Hudson’s Bay Boarded Up

Winnipeg has lots of lovely old buildings, but it seems like more and more of them are disappearing. I often see a hole along a street and then can’t remember what was there before. I feel sad when an old building is shuttered, even if it has historic status and won’t be torn down, like the downtown Hudson’s Bay store, seen in better days above. And as seen below, through a shattered window at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, one day a few years ago.

When I heard the windows of The Bay had been boarded up, because they didn’t want the them to be broken, I wanted to take a look. I wandered over there, with a friend, and took some photos. 

The plywood was fresh and neatly fitted to the display windows and the doors, but hopefully, by the time you’re looking at this, an arts organization will have added some art to brighten it up.

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You could see some of the old brass hardware, with its blueish patina, between the boards.

Below is the corner door I often ducked into to get out of bad weather, be it too hot or too cold, when I was a student walking home from university.

There’s lots of talk about what will be done with the iconic building. I hope it’s something useful and meaningful. Maybe something involving the Indigenous Peoples who were impacted by colonialism that involved the fur trade and the Hudson’s Bay company. 

And, by the way, my book is out and now available worldwide in/through your local bookstores or from https://atbaypress.com/books/detail/glass-bricks.

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