Stepping through one of the many decorative entrances into The Bay in downtown Winnipeg on the corner of Portage and Memorial is akin to stepping into a time machine, simply wipe away the new fashions lining the aisles and search out the details, the ornate clocks, the brass plates with their intricate lettering, the marble columns and molded plaster. Ride the narrow and somewhat bumpy escalators take a ride in the original 1926 elevators (I really hope those have been updated in the past 76 years) and see what was once and still is one of the grandest buildings in Winnipeg.
True the vernier may have faded, the glass may not sparkle in quite the way it did on it's opening day on November 18th, 1926, the floors may be chipped and cracked the amenities and architecture now quaint and out of date but once it was beautiful and state of the art.
Not only was it the first building in Canada to have a fully automated sprinkler system, but it also housed the deepest well in Canada and the largest cold fur storage in western Canada. The well provided water for store operations as well as supplying the 3 massive boilers which provided for a huge power station allowing the building to run completely independent of the city's main grid. It also had a massive air conditioning system and large refrigeration units for food available for the restaurants and retail sale. All this was controlled by a single "big board" in the chief engineers offices.
It was 6 floors of shopping including a restaurant, cafeteria, liquor store, grocers, furniture, clothing, public phones, a beauty parlor, an auditorium (complete with it's own orchestra), a post office and even a library.
It also housed 2 banks of elevators which opened on the main floor to an oblong lobby graced by not one but two of these lovely murals. The second bank of elevator cars was at some point removed (no idea when) leaving the 6 you see here although if you look up you can still see along the roof where the others once stood.
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| Mural at Downtown Winnipeg Bay Store (poorly put together) "The Pioneer" at Fort Garry, Circa 1861 |
