Soak up these Charleswood fast facts

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/05/2017 (3048 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Having lived in Charleswood since the 1980s with my family and prior to that in south Headingley), I thought it would be thought-provoking to point out some interesting details about this unique Winnipeg suburb.

A lot has changed over the years. We no longer have the A&W restaurant on Dieppe Road or a McKnight’s Pharmacy and the hardware store in the strip mall at Dale Boulevard and the Perimeter Highway, where No Frills and Shoppers Drug Mart currently stand.

Forest Park Mall with Zellers is long gone and many side streets have become a lot busier. The Charleswood Golf Course has been replaced with a thoroughfare and the Texaco gas station (now that is blast from the past) has been replaced with a service garage.

Did you know…

• Charleswood joined the City of Winnipeg in 1972. Prior to this it was a separate municipality;
• Until 1958, a ferry operated across the Assiniboine River between Charleswood and St. James;

• The founder of Charleswood was Patrick H. Kelly of Perth, Ont., who settled in the area in 1906, built a general store and helped establish the first post office;

• After the Second World War, the area became popular with European immigrants to Winnipeg;

• The Charleswood Bridge opened in 1995, opened up connecting Charleswood with St. James.
• Roblin Boulevard was named after Sir Rodmond Roblin, the ninth premier of Manitoba, who served from 1900 to 1915 and helped establish Charleswood as a separate municipality. His son, Dufferin (Duff), was premier between 1958 and 1967;

• The “Varsity View” name is linked to Charleswood because the University of Manitoba campus was initially to be built between Charleswood and Tuxedo;

• In 2011, the population of Charleswood was 25, 679 (Stats Canada) but is about to grow much further with the housing developments of Ridgewood West and Scotswood Meadows.

• According to Maclean’s, Charleswood ranks as the top Winnipeg neighbourhood to buy in; the average house price is $349,066.

All of us who live this area should do our part to keep Charleswood beautiful.

Lisa Lagasse is a community correspondent for Charleswood. Email her at Charleswoodres@gmail.com