Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Book 2 in Colour Photos: Saving Our History One Photo at a Time

The Exchange District is in downtown Winnipeg just north of Portage and Main. It derives its name from the Winnipeg Grain Exchange, the center of the grain exchange in Canada. The Exchange District is the historic center of commerce in Western Canada. The District developed from the banks of the Red River at the foot of Bannatyne and Dermot Avenues. Most commercial traffic came along the Red River from St. Paul, Minnesota where the nearest rail line passed. Goods were shipped to Winnipeg by steamer during high water in spring. The Canadian Pacific Railway built its transcontinental line through Winnipeg which arrived in 1881. Thousands of settlers came west from Europe and Eastern Canada to farm the land. Winnipeg business developed quickly to meet the needs of the growing western population. The Winnipeg Grain and Produce Exchange was founded in 1887 and within a few years Winnipeg was one of the world's fastest-growing grain centers. Winnipeg was also one of the largest rail centers in North America with twelve lines passing through the city by 1890 and there were over eighty wholesale businesses located in the District. Wholesale goods were shipped in from Lake Superior ports in the spring and grain was shipped out from Winnipeg to the Lakehead in the fall. The Exchange represented Canada throughout the world and it largely financed Winnipeg's growth. Together with a strong world economy supported by an increase in gold reserves, the Exchange attracted many British and Eastern Canadian banks, trust, insurance and mortgage companies to the District to do business.