Feb. 23: Police department created; Concourse opens; Richardson Building announced.

February 23, 1874 - The Winnipeg Police Department was established. The first and only officer was 23-year-old Chief Constable John Ingram. For more about Winnipeg's pioneer police force.

February 23, 1882 - Joseph Edouard Cauchon died. He was a businessman, journalist and a Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba. He also financed the construction of the Cauchon Block, one of Winnipeg's earliest office blocks that was later converted into the Empire Hotel. (Also see.)

February 23, 1924 - War veteran Jack Smellie died at the family's store in Russell, Manitoba.

February 23, 1925 – The first International Goodwill Meeting of Rotary International was held in Winnipeg. In 1910, Winnipeg became home to the first Rotary Club outside the U.S..

February 23, 1928 - William W. McMillan died while on vacation on Florida. He was a mover and shaker in Winnipeg's early grain trade and president of the Dominion Elevator Company when he died.

February 23, 1967 - James Richardson and Sons announced that they will build Winnipeg's first modern skyscraper at the intersection of Portage and Main. The announcement was almost forty years in the making. In October 1929 the site was cleared to make way for a Richardson building but the project was postponed after the stock market crash. (Also see.)

February 23, 1979, Winnipeg Free Press

February 23, 1979 -The Portage and Main Concourse was officially opened by Mayor Steen. The $7.3 project, which came in $820,000 over budget, prohibits pedestrian traffic at the intersection for a period of 40 years.

© 2012, 2020 Christian Cassidy