A stroll through the Exchange District is a feast for the eyes as you walk past historic buildings, landmarks, parks, and thoughtfully designed public places. Places are the city’s heartbeat, bringing vibrancy to neighbourhoods and creating a sense of community and belonging. Over the last few decades, many areas of the Exchange District have undergone intentional revitalization guided by placemaking principles.
Placemaking is a collaborative, people-first approach to designing and enhancing public spaces that improves city and community quality of life. It transforms parks, streets, plazas, and waterfronts into places where people want to gather, interact, and engage. Key elements of placemaking include creating environments that are accessible, social, comfortable, and used for a variety of interactions. Green spaces, accessible walkways, public art, and seating areas are all ways placemaking comes to life. The aim is to create spaces that reflect the community’s needs, culture, and aspirations, with input from community members, fostering a strong sense of identity and connection.
People need places where they can go and just be. These third spaces provide a place for people to connect, socialize, and build a community outside their homes (first space) and work (second space). So, what makes a great place? We believe the Exchange District is filled with such spaces, and in this blog, we’ll explore the ones that have shaped the area’s urban landscape and the visionary design firms behind them.
Old Market Square
Old Market Square is the heart of the Exchange District, functioning as a meeting place for over a century. The original Old Market Square first opened in 1873 near what is now 151 Princess Street, just down the street from its current location. Through the late 1880s and ’90s, Market Square evolved from an open-air market to a covered marketplace before the construction of a more prominent building. Despite these changes, the space always acted as a community hub where farmers, butchers, manufacturers, and merchants could sell their wares.
In the 1960s, during a period of massive growth in the Exchange, the Market Building was demolished to make way for the Public Safety Building, and Old Market Square moved a block south to its current location. In the 1970s, the Old Market Square Association began advocating for the Square’s renewal, eventually evolving into what we now know as the Exchange District BIZ (hey, that’s us!). By the 1980s, the Exchange had carved out a niche as an entertainment district, and in the 1990s, a stage was added to OMS, making it home to events and festivals.
In 2006, multi-disciplinary consulting firm Scatliff Miller Murray led a revitalization project for Old Market Square, marking a new era for the historic space. Scatliff Miller Murray is known for its bold and innovative designs for urban revitalization that incorporate sustainable development and community values. Their design for Old Market Square is flexible and welcoming, ensuring the space can accommodate a wide variety of activities and events. A standout feature is the serpentine seating wall that wraps around a sunken event lawn, offering functional seating and a natural flow for foot traffic. The planters are carefully integrated around the existing elm trees to provide seating options and protection for the trees, so they remain a vital part of the landscape for years to come.
In 2008, 5468796 Architecture built Old Market Square Stage (aka the Cube), further elevating the area and cementing it as a destination for premiere events and festivals. Old Market Square has become a hub for Winnipeg’s art and culture scene, hosting events like the Winnipeg Fringe Festival and Winnipeg Jazz Festival (among many others). This evolution honours its long history as a gathering place and continues to put the experience of people first.
Waterfront Drive
Winnipeg’s rivers have always been at the heart of the city’s identity, shaping its history and culture while offering transport routes and recreational spaces. Over time, the areas around the rivers have witnessed both decline and revitalization. One of the most dramatic transformations has occurred along the Red River in the Exchange District at what we now know as Waterfront Drive. Through placemaking and urban design, what was once an underused, forgotten stretch of gravel lots and warehouses has blossomed into a lively, pedestrian-friendly area lined with businesses.
The revitalization of Waterfront Drive began in the early 2000s as part of the Exchange District Waterfront strategy, an initiative launched by CentreVenture and the City of Winnipeg. Recognizing the untapped potential of the riverfront, city planners and developers sought to reconnect the Exchange District with the waterfront through a comprehensive 17-year redevelopment plan. The goal was to create a walkable, livable neighbourhood that supported downtown living and included green spaces.
In 2006, Scatliff Miller Murray imagined a new vision for Waterfront that would enhance commercial, office, and residential development. They played a pivotal role in its transformation, designing a pedestrian-friendly, vibrant space that highlights natural features like the Red River and Stephen Juba Park while respecting the area’s rich architectural heritage. New road systems, including one of Winnipeg’s first roundabouts, improved traffic flow while condos, boutique hotels, and local businesses popped up, drawing residents and visitors alike. Today, Waterfront Drive serves as a model of urban renewal, successfully balancing modern living with historic preservation, and continues to be an essential part of the city’s identity and ongoing development.
John Hirsch Place
Nestled behind the historic warehouses of the East Exchange District is John Hirsch Place, a back lane that has undergone significant transformation and growth. At the turn of the 20th century, it was an essential part of Winnipeg’s bustling transportation network as a spur line for the Canadian Pacific Railway. In 1978, the City of Winnipeg purchased the area of the spur line running between Market and Bannatyne and renamed it John Hirsch Place. In 2014, the City of Winnipeg launched the Northeast Exchange District Renewals Project to rejuvenate the neighbourhood. Thanks to a thoughtful redesign by WSP Canada Group Limited, John Hirsch Place now leads the charge in 21st-century innovation as Winnipeg’s first Woonerf!
A woonerf is a Dutch concept that translates to ‘living street,’ and John Hirsch Place is just that — a lush, green community hub that allows pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles to coexist while prioritizing people over cars. A woonerf blends the needs of different forms of transportation in a shared space where the boundaries between sidewalks, streets, and parks disappear. John Hirsch Place embraces this design philosophy by creating an open, curbless environment that slows vehicles and encourages pedestrian activity. With shady benches, bike racks, and public art, the space feels more like a park than a road. Pedestrians and cyclists move freely, while limited vehicle access and strategic parking ensure the space remains people-focused.
The transformation of John Hirsch Place wasn’t just about aesthetics but also about placemaking, where the goal was to turn this neglected alley into a space where people wanted to gather, relax, and enjoy. The integration of greenery, improved lighting, and historical references—like the limestone lion heads salvaged from the Royal Alexandra Hotel—ties the space to Winnipeg’s rich past, while its modern, accessible design serves the city’s future. The woonerf concept has revitalized the area, allowing it to function as a street, gathering place, and pedestrian corridor.
The revitalization of Old Market Square, Waterfront Drive, and John Hirsch Place showcase what it looks like when historic preservation meets innovative placemaking and urban design. Vibrant, community-focused spaces breathe life into neighbourhoods, stimulating growth and livability. These placemaking projects have set the stage for future developments in the Exchange District and beyond!
Learn more about innovative, community-focused plans in store for the Exchange District in the Exchange District Community Investment Strategy.