Central Park (Winnipeg)

In addition to the Waddell Fountain, the park also features a four-season slide/toboggan facility, an interactive sand and water play area, an open area of artificial turf, and a wading pool and aquatic play pad.

Central Park is a highly diverse neighbourhood. There is a large Filipino, African, and Indigenous population in the neighbourhood.{{cite web |title=2011 Census and National Household Survey Data Central Park |url=https://winnipeg.ca/Census/2011/Community%20Areas/Downtown%20Neighbourhood%20Cluster/Neighbourhoods/Downtown%20East/Downtown%20East%20Neighbourhoods/Central%20Park/Central%20Park.pdf |publisher=City of Winnipeg |accessdate=29 March 2019}}

Because of the growing African population, the area has been transforming in recent years, giving it a new sense of community and culture. Its Central Market for Global Families is a summer outdoor market that sells handmade and imported African clothing, beadwork, handicrafts, weavings, art, as well as organic produce.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}}

Live entertainment fills the air in Central Park on warm Friday nights throughout the summer and are a significant aspect to the markets on Saturday. Special events attract hundreds of people to the park on World Refugee Day in June, HIV/AIDS Awareness Day in July and Central Park Revival.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}}

{{Historical populations

| title = Population history

| state = collapsed

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| percentages =

|2001|3205

|2006|3555

|2011|3765

|2016|3775

|2021|3805

| footnote = Sources:

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In 2021, the population of Central Park was 3,805 people, with a population density of 16,221.9 people per square km. Central Park is a lower-income neighbourhood, with a median household income of $34,800, compared to the city's median household income of $80,000.

17.7% of Central Park residents were of Indigenous Identity, 17.2% of Indigenous Ancestry, and 66.2% were other visible minorities. The most represented of which were Black (37.7%) and Filipino (14.8%). As of 2021, 32.0% of Central Park's population were not Canadian citizens, which was above average for the City of Winnipeg as a whole, which was 13.9%. Central Park also boasted a higher percentage of recent immigrants (18.7%) than the city as a whole (6.0%).[https://legacy.winnipeg.ca/Census/2021/Community%20Areas/Downtown%20Neighbourhood%20Cluster/Neighbourhoods/Downtown%20East/Downtown%20East%20Neighbourhoods/Central%20Park/Central%20Park.pdf], Central Park 2021 Census. Retrieved January 29, 2024

{{See also|Law, government, and crime in Winnipeg}}

Central Park has a higher crime rate than the city as a whole. In 2012, there was one homicide making the rate per 100,000 residents 28.1. For other crimes, the rates per 100,000 follow as; 2025.3 for robbery, 84.4 for sexual assaults, 534.5 for break and enters and 281.3 for auto thefts.{{Cite web|url=http://www.winnipeg.ca/crimestat/|title=Winnipeg.ca : This page has moved}}

{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2021}}

Buildings around Central Park feature a diverse range of architectural styles and densities, coexisting with various shops and services. The YMCA building, Knox United Church, Calvary Temple, and a number of area schools provide a strong institutional component for families and senior citizens. Other landmark buildings are The International Centre, Welcome Place, and Edohei, considered to be Manitoba's first sushi restaurant.

Central Park was one of Winnipeg's first four parks, then referred to as "ornamented squares and breathing areas." The land for it was purchased by the city from the Hudson's Bay Company for $20,000 in 1893.{{Cite web|last=Gruwel|first=Marieke|date=2019|title=Landscape Tour of Central Park|url=https://www.winnipegarchitecture.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/WAF_Central-Park_digital.pdf|website=Winnipeg Architecture Foundation}} The land for the park was swampy in summer and had a significant amount of unusable ground. Thousands of loads of manure and soil were brought in, which caused subsequent settling, but also was responsible for lush lawns and gardens.{{Cite web|date=April 1988|title=WADDELL FOUNTAIN CENTRAL PARK|url=https://www.winnipeg.ca/ppd/Documents/Heritage/ListHistoricalResources/Cumberland-410-long.pdf|access-date=2020-06-16|website=City of Winnipeg|publisher=City of Winnipeg Historical Buildings Committee}}

A bandstand and two tennis courts were added to the park in 1905, and an iron fence and drinking fountain were added in 1909. The Waddell fountain was added to the park in 1914. Playground equipment was added in 1936 and restrooms in 1959.

