Elmwood, Manitoba
Encyclopedia
Elmwood is a primarily working class
residential area of Winnipeg
, Manitoba
. It got its name from the Elmwood Cemetery which opened in 1902, prior to this the area was known as the Louise Bridge District or Kildonan Village. The area is bordered by the lane between Harbison and Larsen Avenues on the North, Panet Road on the East, Thomas and Tyne Avenues and the Canadian Pacific Railway
mainline on the South, and the Red River
on the west.
It was once the southern part of the Municipality of Kildonan and began to develop shortly after the Louise Bridge was opened in 1881. It was annexed into the City of Winnipeg in 1906 after a petition by the residents who wanted city services in their rapidly developing neighbourhood. It was originally a separate ward of Winnipeg, Ward Seven, but later on it was joined in and largely overshadowed by the North End as part of Ward Three. Until the 1950s, Elmwood was one of the most industrialized areas of Winnipeg and had a large meat packing plant, a furniture manufacturer, and a box factory amongst other operations. All of these operations have now closed and the area is now almost completely de-industrialized. Since the advent of Unicity
in 1971, Elmwood is often lumped in with East Kildonan, to the ire of residents of East Kildonan, which was once a separate city.
Elmwood has about 14,000 residents, a decline of about 5,000 since 1971. The average household income is about 75% of the Winnipeg average. (Source City of Winnipeg - Neighbourhood Profiles). It includes the areas of Glenelm, which is more affluent and lies west of Henderson Highway, most of Chalmers, Talbot-Grey, and East Elmwood, which was developed primarily in the 1950s. Elmwood is mostly composed of single family residential homes of varying qualities, though there are numerous low-rise apartment blocks, townhouses, and two high rise apartment complexes, which are both social housing projects.
Henderson Highway, Nairn Avenue, and Talbot Avenue are the main streets of the neighbourhood. The Henderson Highway portion of Elmwood has fairly concentrated commercial development.
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
residential area of Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
. It got its name from the Elmwood Cemetery which opened in 1902, prior to this the area was known as the Louise Bridge District or Kildonan Village. The area is bordered by the lane between Harbison and Larsen Avenues on the North, Panet Road on the East, Thomas and Tyne Avenues and the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
mainline on the South, and the Red River
Red River of the North
The Red River is a North American river. Originating at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers in the United States, it flows northward through the Red River Valley and forms the border between the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota before continuing into Manitoba, Canada...
on the west.
It was once the southern part of the Municipality of Kildonan and began to develop shortly after the Louise Bridge was opened in 1881. It was annexed into the City of Winnipeg in 1906 after a petition by the residents who wanted city services in their rapidly developing neighbourhood. It was originally a separate ward of Winnipeg, Ward Seven, but later on it was joined in and largely overshadowed by the North End as part of Ward Three. Until the 1950s, Elmwood was one of the most industrialized areas of Winnipeg and had a large meat packing plant, a furniture manufacturer, and a box factory amongst other operations. All of these operations have now closed and the area is now almost completely de-industrialized. Since the advent of Unicity
Unicity
The term Unicity refers to reforms in the structure of the metropolitan government of Winnipeg in 1972. Unicity, an ambitious experiment in local government reform, established the City of Winnipeg as one unified city; until that point, the greater Winnipeg area had been composed of several...
in 1971, Elmwood is often lumped in with East Kildonan, to the ire of residents of East Kildonan, which was once a separate city.
Elmwood has about 14,000 residents, a decline of about 5,000 since 1971. The average household income is about 75% of the Winnipeg average. (Source City of Winnipeg - Neighbourhood Profiles). It includes the areas of Glenelm, which is more affluent and lies west of Henderson Highway, most of Chalmers, Talbot-Grey, and East Elmwood, which was developed primarily in the 1950s. Elmwood is mostly composed of single family residential homes of varying qualities, though there are numerous low-rise apartment blocks, townhouses, and two high rise apartment complexes, which are both social housing projects.
Henderson Highway, Nairn Avenue, and Talbot Avenue are the main streets of the neighbourhood. The Henderson Highway portion of Elmwood has fairly concentrated commercial development.