower between Vaughan and Colony Street, are directly connected to Portage Place. At the western edge of Portage Place there is a skyway link to The Bay department store and

504-571: The venue to the neighbouring Delta hotel, Cityplace , and Canada Life Centre . The convention centre was recommended as part of the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg (Metro) Downtown Development Plan of 1969. Metro and the Province of Manitoba announced the $ 35-million Winnipeg Convention Centre on 10 September 1970. Always in opposition to metropolitan government, Mayor of Winnipeg Stephen Juba did not attend

SECTION 20

#1732772925176

528-596: The week, typically from 07:00 AM to 12:30 AM, though some individual building hours vary. Beginning in 2004, in anticipation of the openings of the MTS Centre and Millennium Library , a new unified system of signage was developed for the entire network to assist wayfinding therein. This process brought with it the branding of the system as the Winnipeg Walkway and the subdivision of the network into four interconnected segments. The Main Underground portion of

552-492: Was completed in 2021, making it Winnipeg's tallest building. The Graham Skywalk consists of a series of skyways connecting the buildings on the south side of Graham Avenue, between Main and Hargrave Street, as well as the Canada Life Centre (the former site of the historic Eaton's store) and the former Eaton's power station on the north side. From east to west, this portion of the network provides access to

576-733: Was constructed at Graham Avenue and Fort Street. As part of CentrePlan 2050, which aims to get more people living and visiting Downtown, bus service will move off of Graham Avenue starting June 29, 2025 with the launch of the Primary Transit Network. Several options of how to use the space were proposed by the city for public engagement, with varying levels of emphasis on uses like greenspace, recreation, and celebration, however many survey respondents indicated that public transportation should remain on Graham Avenue to make working and visiting Downtown faster and easier. The following are current bus routes operating on all or part of

#175824