In 1985, the city closed off a section of Qu'Appelle Street, expanding the park to Ellice Avenue. The master plan was originally intended to link Central Park to the Manitoba Legislature grounds, but was abandoned at the development of North Portage and Portage Place mall from 1985 to 1987. This addition brought the park up to 4.8 acres in size.

The park was renovated between 2008 and 2012, with designs by the architecture firm Scatliff+Miller+Murray.{{Cite web|title=Central Park - Scatliff + Miller + Murray|url=http://www.scatliff.ca/central-park|access-date=2020-06-15|website=www.scatliff.ca}} The project won the 2015 Premier's Award for Design Excellence Award of Merit in Landscape Architecture.{{Cite web|title=Manitoba Association of Architects|url=https://www.mbarchitects.org/pade_awards_projects_view.php?year=2015&type_id=2&id=13&back=/pade_awards_projects.php?year=2015&winners=Y|access-date=2020-06-15|website=www.mbarchitects.org}}

The Waddell Fountain in Central Park is a rare example of the High Victorian Gothic style in Manitoba, and is based on the Scott Monument, an 1844 Gothic Revival monument in Edinburgh for Romantic poet Sir Walter Scott.

The fountain commemorates Emily Margaret Waddell, who died in 1908.{{Cite web|date=1908-01-27|title=Obituaries|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-jan-27-1908-1879549/|access-date=2020-07-25|website=Winnipeg Tribune}} Her will was written in 1904 but only discovered in 1911. In it, Emily Waddell stipulated, "in case of his marrying again, ten thousand dollars is to be expended for public fountain in Central park, Winnipeg."{{Cite news|date=1938-06-18|title=$10,000 Park Fountain Cost Of Wedded Bliss|work=Winnipeg Tribune|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-jun-18-1938-1879541/|access-date=2020-07-25}} Thomas Waddell, who did remarry, raised the money in 1914 and chose the design by local architect John Manuel.{{Cite web|title=EXPLORE CENTRAL PARK!|url=https://www.winnipegarchitecture.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/WAF_Explore-Central-Park_EN_Flat.pdf|access-date=2020-06-15|website=Winnipeg Architecture Foundation}} Manuel also designed structures at the University of Manitoba, and would later move to Alberta in 1927 to oversee construction of Canadian Pacific Railway hotels in Banff and Lake Louise.{{Cite web|title=Memorable Manitobans: John Manuel (1879-1933)|url=http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/people/manuel_j.shtml|access-date=2020-06-16|website=www.mhs.mb.ca}}

The fountain was completed by William Penn Stone Company of Minneapolis in 1914 for a cost of $9,722.19, and consisted of white stone on a granite base with a concrete basement to house the water pump.

In 1988, the fountain was declared a historical site. By 1992, it was falling badly into disrepair.{{Cite news|last=Bridge|first=Bonnie|date=1992-01-28|title=Officials debate water fountain's fate|work=Winnipeg Free Press|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-jan-28-1992-1879567/|access-date=2020-07-25}}

The fountain was dismantled and fixed offsite in 2010 to facilitate needed repairs. The 2010 restoration project won the Heritage Winnipeg Preservation Award.{{Cite web|title=Manitoba Organization: Heritage Winnipeg|url=http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/organization/heritagewinnipeg.shtml|access-date=2020-06-16|website=www.mhs.mb.ca}}

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/features/urbanmyths/centralpark.html CBC features on Central Park]

{{Manitoba parks}}{{WinnipegNeighbourhoods}}

{{coord|49.896|N|97.1485|W|scale:10000|display=title}}

• [http://www.incontextvideos.com/winnipeg.html In-Context Video Documentary on Central Park]

Category:Parks in Winnipeg

Category:Tourist attractions in Winnipeg

Central_Park