Dalnavert shines during Doors Open Winnipeg
West End
I really enjoyed touring Dalnavert House during Doors Open Winnipeg. There were many interesting and historic locales welcoming visitors during Heritage Winnipeg's annual weekend event (held May 24 and 25) but Dalnavert House didn't disappoint.
The museum, which includes an attached visitor centre, is nestled downtown at 61 Carlton St. The grounds are verdant and the garden is blooming. The gothic-looking Victorian mansion was built for Hugh John MacDonald, the son of Sir John A Macdonald, and his family in 1895. (At that time many well-to-do Winnipeggers lived just south of Broadway.)
Volunteers in period costume imparted interesting facts and anecdotes about life in the house from the moment my group stepped onto the faithfully restored veranda.
Photo by Anne Hawe
The coal stove in the kitchen at Dalnavert is one reminder of how different life was more than a century ago.
Hugh John was a notable Manitoban. A lawyer and politician, he was premier of the province for a very short time before becoming Winnipeg's magistrate. Although he took a hard line against strikers during the Winnipeg general strike in 1919, he was also known to let women and children sleep in the basement instead of being sent to Vaughan Street jail for stealing. History is complicated and the museum doesn't sugarcoat it.
The jewel-toned carpet and wallpaper, the narrow hallways, and the beautifully appointed rooms on the first floor were atmospheric. The icebox and the cumbersome coal-burning stove in the kitchen illuminated how hard the cook and the maid would have worked to put food on the table — all with only half a day off, on Sundays. The white doorknobs in the kitchen? They were there to ensure the help washed their hands in case typhoid, influenza or Spanish flu lurked.
After Hugh John died in 1929, his wife, Agnes, couldn't afford the upkeep. The house sat empty before being converted into a rooming house. The Manitoba Historical Society bought it from a developer then spent several years painstakingly renovating it before opening it as a museum in 1974.
The doors closed in 2013 but the newly formed Friends of Dalnavert Museum non-profit re-opened it in 2015. The vibrant and community-minded organization brings history to life at the museum.
Friendsofdalnavert.ca lists Victorian themed workshops and events coming up this month. There is everything from a flower pressing workshop to watercolour painting in the garden while sipping mimosas to a foodie tour featuring Victorian snacks.
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Perennially popular tours listed include Dalnavert on Drugs which explores Victorian drug culture, and Behind the Ropes which offers a closer look at Dalnavert's many rooms.
Only the visitors centre and the first floor are accessible so there is a virtual tour of the house on the site. And admission is always free on the second Saturday of every month with family-friendly activities included.
Anne HaweWest End community correspondent
Anne Hawe is a community correspondent for the West End. She can be reached at annie_hawe@hotmail.com
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