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Historic Sites of Manitoba: Polo Park Racetrack / Polo Park Shopping Centre (Portage Avenue, Winnipeg)
This six-furlong (three-quarters of a mile) horse racing track in Winnipeg was established in 1925. The facility included a two-storey, clubhouse and grandstands with a capacity to hold 4,000 people. They were designed by the local architectural firm of Pratt and Ross and built by the Northern Construction Company at a cost of about $150,000.
Replaced by Assiniboia Downs, in the late 1950s the site was developed into a shopping mall by the architectural firm of Green Blankstein Russell. An arena and stadium adjacent to the mall were developed in the early 1950s. On 6 May 1959, Simpson-Sears (later known only as Sears) opened as the anchor store in the mall. Sears closed in 2017.
Aerial view of Polo Park Shopping Centre (early 1960s)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2019-0050
Aerial view of Polo Park Shopping Centre (early 1960s)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2022-0084
Entrance to Sears in the Polo Park Shopping Centre (October 2017)
Source: George Penner
The former Sears store in the Polo Park Shopping Centre (January 2020)
Source: George PennerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.88247, W97.19900
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Manitoba Business: Pratt and Ross
Horse Racing at River Park by Harry Rudd, edited by A. S. Lussier
Manitoba Pageant, Volume 24, Number 2, Winter 1979Manitoba Business: Winnipeg Enterprises Corporation
Sources:
“Tenders close for race track,” Winnipeg Tribune, 10 March 1925, page 1.
“Contract let for new Polo Racing Track,” Winnipeg Tribune, 14 March 1925, page 1.
“Permit taken out for new local race track,” Winnipeg Tribune, 28 April 1925, page 5.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and George Penner.
Page revised: 8 May 2023
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