The Bay: a storied past, exciting future By: Photojournalist Mikaela MacKenzie Posted: Last Modified:

This weekend marks a year since Hudson’s Bay Company, which began in the fur-trading business, acknowledged its role in Canada’s colonial history and gifted ownership of its massive, near-century-old downtown store to an Indigenous group in an act of reconciliation.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/04/2023 (871 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This weekend marks a year since Hudson’s Bay Company, which began in the fur-trading business, acknowledged its role in Canada’s colonial history and gifted ownership of its massive, near-century-old downtown store to an Indigenous group in an act of reconciliation.

The Southern Chiefs’ Organization, which represents 34 First Nations communities in Manitoba, has a $130 million plan to transform the building at Portage Avenue and Memorial Boulevard into a multi-use facility with hundreds of affordable-housing units, a child-care centre, a museum, art gallery and restaurants.

Project organizers hope to begin demolition in early summer inside the once-thriving retail icon, which has been closed since 2020. On Friday, Free Press photojournalist Mikaela MacKenzie spent a final Bay Day tracing the footsteps of generations of shoppers, diners and employees in the now-eerie six-storey building.

The fourth floor.
The fourth floor.

 

A lonely Justin Bieber on the second floor at The Bay.
A lonely Justin Bieber on the second floor at The Bay.
The second floor at The Bay.
The second floor at The Bay.
The escalators at The Bay.
The escalators at The Bay.
The main floor.
The main floor.
The elevators on the main floor at The Bay, now empty and shuttered.
The elevators on the main floor at The Bay, now empty and shuttered.
Mannequins on the fifth floor.
Mannequins on the fifth floor.
The main floor at The Bay
The main floor at The Bay
The Paddlewheel Restaurant on the sixth floor.
The Paddlewheel Restaurant on the sixth floor.
The Paddlewheel Restaurant.
The Paddlewheel Restaurant.
The Paddlewheel Restaurant on the sixth floor.
The Paddlewheel Restaurant on the sixth floor.
A freight elevator on the fourth floor.
A freight elevator on the fourth floor.
Old posters in the stairwell.
Old posters in the stairwell.
Old safety and anti-theft posters.
Old safety and anti-theft posters.
The Memorial Avenue entrance door handles at The Bay.
The Memorial Avenue entrance door handles at The Bay.
The bison statue on the main floor.
The bison statue on the main floor.
The view of the Legislative Building from the fifth floor.
The view of the Legislative Building from the fifth floor.
The third floor of The Bay.
The third floor of The Bay.
Mannequins on the fifth floor.
Mannequins on the fifth floor.
The bathrooms and original tile on the fourth floor.
The bathrooms and original tile on the fourth floor.
Mikaela MacKenzie

Mikaela MacKenzie
Photojournalist

Mikaela MacKenzie loves meeting people, experiencing new things, and learning something every day. That's what drove her to pursue a career as a visual journalist — photographers get a hands-on, boots-on-the-ground look at the world.

   Read full biography

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