On the day that Friends of Upper Fort Garry (FUFG) were to take possession of two parcels of surplus city land adjoining the Upper Fort Garry gate, the province of Manitoba and the FUFG have announced that the Friends have also arranged to purchase the gas station that sits immediately beside the current Gate’s park. This was, in my opinion, the worst eye-sore of the sight. To those who support the FUFG, this is great news. There may be a backlash to it (I’ll try to keep my eyes peeled) but for the site and the plans they have for it, it is for the best. Here is the story:

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/breakingnews/Gas-sation-site-to-be–46627907.html

http://winnipeg.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090601/wpg_fort_garry_gas_090601/20090601/?hub=WinnipegHome

- - - - JGM

As I suspected, the plan to turn the Upper Fort Garry site into a heritage park passed its final stage in Winnipeg city council. Here is the brief story by the Free Press:

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Plan-to-create-a-heritage-park-at-the-site-of-Winnipegs-birthplace-has-cleared-its-final-hurdle-46259312.html

The Friends of Upper Fort Garry (FUFG), the group who has spearheaded this campaign, has done the fundraising, and will, presumably, oversee the creation of the park, will gain possession June 1, 2009. Hopefully (I stress hopefully) the work starts ASAP and continues. I will be watching this very carefully, as I know many Winnipegers (those for and against this planned park) will be.

- - JGM

Here is the latest in the Upper Fort Garry story (bottom of the page), this time from CBC. There is also a brief discussion of the events the site has been witness to. There is, however, an error in how much the Friends of Upper Fort Garry (FUFG) - not $3.5 million. According to a Winnipeg City Council report from 4 May 2009, the FUFG have in fact raised $10.3 out of the estimated $12.5 million they estimate will be needed for the site. The $3.5 million was from public donations; the rest was gathered through fundraising and private donors.

Also, I wouldn’t bother visiting the http://www.upperfortgarry.com/ website, however; as “Chekov” of the blog Anybody-Want-A-Peanut notes, the site has not been updated for a long time (March 2008 I think; the copyright has not even been changed to 2009) and offers nothing new.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2009/05/21/mb-fort-garry-winnipeg.html

- - JGM

Some of you may remember a year ago when I was slapping away on my keyboard about the fate of Upper Fort Garry (UFG), a local fort here in Winnipeg, Manitoba, that started as a fur trade fort and has been called the birthplace of Manitoba. It was the last in a series of fur trade forts in the area (including Fort Rouge, Fort Gibraltar, and the original Fort Garry). Also, about 20 miles north of UFG is another fort, Lower Fort Garry, now a national park.

Well, after a long time of silence (in which I was beginning to fear the Friends of Upper Fort Garry (FUFG) had forgotten the fort…) there has finally been another break through. The city had set a few circumstances for which the FUFG had to meet before they would get the land, and they have done it. As of June 1, the land will belong to the FUFG and they will be able to commence on their preliminary environmental and archaeological tests on the site.

For those of you outside Winnipeg - and even some of you inside - and do not know too much about UFG, all that remains of it is the gate. For a number of reasons - a big reason being the straightening of Main Street - most of the fort was torn down in the late 19th century as  Winnipeg experienced a building and population boom. There was a group of citizens who fought hard for the gate to remain, much as there were a group of citizens who fought recently for the gate’s surrounding. That is what this whole debacle was about - not the existence of the gate, which was guaranteed, but its surrounding. Currently it is surrounded by busy Main Street on its east, a gas station and the Manitoba Club on its north, the beautiful (and dwarfing) Hotel Fort Garry on its west, and a civic building on its south. The lot itself is very very small.

See if you can find it on this Google Maps clip: See here. Hint: It is near the corner of Broadway and Main.

If you can’t find it, look again here (it is letter F): See here.

Needless to say, that is no way place for an historic site like that, in my opinion. What was planned was to build a highrise condo right on its border, if I am right, within a meter of its land. But now the Fort, I think, has been given a breath of life that it hasn’t felt for over a century. Not only will the site be preserved, it will be expanded to the south. The civic building to the south (and a curling club beside it) will be torn down and the site expanded. There have been a number of proposed plans, but from what I can gather it is going to be a partial reconstruction of the site with a number of interpretive stations. Also, one of the bastions is going to be rebuilt as a stage for performers. All in all, I think this is great for Winnipeg. It is right across from the Forks and in an area that needs rejuvenation. I have no doubt that a highrise condo would have helped ‘clean’ up the area, but so will this; also, it will be for all Winnipegers and others to share in.

Read the latest here:

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/city-to-ok-upper-fort-garry-takeover-44126182.html

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/heritage-park-deal-nearly-done-42948972.html

– JGM

I am interested in trying to get an idea of how many Canadian members of Site O are out there and that visit this site. I would like to get an idea of who our members are and what parts of Canada they are from. Perhaps if there is enough interest we can put together a regularly released newsletter detailing information related to Canadian fortifications, tours, information on recent publications, etc. Please send me an email at jgmalek’at’gmail.com giving your name, place of living, how long you have been a member, etc., or (to make it much easier) just your Site O Member number. I would love to hear from all my fellow Canadian Site O members and see what sorts of things we can do to strengthen the regional community.

– JGM, jgmalek’at’gmail.com