A new selfie hotspot in the heart of the nation is about to flood social media streams. Get ready for it folks, because Winnipeg has its own Hollywood-style sign atop one of our most legendary landmarks - Garbage Hill.
You read that right.
Mayor Brian Bowman, along with other representatives from the City of Winnipeg and SRS Signs owner Shane Storie unveiled this showstopper on Thursday to immediate fanfare.
Standing atop Garbage Hill, which is actually called Westview Park, Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman proclaimed this a proud day for the city of Winnipeg while at the same time calling out other such signs on hills.
“The Hollywood sign is a sham,” said Bowman bluntly.
“I know many have said that Hollywood is built on filth, well Garbage Hill is literally built on rubbish, on garbage.”
As you might have guessed, Garbage Hill got its nickname because it was a City of Winnipeg landfill from 1875 to 1948. It's now a popular walking, running and cycling space in the warmer months and a pretty great toboggan hill in the winter time.
This isn’t the first time that a sign has adorned our beloved hill in Winnipeg’s West End neighbourhood. In September of this year a Garbage Hill sign mysteriously appeared on the east side of the hill, placed there by an unknown person. The structure was quickly disassembled by city crews because it was not built to withstand the elements and did not have the appropriate permits, but not before photos of the sign flooded social media streams, creating a new Winnipeg icon.
New Sign up at Garbage Hill #Winnipeg #yourmanitoba #exploremanitoba pic.twitter.com/xsystjdcCU
— Ivy Infortuno (@ivymaria05) September 9, 2018
Anyone else see this sweet sign at Garbage Hill? Love it! https://t.co/b4vLVxNqnx ~ @MandyShewFM pic.twitter.com/imcmBaeV9H
— VirginRadioWinnipeg (@VirginRadioWPG) September 10, 2018
After reaching out and getting approval from the city Storie and his company built a new sign, attempting to replicate the original as much as possible. SRS Signs has covered all costs associated with the creation and installation of the 20 foot long aluminum composite sign and donated it to the city.
“This is my gift to the city,” Storie said
Is this going to drive tourists to our quirky, yet wonderful prairie city? Of course it is!
“The Garbage Hill sign is something uniquely Winnipeg," said Dayna Spiring, Economic Development Winnipeg and Tourism Winnipeg President and CEO.
"Our city has many world-class landmarks including the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and the Esplanade Riel – this new sign is yet another destination to celebrate."
Rest assured, the Tourism Winnipeg marketing team will be spending this holiday season updating all of our marketing materials and letting our tourism partners know there's yet another reason to come to Winnipeg.
“I wonder if Lonely Planet will update its reasons to visit Winnipeg,” mused city councillor Scott Gillingham while being among the first of what’s sure to be a flood of people to get a photo with the new sign.
Did you know? Winnipeg’s West End, which is where Westview Park and the new Winnipeg sign is located, is Winnipeg’s most culturally-diverse neighbourhood. It contains a cornucopia of rave-worthy restaurants from countries around the world – along with some colourful murals representing all the nations that now call the West End Home. Learn more here.
