An Afternoon Downtown

Exchange is technically part of downtown but very different from walking down Portage Ave. I'd consider 'downtown' between Portage and Broadway from Main to Osborne/Memorial.

The Exchange District is beautiful and should never be lumped together with "downtown." Turn of the century architecture, the Kingshead, Fringe Festival, Waterfront Drive, Lofts, etc. I could go on and on.
Downtown is a dump. Let's face the music. Nobody in their right mind wants to spend their day off strolling down Portage Ave being harassed by panhandlers, drunks, and weirdos. Portage Place, parking lots, and dollar stores. Need I say more?
The Exchange district is a Winnipeg gem. It should never be blemished by the words "downtown." The Exchange is Winnipeg's future. Let's cut our losses with "downtown." It is a losing battle to suggest it will ever be more than a dump.

HurtinAlbertan wrote:The Exchange District is beautiful and should never be lumped together with "downtown."

The exchange district may have some nice old architecture, but it's also the area where I tend to encounter most bums and drunks whenever I dare to stroll there. Thanks to the abundance of nightclubs, that's where most of the violence and stabbings in the city occur. The negative associations of downtown with respect to crime definitely belong to the exchange district.

I've been bothered by drunks in China town....coming out of Kum Koon after dim sum. It seems they are all over that area.

eViL tRoLl wrote:

HurtinAlbertan wrote:The Exchange District is beautiful and should never be lumped together with "downtown."

The exchange district may have some nice old architecture, but it's also the area where I tend to encounter most bums and drunks whenever I dare to stroll there. Thanks to the abundance of nightclubs, that's where most of the violence and stabbings in the city occur. The negative associations of downtown with respect to crime definitely belong to the exchange district.

I disagree completely. Maybe 10 years ago but not now. I'm in the area every day and every night and even though it's only a couple of blocks away it's a completely different area from Portage. You'll run into some drunks or people asking for money anywhere outside of the suburbs in any major city. Sometimes people are around asking for money in the exchange but far less than around Portage and I think a lot less than on Osborne. There are car breakins if people leave things visible in their vehicles but that's typical of anywhere downtown. It isn't where msot of the violence and stabbings occur in the city. There are some fights at the bars but stabbings at the nightclubs are very rare. They get a lot of press when they happen which may make them seem a lot more frequent than they actually are. It gets a little more shifty a few blocks west of the exchange or south towards Portage but in the actual exchange is very safe in my opinion.

Goth_chic wrote:I've been bothered by drunks in China town....coming out of Kum Koon after dim sum. It seems they are all over that area.

Location, Location, Location............ a block away from Logan and Main Street, sort of on the general trail between missions and the Main Street Strip bars. And again not considered part of Downtown nor part of the Exchange District.

holly golightly wrote:
Location, Location, Location............ a block away from Logan and Main Street, sort of on the general trail between missions and the Main Street Strip bars. And again not considered part of Downtown nor part of the Exchange District.

So what is "downtown" then - one block north/south of portage ... or two?

This map of downtown puts the exchange district and china town pretty much into the heart of downtown:
http://www.downtownwinnipegbiz.com/resource/File/DowntownMap_base08.pdf

It also lists the Exchange District and Chinatown as separate areas on the map.

Downtown as I see it (and this is just my opinion) is from Ellice ave south to Broadway, from Main Street to Memorial Blvd. The downtownbiz organization is like the Osborne Village biz, a gourp of business owners who have designated themselves as leaders in their community and this map is used for tourists. If you notice on the map, it distinctly shows signage for the Exchange District as well as China Town & the Forks.

The Exchange, China Town and The Forks are distinct areas within Downtown Winnipeg. They are the only parts of downtown that have a unique character, so they get their own names, but they are still downtown.

Geographically they are within the downtown region but if you're talking about 'downtown' as an area with similar traits throughout, they should be separated. Exchange has it's own BIZ separate from the downtown BIZ and I think Chinatown should have it's own as well.

umcrouc0 wrote:Geographically they are within the downtown region but if you're talking about 'downtown' as an area with similar traits throughout, they should be separated.

