Paddlewheel Restaurant, Minto Armoury among new stops at Doors Open Winnipeg

Winnipeggers who crave a taste of nostalgia have the chance this weekend to visit the old Paddlewheel Restaurant at the downtown Bay building as part of this year's Doors Open.

The annual event gives people the chance to step inside buildings not always open to the public.

The Paddlewheel Restaurant served its last bowl of Jell-O when it closed in 2013.

While the water was drained and pennies picked from the restaurant's pond, Heritage Winnipeg executive director Cindy Tugwell said the rest of the cafeteria remains mostly unchanged.

"It's frozen in time," Tugwell said.

Doors Open tours Sunday afternoon will bring visitors up to the sixth-floor restaurant and cover some of the history of the Bay, and the company's role in Winnipeg.

"It's a significant building but the social history in a lot of these buildings is equally as important," Tugwell said.

Other than the iconic downtown store, other new Doors Open locations this year include the Kildonan Presbyterian Church and cemetery, the Minto Armoury, the McGregor Street Armoury and the White House, a private residence on Portage Avenue.

The home was built on the upper floor of a 1909 commercial building near Portage and Main. It's owned by former mayoral candidate Michel Fillion.

"You can look outside and actually see Portage and Main down the street," said Tugwell of the luxury downtown apartment.

Heritage Winnipeg started Doors Open Winnipeg in 2004 and each year facilitates thousands of visits to historic buildings across the city, with help from more than 500 volunteers.

"It's an opportunity for one weekend a year for people to get out see these spaces that they normally wouldn't see," Tugwell said.

Most sites are first-come, first-served, she added, so it's important to arrive early.