Armstrong's Point

Updated on Nov 05, 2023

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Province Manitoba

Armstrong s point the gates

Armstrong's Point (informally referred to as The Gates) is a neighbourhood in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is located in the West End of the city and in a large bend in the Assiniboine River. The land was developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a residential district.

Map of Armstrong's Point, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Armstrong s point urban forest

History

The Hudson’s Bay Company deeded the land to Joseph Hill who arrived at Red River of the North in 1849 with a Pensioner Regiment. The area was originally called Point-a-Peltier. In 1854, returning to England, Hill put James Armstrong (1790-1874) in charge of the property. Hearing of Hill's death, the property was sold to Francis Evans Cornish, the first mayor of Winnipeg. In the early 1880s, Hill returned to Winnipeg, and reestablished his ownership of the land before selling it to a speculators' syndicate in April 1881 for $28,000. The speculators renamed the area Victoria Place, though officially it was known as Registered Plan 119.

During the period of 1880 through 1920, houses were built on its four roads, Cornish Avenue, East Gate, West Gate, and Middle Gate. The first home was completed in 1882.

Some of the buildings in Armstrong's Point that are historically significant are:

20 West Gate, the Cornish Library, completed in 1915

40 West Gate, which became the French Consulate

54 West Gate, the Ralph Connor House, which became a National Historic Site

86 West Gate which became Westgate Mennonite Collegiate - demolished 1989 <Randy R. Rostecki, "Armstrong's Point - A History" Heritage Winnipeg Corporation, 2009, p. 234>

134 West Gate, which became the Japanese Consulate

158 West Gate, which became St. John's-Ravenscourt School- demolished 1950 <Randy R. Rostecki, "Armstrong's Point - A History" Heritage Winnipeg Corporation, 2009, p. 46>

Gates

The Gates at East Gate, West Gate, Middle Gate, were designed by the architect Lt. Col. Henry Norland Ruttan in 1911, and built in the same year. Flanking three entrances to the Winnipeg neighbourhood, they are nearly identical construction, built of stone and wrought-iron, and of Classical Revival style. Funded by residents and built by the city's engineering department, the Gates are unique, having been built by the property owners instead of a real estate developer.

Politics

Armstrong's Point is represented by Jenny Gerbasi in the constituency of Fort Rouge - East Fort Garry at the municipal level, Rob Altemeyer in the constituency of Wolseley at the provincial level, and Pat Martin in the constituency of Winnipeg Centre at the federal level. Overall, the neighbourhood is politically diverse and does not generally support any candidate with a large majority. Voter turnout for the 2008 federal election was 56%.

Demography

The 2006 population of the neighborhood was 360 people. Demographically, it is 100% Caucasian. The median household income in Armstrong Point was $73,581.

References

Armstrong's Point Wikipedia

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