Queen Elizabeth reigns over Polo Park
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/09/2022 (1297 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Winnipeggers who want to remember Queen Elizabeth in a big way can do it while shopping.
The giant painting of Queen Elizabeth, which used to hang from the rafters of the old Winnipeg arena, will be displayed in the Polo Park shopping centre for the next two weeks.
The owner of the painting, Ron D’Errico, CEO of Impact Security, said he is glad the five-by-seven-metre portrait he received as a gift will be in public view. He said it is fitting people can see it now when so many people are remembering the monarch, whose funeral will be held Monday.
The giant painting of Queen Elizabeth, which used to hang from the rafters of the old Winnipeg arena, will be displayed in the Polo Park shopping centre for the next two weeks. (Jessica Lee / Winnipeg Free Press)
“For a long time it was in storage and couildn’t be seen,” D’Errico said on Friday.
“I’m sure it will bring out memories of the queen, but also memories of the Jets. It was the era when you could look up during a Jets game or a concert and see it.”
D’Errico said it was a giant effort to get such a large portrait into the mall. It is being displayed in the south atrium near the former Sears store.
“It takes 11 or 12 people to put this together for display and then it takes 11 or 12 people to put it away,” he said.
But, if anyone who wants to see it misses it before it is taken down on Sept. 29, D’Errico said they will be able to see it again soon.
“I will have it on display at our Plessis Road headquarters,” he said.
“One day a month people will be able to come because it will be open to the public. I’ve got the space and the equipment to hang it all ready to go.”
The painting, which was unveiled in the arena in 1979, was commissioned by Manitoba lieutenant governor Francis Laurence Jobin and painted by artist Gilbert Burch.
The portrait was a longtime fixture in the arena; both Jets and Manitoba Moose players admitted they used it as target practice for their pucks. Just before the Pan Am Games in 1999, it was taken down, in two pieces, and put in a warehouse in Whitby, Ont. That’s where it stayed until a CN Rail executive bought it, wanting to return it to Winnipeg, and later gifted it to D’Errico.
D’Errico said he is glad the public can see the painting now and in the future.
“I believe it belongs to the people of Winnipeg.”
kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Kevin Rollason is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He graduated from Western University with a Masters of Journalism in 1985 and worked at the Winnipeg Sun until 1988, when he joined the Free Press. He has served as the Free Press’s city hall and law courts reporter and has won several awards, including a National Newspaper Award. Read more about Kevin.
Every piece of reporting Kevin produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Kevin Rollason is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He graduated from Western University with a Masters of Journalism in 1985 and worked at the Winnipeg Sun until 1988, when he joined the Free Press. He has served as the Free Press’s city hall and law courts reporter and has won several awards, including a National Newspaper Award. Read more about Kevin.
Every piece of reporting Kevin produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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