There are enough similar traits such as population density, average income, average age, ethnic background, % of commercial space, average age of housing, etc. that would make this a large area. There's even an enrty in wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtown_Winnipeg

umcrouc0 wrote:

eViL tRoLl wrote:

HurtinAlbertan wrote:The Exchange District is beautiful and should never be lumped together with "downtown."

The exchange district may have some nice old architecture, but it's also the area where I tend to encounter most bums and drunks whenever I dare to stroll there. Thanks to the abundance of nightclubs, that's where most of the violence and stabbings in the city occur. The negative associations of downtown with respect to crime definitely belong to the exchange district.

I disagree completely. Maybe 10 years ago but not now. I'm in the area every day and every night and even though it's only a couple of blocks away it's a completely different area from Portage. You'll run into some drunks or people asking for money anywhere outside of the suburbs in any major city. Sometimes people are around asking for money in the exchange but far less than around Portage and I think a lot less than on Osborne. There are car breakins if people leave things visible in their vehicles but that's typical of anywhere downtown. It isn't where msot of the violence and stabbings occur in the city. There are some fights at the bars but stabbings at the nightclubs are very rare. They get a lot of press when they happen which may make them seem a lot more frequent than they actually are. It gets a little more shifty a few blocks west of the exchange or south towards Portage but in the actual exchange is very safe in my opinion.

I'm 100% in agreement with you Umcrouc.I have worked in the Exchange for 20 years now and in all that time I've only seen one incident, and that was a early morning mugging on Adelaide. Other then that I feel fortunate to work in such a beautiful district.

eastsider wrote:I have worked in the Exchange for 20 years now and in all that time I've only seen one incident, and that was a early morning mugging on Adelaide. Other then that I feel fortunate to work in such a beautiful district.

I have worked in the portage place area for almost 4 years now and have never witnessed any scary behaviour, only hear about it on the news. Whereas on the few evenings I have gone to Market Square events almost inevitably encountered aggressive behaviors. Maybe this is a subjective perception whereby we prefer to see our immediate neighbourhood in a more favourable way and are more scared of other areas.

eViL tRoLl wrote:

umcrouc0 wrote:Geographically they are within the downtown region but if you're talking about 'downtown' as an area with similar traits throughout, they should be separated.

There are enough similar traits such as population density, average income, average age, ethnic background, % of commercial space, average age of housing, etc. that would make this a large area. There's even an enrty in wikipedia:

[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtown_Winnipeg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtown_Winnipeg[/quote[/url]]
Not really. I don't think any of the things you listed would match between the Exchange and surrounding downtown. For one it has the highest average income in the city.

What do you consider aggressive behavior?

umcrouc0 wrote:
Not really. I don't think any of the things you listed would match between the Exchange and surrounding downtown. For one it has the highest average income in the city.

I don't believe that so had to look itt up on the StatCan website. The exchange district is Census Tract 0024.00 with a median income of $18,501 (535 people with income!), whereas Central Park is in CT 0023.00 with a median income of $16,107 (3575 people with income!). Given that income in the census is based on a 20% sample I doubt that the income difference between the two CTs is statistically signifcant. Winnipeg CMA was at about $26,334 (538,795 people with income) in 2005!

Not too many people with income living in the Exchange District - mainly students and artsy types without income it seems.

umcrouc0 wrote:What do you consider aggressive behavior?

People yelling and screaming at me or each other in an intimidating way ...

shut the bar down in the gari c st regis and what ever that place on fort is

The Vendome?

SMW wrote:The Vendome?

What is that bar called in the Vendome?? Its on the tip of my tongue but can't recall it now!

It just came to me.....Bleachers

what the heck is wrong with bleachers? Its a great bar to drink in. Awesome decor.

I've never been there, can't speak in either regard. Was just trying to remember the name!

I miss Circus Circus, Mothers Music, DR Q's, Long John's, Las Vegas Amusments, Crystal Palace, Saratoga Lanes, etc. I miss the Convention center cinema, Capital Theater, The Met, North Star Cinema, The Odeon, The Garrick. There use to be so much to do, all the bums stayed at higgins and main area. Times were better in the early 80's

Portage Avenue was cool in the late seventies early 80's......don't forget the Gaiety Theatre, all the head shops, Orientique Boutique, T Trouser......Holt Renfrew (we don't even rate the sale outlet anymore!!)