WINNIPEG, MB – University of Winnipeg history professor David Burley and West Broadway journalist Mike Maunder shed new light on old stories by sharing the fascinating history of Furby Street and its residents in a new book and magazine that will be launched on:
Saturday, May 31, 2008
4:00 pm on Furby Street
with a Block Party and BBQ to follow
between Broadway & Portage Avenue
The book Living on Furby: Narratives of Home, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1880–2005 and magazine The Rooming Houses of Furby Street, introduce the reader to the rich history of the block and its place on the Prairies and in Winnipeg.
For more than a century the houses on Furby Street between Broadway and Portage Avenue typified the trend of downtown neighbourhoods: many of them deteriorated over time. The human narrative of Living on Furby, however, has always been the search for home: the quest for comfort, security and intimacy in this changing neighbourhood. Knowing the richness of the history and hearing the stories of the residents provides a different perspective and can help plan the future of this and other inner-city neighbourhoods.
This project was possible with the generous support and partnerships with the Westminster Housing Society, the Winnipeg Inner City Research Alliance (WIRA) and the Winnipeg Inner City Research Alliance (WIRA) that is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
The Westminster Housing Society provides good quality housing to lower income tenants at rental rates they can afford, and at the same time rehabilitates older housing stock, primarily in the West Broadway area of Winnipeg and improves the neighbourhood.
WIRA pairs community groups with researchers to undertake action-oriented research that builds community capacity, improves policy and program development, and ultimately improves the quality of life in the inner city that is part of the Institute of Urban Studies at UWinnipeg.
