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The communities which made up Winnipeg's North End were Winnipeg's most diverse, socially, economically, and ethnically.
The northern part, often called St. John's, was more prosperous than the southern part. It was home to the Anglican Cathedral of St. John's, from which the area got its name. The slender streets were lined with modest wood-frame houses that were squeezed onto narrow 25 foot lots. Although the neighbourhood was ethnically very diverse, many of the residents of this neighbourhood were of British and Anglo-Canadian extraction, skilled tradesmen and labourers in the employ of the CPR. The defining characteristic of this neighbourhood was its proximity to the Weston Yards, where the railway employed more than 5,000 people. With limited streetcar service and automobiles far beyond the reach of most working families, housing within walking distance of the workplace was critical.
The southern part, the land immediately to the north of the CPR Weston Yards was contained some of Winnipeg's poorest neighbourhoods. Called New Jerusalem, Babel, and Little Europe, this was Winnipeg's most diverse neighbourhood. More then three quarters of Winnipeg's Jewish and Slavic population lived within a few blocks of Selkirk Avenue, the area's commercial street. The diversity of the neighbourhood was reflected in the diversity of the commercial enterprises. Businesses like butcher shops, grocery stores, banks and loan offices, realtors and meeting halls displayed signs in all languages, and each catered to a specific ethnic community. Newspapers were available in Ukrainian, Hebrew, Finnish, Polish and German, and each nationality could claim at least one meeting hall, fraternal organization or benevolent society.
The neighbourhood also contained a number of institutions committed to providing aid and promoting English-Canadian values. Methodist Missions like J.S. Woodsworth's All Peoples' Mission on Stella Avenue were joined by any number of institutions offering everything from direct charity to religious instruction, health care counselling and English lessons.
The slum condition of the tenement housing in which many residents of this community occupied reflected the lack of a real living wage for many immigrants. In many cases, the outside size of houses gave little indication of the cramped apartments inside, as many of the houses were subdivided. Often this subdivision was very haphazard, with limited sanitary accommodations and running water. The portable stoves on which many families cooked posed a constant risk of fire.
TimeLinks Characters: Rose Gunn is married to a Jewish tailor who operates a shop in the North End. Tommy Doer, an apprentice mechanic, lives with his family in St. John's.
Page revised: 29 August 2009
