Night at the Manitoba Museum: what was life like in Winnipeg in 1920?

CityNews’ visit of the Manitoba Museum continues by stepping a century into the past.

A favourite of visitors at the museum, “Winnipeg 1920” explores what it was like to live in what was then Canada’s third largest city.

The gallery underwent major changes about five years ago, and now showcases more of Winnipeg’s diversity in the 1920s.

WINNIPEG 1920

So how exactly was life in Winnipeg in that era? Between grabbing a malt at the Strathcona Restaurant, heading to work at the Tribune or going to the pictures, the museum’s curator of history Dr. Roland Sawatzky takes CityNews down memory lane.

“We’re sitting in the Allen Theatre, which was built in 1920, downtown Winnipeg. The original Allen Theatre is The Met, which you know, is right across from the hockey arena,” Sawatzky explained. “It’s been reconstructed here. This was done in 1974 and it’s been showing classics ever since, to the great delight of our visitors.

“But now, we have a new film in here as well … called ‘The Romance of the Far Fur Country.’ We’re really happy to have that here. That was done by the HBC in 1920, it was premiered in the Allen Theatre, so we thought it was a good fit.”

While 1920 may feel like a long time ago – and it is – Sawatzky says there are many similarities between life then and now.

“They’re our ancestors in some cases, they are human beings who had to go to work and they have families,” Sawatzky said. “So a lot of the same issues that we have now. When I was doing research to do some of the renovations of this space, I was looking at news items and headlines from 1920s newspapers. And I saw a lot of the same issues. You know, concerns about what was happening overseas. Concerns about vaccinations after the 1918 pandemic. Robbery, theft, the usual suspects, things you hear about all the time. So there’s a lot in common.

“Now of course, a lot has changed, too. Then, we got our news exclusively from newspapers. And now it’s from many, many different sources. But a lot of the titles and even the headlines are very, very similar.”

Sawatzky believes the immersive aspect of the Winnipeg 1920 exhibit is what makes it such a fan favourite for Manitobans and visitors alike.

“You walk in and everything is open to you to explore. It’s exploratory,” he said. “Every time you turn a corner you see something. And then it’s multiple visits, too. So people keep coming back and they keep finding new things ’cause there’s thousands of artifacts and stories in here.

“I think it’s multi-generational as well. So now, grandparents are taking their grandkids here and they can talk about the same experience. And that’s a lot of fun, too. So we hear a lot of families talking and laughing in here.”

Old videos of Portage Avenue playing on a projector screen show people riding horses and no traffic signals.

“And somebody had the bright idea of putting the camera on top of their car, and then filming the traffic. And it’s fantastic, and you recognize a lot of the buildings,” Sawatzky said.

Also appearing on the video is Colclough & Co. Drug Store.

“This was on Notre Dame Avenue,” the curator of history explained. “We have a mannequin here, she’s Hattie Colclough, who was one of the first female graduates of the Manitoba College of Pharmacy. She managed this drug store with her husband for over 30 years.”

In a medicine cabinet are 1920s remedies: syrup of figs laxative, extract of malt, Fellows’ Syrup and more.

“And there weren’t a lot of regulations around medication at the time, so people just did whatever they want and tried to sell what they could. And then finally the regulations came in and said, look. A lot of this is not good for you, especially the stuff with opiates or cocaine.”

The Winnipeg 1920 exhibit also has a photography department.

“These are the cameras of 1920 and earlier, and it was after about 1890 that photography became something that regular people could enjoy and do themselves. And by the 1920s, it was a real important hobby for a lot of people and a business for some people as well.”

And a little further down is the A & M Hurtig Furrier Shop, where one can find hand muffs, beaver hat, a stole (something worn around the neck, often made with whole animals), and even a full cape.

“They had a furrier shop on Portage Avenue, where they would make the furs, so we have this sort of invisible wall so you could see the back room where they were making fur coats and such. And then, you had a front room where you would of course display and sell.

“The Hurtigs were Adolph and Max Hurtig, they were Jewish immigrants from Romania. And they started their business in 1908. By 1920 it was doing very well, and then by the 1930s, it was actually the centre of a labour dispute between a furrier’s union and the owners. So there was all this press about this labour dispute, not just here but throughout Winnipeg.

“It was eventually resolved when World War II started, and there was a huge demand for their products and so everybody was getting paid.”

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WATCH: CityNews Connect: A Night at the Manitoba Museum

Among Dr. Sawatzky’s favourite parts of the Winnipeg 1920 exhibit are all the hidden gems.

“These little things that we put in there as well for people to discover,” he said. “For instance, in Madame Taro’s room, we have new music that’s being played in there and it’s all the hits from 1919 and 1920, but not just from North America, from other countries as well.

“Things that people would have been listening to here.”

That concludes CityNews’ visit to the Manitoba Museum. Here’s hoping it inspired some of you to visit in the near future.