The Murals of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: Murals

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75 Noble Avenue (5) Location Map

Location: N side bet. Henderson & Beatrice, traffic controller box on front lawn

Occupant: Traffic Controller Box

District: East Kildonan

Neighbourhood: Glenelm

Artist(s): Tom Andrich (Eclectic Fine Art)

Year: 2000

Sponsors: Take Pride Winnipeg!

This is another in a series of Heritage-themed Traffic Control Boxes by artist Tom Andrich, which are situated downtown along the north side of Portage Avenue. In 2011 the box was removed from the street because a larger box became required. The box was donated to a private citizen. The 2 photos shown here are of the box at its original location at Portage and Carleton.

Tom Andrich: "For that particular location I researched the area and felt a tribute to the Manitoba Free Press was most appropriate because The Free Press was on Carleton. And this was pretty much where it was."

"When I think of the newspaper I think of the Free Press boy outside hawking newspapers especially during the early years they'd sell papers on the corner. So I went through the archives trying to get pictures of kids selling the newspaper and trying to get the clothing for that age and the knickers. There was a movie I ended up renting it called the Paperboys or something like that. It was a musical taking place in New York and I did my drawings for the clothing off that. I'd freeze-frame it and do my drawings right off the screen! That was the only place where I could get a decent picture and they were kids hawking newspapers- that's how I got the clothing; that's how I got the boy."

"I wanted a headline. The headline I ended up going with was the end of World War One, because that's what we thought would be a good news and politically acceptable one. The newspaper font and everything is right from the archives so it's not made up. I still have a shot of that newspaper. The window ledge that says 'Manitoba Free Press' is also the same font as was used as the header on their paper- I did it in gold lettering on the front. I wanted the newsboy to be in front of the storefront. I was trying to get some kind of perspective going so I wanted his feet up higher. I didn't want his feet down low on the box because everything gets dirty and snow and everything and they can't be seen so I tried to keep the images higher. And that's where I tried to put Boardwalk all the way around. At the side of the stores if you remember the stores used to have those wooden fronts underneath the window. That was a bit of a challenge- working with perspective and with a four-sided box. But I think it worked!" Tom Andrich: "For that particular location I researched the area and felt a tribute to the Manitoba Free Press was most appropriate because The Free Press was on Carleton. And this was pretty much where it was."

"When I think of the newspaper I think of the Free Press boy outside hawking newspapers especially during the early years they'd sell papers on the corner. So I went through the archives trying to get pictures of kids selling the newspaper and trying to get the clothing for that age and the knickers. There was a movie I ended up renting it called the Paperboys or something like that. It was a musical taking place in New York and I did my drawings for the clothing off that. I'd freeze-frame it and do my drawings right off the screen! That was the only place where I could get a decent picture and they were kids hawking newspapers- that's how I got the clothing; that's how I got the boy."

"I wanted a headline. The headline I ended up going with was the end of World War One, because that's what we thought would be a good news and politically acceptable one. The newspaper font and everything is right from the archives so it's not made up. I still have a shot of that newspaper. The window ledge that says 'Manitoba Free Press' is also the same font as was used as the header on their paper- I did it in gold lettering on the front. I wanted the newsboy to be in front of the storefront. I was trying to get some kind of perspective going so I wanted his feet up higher. I didn't want his feet down low on the box because everything gets dirty and snow and everything and they can't be seen so I tried to keep the images higher. And that's where I tried to put Boardwalk all the way around. At the side of the stores if you remember the stores used to have those wooden fronts underneath the window. That was a bit of a challenge- working with perspective and with a four-sided box. But I think it worked!"