WINNIPEG | Corydon: Winnipeg's Little Italy

[raggedy13]

Hi all,

As a continuation to my last thread on Winnipeg's Osborne Village, here is my tour of the nearby Corydon neighbourhood, anchored by Corydon Avenue, which is Winnipeg's "Little Italy". FYI, locals don't pronounce the 'y' in Corydon, making it pronounced more like "Kor-den".

Here it is in relation to Osborne Village and Downtown. These boundaries are pretty rough...


Close to where I last left off...

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I start by taking a little detour off Corydon Avenue and into the residential side streets...

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For those that might not know much about Winnipeg, it was pretty economically depressed through the 80s and 90s and started to rebound a decade or so ago. There is still lots of room for improvement but I see it as a city with a lot of potential that has shown some great signs of positive change, even in the 10 months that I've been living here (new development/infill, building renovations, bike lanes, funky eateries, cocktail bars, independent coffee shops, etc.).

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An example of some new infill:

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One thing I really like about Winnipeg is all the corner stores spread around the old residential areas. Some need a little love though. This one isn't a corner store however...

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Now back on the main Corydon drag...

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Market Burger has a great rooftop patio...

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Just off Corydon, Lilac Street is a nice stretch...

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Winnipeg has the largest urban elm forest in North America...

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There are some quirky types in Winnipeg...

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I've noticed that people get a lot of use out of their front yards in Winnipeg, at least in the older neighbourhoods. People grow vegetables, sit on their front porches, have fire pits, etc. This may have more to do with these older areas having small, unusable back yards rather than being some aspect of the local culture, but it adds a nice amount of animation and friendly neighbourhood vibe to areas...

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There's an interesting mix of housing types, renovation styles, and new infill in the area...

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This is a narrow little park by the Assiniboine River. This red cube is one of Winnipeg's "Warming Huts". They're the result of an annual design competition and typically setup along the skating trail on the frozen river in the winter. In theory they're meant to warm people up on a cold day but they're often just an interesting looking structure or piece of public art...

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The river is typically a bit high this time of year...

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Walking along Wellington Crescent towards Osborne Village. There are some very nice condos along the river...

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And back in Osborne Village to end things off...

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That's all!

[Beedok]

I wish it weren't so darned far away...

[xzmattzx]

Nice pictures. Your Little Italy looks more gentrified than ours in Wilmington, or something in Boston or New York City, with the Japanese restaurants and whatnot. It's interesting to see how this Little Italy is evolving by becoming gentrified or yuppified, as opposed to new immigrant communities moving in as Italians move out.

[Driver8]

Great tour of another fine-looking Winnipeg neighborhood.

[rousseau]

Very Prairie. Not the sort of classic Little Italy you see in Italian strongholds like New York, Toronto, Montreal etc., but it's sort of charming in its own way. There is a fleeting moment in the summer in Winnipeg when it looks and feels comparatively lush instead of bleak like most of the year. You've captured it here.

When I lived there in the 1980s Corydon was just Corydon, and there was no sense of an Italian presence on the street (or in the city as a whole) save for a couple of restaurants, so I gather this is a recent chamber of commerce-style moniker.

[SecretAgentMan]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Very Prairie. Not the sort of classic Little Italy you see in Italian strongholds like New York, Toronto, Montreal etc., but it's sort of charming in its own way. There is a fleeting moment in the summer in Winnipeg when it looks and feels comparatively lush instead of bleak like most of the year. You've captured it here.

When I lived there in the 1980s Corydon was just Corydon, and there was no sense of an Italian presence on the street (or in the city as a whole) save for a couple of restaurants, so I gather this is a recent chamber of commerce-style moniker.

Agreed. When I lived in Winnipeg in the 80s, there was barely any Italian presence on Corydon. When I lived there in the 90s, it was a lot more Italian than it appears to be now, so it appears to be transitioning to a more diverse and somewhat upscale (at least compared to the 80s) commercial district.

[SignalHillHiker]

There was some visible Italian presence and marketing when I was there in the late 2000s. And the place was went up with Italian flags and street parties whenever Italy was doing well in soccer. Not sure how many of them were Italian, though lol.

Great pictures!

[Danny]

Great job! Thanks for sharing.

Interesting tour, I´ve liked that neighbourhood of Winnipeg, the streets, the houses. It looks quiet and animated at the same time.

BTW, it´s suprising to see Winnipeg by Summer, when we´re used to see it covered with snow by the severe winters you live there. Summer there must be delicious.

Congrats and greetings from Madrid, Spain.

[Jeff]

ahhh Winnipeg in the summer..

thanks for ther tour!!!

[MplsTodd]

Nice set!
I remember enjoying breakfast at a Corydon restaurant last time I was up there (back in '04). My favorite though was the classic old pancake house on Pembina Highway!