Elmwood, Winnipeg

File:Welcome to Elmwood sign on embankment in Winnipeg, Manitoba.jpg

Welcome to Elmwood

Elmwood is a primarily working class residential area of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The area was named for the Elmwood Cemetery which opened in 1902, prior to this the area was known as the Louise Bridge District or Kildonan Village. Elmwood is bordered by the lane between Harbison and Larsen Avenues on the North, Panet Road on the East, Thomas and Tyne Avenues and the Canadian Pacific Railway mainline on the South, and the Red River on the west.

Elmwood was once the southern part of the Municipality of Kildonan and began to develop shortly after the Louise Bridge was opened in 1881. It was annexed into the City of Winnipeg in 1906 after a petition by the residents who wanted city services in their rapidly developing neighbourhood. It was originally a separate ward of Winnipeg, Ward Seven, but later on it was joined in and largely overshadowed by the North End as part of Ward Three. Until the 1950s, Elmwood was one of the most industrialized areas of Winnipeg and had a large meat packing plant, a furniture manufacturer, and a box factory among other operations. All of these operations have now closed and the area is now almost completely de-industrialized. Since the advent of the unicity in 1971, Elmwood is often lumped in with East Kildonan, to the ire of residents of East Kildonan, which was once a separate city.

Elmwood has about 14,000 residents, a decline of about 5,000 since 1971. The average household income is about 75% of the Winnipeg average. (Source City of Winnipeg - Neighbourhood Profiles). It includes the areas of Glenelm, which is more affluent and lies west of Henderson Highway, most of Chalmers, Talbot-Grey, and East Elmwood, which was developed primarily in the 1950s. Elmwood is mostly composed of single family residential homes, though there are numerous low-rise apartment blocks, townhouses, and two high rise apartment complexes, which are both social housing projects.

Henderson Highway, Nairn Avenue, and Talbot Avenue are the main streets of the neighbourhood. The Henderson Highway portion of Elmwood has fairly concentrated commercial development.