Norwood renewal

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This article was published 14/08/2019 (2278 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A section of the Marion Street strip in St. Boniface is getting a new lease on life with a nod to neighbourhood nostalgia.

The owners of the historic Norwood Hotel are transforming a big chunk of the landmark inn with a new restaurant, tavern and gaming lounge.

“We are redeveloping 10,000 square feet of space,” said Ben Sparrow, CEO of Winnipeg’s Sparrow Hotels, which owns the Norwood, Inn at The Forks and Mere Hotel in the Exchange District. The company is also in charge of food services at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, including the Era restaurant, and the Inn at The Forks’ Riverstone Spa. “The facade is going to look completely different.”

When the scaffolding comes down and the finishing touches are complete, customers on Sept. 30 will see a mix of Winnipeg history, contemporary design and hospitality, according to promotional materials from Sparrow Hotels, the company founded in 1937 by Merle Sparrow.

The French bistro-style restaurant, Pauline, is named for Pauline Boutal, a St. Boniface artist who became a fashion illustrator for Eaton’s in the 1920s. Murals and accents in Pauline will feature echoes of Boutal’s work and classic French colours of royal blue, white and cream.

The Wood Tavern, historically known as a neighbourhood hangout, is being overhauled to cater to a new generation of bar patrons, the hotel company said. It will have an outdoorsy decor with wood, stone, leather and brass with “camping-inspired cuisine.”

The Carousel Gaming Lounge will be directly accessible from the street and have the “secret club” vibe of old-time casinos, with dark wood and upholstery and raw brick.

It could be a throwback to the original Norwood Hotel that opened in the late 1800s. When Prohibition came along in the 1920s, it was converted into a pool hall/apartment block. In 1937, Merle Sparrow — Ben Sparrow’s grandfather — bought the property and applied for a liquor licence.

It was one of the first bars in Winnipeg to allow women to drink alongside men, and one of the first to offer live entertainment. Beginning in the mid-’50s, organist Agnes Forsythe hosted a weekly talent show there for 17 years. Much later on, it was one of the first hotels in the city to ban smoking in its coffee shop and dining room.

In 1989, Merle Sparrow’s son Bob Sparrow expanded the Norwood to five storeys and 52 rooms. Even while construction crews were driving piles into the ground, he reportedly heard from naysayers, “Why bother? Who’s going to stay here, anyway?”

Today, the Norwood Hotel’s three new “concepts” join a number of changes to the neighbourhood. Businesses in the area are promoting Marion Street as a more “pedestrian-friendly” street, Sparrow said. That includes pushing to reduce the speed limit on a stretch of Marion Street to 50 kilometres per hour from 60.

“It’s a neighbourhood people are investing in,” he said. The building at the corner of Marion Street and Tache Avenue was totally renovated, Sparrow said, and it is fully occupied with the Black Bird Brasserie, a coffee shop, a hair salon and tenants. Houses in the area are snapped up quickly when they’re on the market. Commuters living in the area can walk to work in the downtown.

“It’s a great neighbourhood and its proximity to downtown can’t be beat,” Sparrow said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca