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738 Osborne Street
River Park in the winter, circa 1924.
This rendering was by Tom Andrich in 2000, with sponsorship by Take Pride Winnipeg, Osborne South BIZ and Lewis Art Supply. It was painted over by a new tenant on October 17, 2016. Original notes follow:
This is the first of two Murals that Tom Andrich painted with a River Park theme.
Tom Andrich: “River Park was just at the end of Osborne. It is a park that took in that whole area between the end of Osborne and the river. The streetcars used to go up to the end and turn around there. It was a fantastic Park! They had Ferris wheels, they had a zoo, bumper cars and they had apparently the largest roller coaster in North America or one of the largest. And a ski jump; this one was the winter scene. They had a massive toboggan run. They had an airplane on skis that didn't have wings that would go along the river and people would ride in it!”
“I had to modify what I had, I had to take a bit of artistic license change a few things, the houses in the background; the train and mostly background stuff that had to stretch out. I elongated the scene to make it fit on the long rectangular wall.”
“It was very pleasant working on this wall. It went quite quickly it was a good wall the stucco was fairly smooth. The weather was good. I finished it probably in a little over two weeks. I had a few people come by; some older folks and talk about the area to me and tell me about their experiences there. That's one of the ways I learned a lot of the history. It was interesting: that part I enjoyed! Finding out more and more about our city that has such a rich history. An older gentleman gave me a map of River Park showing where the rides were and the Bear pits. There are still remnants of the Bear pits there. And a pontoon bridge and boat swings. These were swings for adults shaped like a boat.” (see 555 Osborne Street).
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