The Winnipeg bar and nightclub graveyard is riddled with favourite haunts that have come and gone in a blaze of strobe lights and thumping subwoofers.
Just this week, the Good Will Social Club closed its doors after 10 years of music, ’90s dance parties and drag bingo games.
This beloved watering hole encouraged CTV News Winnipeg to take a look at some of the many bars and nightclubs that have come and gone over the decades, as well as the faded memories they’ve left behind.
Club Morocco
Opened in 1954 by Polish immigrant Harry Smith, Club Morocco, a legendary jazz club on Portage Avenue, saw artists such as George Reznik and the Al Sprintz Band perform against a backdrop of faux African jungle.
“There’s an air of danger to it,” said music historian John Einarson, who researched the city’s famous concert halls for his e-book “Heart of Gold: A History of Winnipeg Music. “
“You weren’t kidding when you went there and behaved well, but it’s a wonderful place for Winnipeg musicians and a wonderful place to see a lot of jazz artists. »
It endured for decades, changing its taste and format before opening its doors in the 80s.
The historic building that housed it at the corner of Portage Avenue and Langside Street dubbed the Kirkwood Block met a fiery fate when it burned down in February of 2022.
“It’s another milestone in our musical and cultural history and Winnipeg lost, but it’s a fantastic and impressive place,” Einarson said.
(Source: John Einarson)
The town and the countryside
The Town N’ Country was perhaps Winnipeg’s top supper club in the 1950s and the mid-60s.
Located at 317 Kennedy Street, it housed three levels with a restaurant on the main floor, a lounge on the second, while the top level was coined The Towers.
“That’s where we organize the entertainment; Rosemary Clooney came here to perform there, for example,” Einarson said.
Barbra Streisand, 19, also directed there. The experience, however, did not seem pleasant at all for the budding star. Einarson says that after three days she fired the club director for struggling to interact with the public.
The pub at the Saint-Vital hotel
The 1970s brought a shift in Winnipeg nightlife, as the trendiness of the big dance clubs faded, giving way to a rise in pub popularity. Perhaps not coincidentally, Manitoba’s drinking age was lowered in 1970 to 18.
Enter the pub of the St. Vital Hotel on St. Vital’s. Mary’s Road.
“I, in the ’70s, walked in there and as soon as I opened the door, a big puff of marijuana smoke. It was a pretty liberal place.
This is far from the only pub-style offering. The Plaza Hotel, now The Zoo, The Westminster Inn, The Village Inn and The Norlander Motor Hotel, welcomed new legal guests, enjoying live rock ‘n’ roll music and plenty of drinks.
Streetheart at the Norlander Motor Hotel in 1983. (Source: Streetheart/Facebook)
Nightclub scandals
The Norlander was also the setting for one of Winnipeg’s most popular nightclubs in the ’80s and ’90s, when DJs and their turntables replaced many live bands.
When it opened at the Pembina Highway Hotel, DJ Brian St. Clair said Scandals Nightclub is trending among 18- to 24-year-olds eager to pay attention to artists like Depeche Mode, The Cure and The Smiths.
But that wasn’t the case.
“It replaced the format a couple of times, so the scandals that existed in the late ’80s were not the same scandals that existed in the early 2000s when they replaced its name,” he said.
“Even in the early ’90s, we were betting more on fringe music. It’s the most sensible 40 club of the mid-’90s. “
DJ Vance Masters also performed on Scandals in its heyday, in addition to The Roxy and Wise Guys.
“Ten cent draft night was Thursday at Scandals,” he recalled.” I remember we used to go into price wars with Monty’s on Pembina Highway and we would go down to 99 cent drinks – whatever you wanted. Beer, spirits, shooters, but the most you ever paid was $3.75”.
The Specter/Pyramid Cabaret
Live music still found a home in 1988 at The Spectrum Cabaret, which people know today as The Pyramid.
Located in a former garage on Fort Street, it is one of the most productive live rock music venues in the city.
Artists such as Goo Goo Dolls, Quiet Riot, and Echo
The Spectrum closed in 1994 and reopened as The Pyramid in 1995, where it is going from strength to strength.
(Source: Pyramide Cabaret/Instagram)
The Cabaret Machine
The club of which St. Clair has the best memories opened its doors in the centre of Osborne Village in 1995.
The split-level room housed a DJ on the floor. On the floor, 40 advertising hits were played on an enthusiastic dance floor, while the chosen audience made their way to the second floor.
St. Clair managed the club from 1996 to 1999.
He remembers sleeping in the DJ booth during a snowstorm.
“Customers would view it as home. It was just strange,” he said.
“On Monday afternoon there’s a sense of familiarity because people knew each other, but Die Maschine took it to a new level. “
Zaxx and the Diamond Club
Those looking to dance in the ‘90s could head to Zaxx at the Garden City Inn or go next door to The Diamond Club for live music.
“I knew the DJ from Zaxx,” St. John’s said. “I was racing in Scandals at the time. We used to compete with each other to hear and get the newest music.
The world-renowned Palomino Club
It would be fair to talk about Winnipeg’s clubs without mentioning the world-famous Palomino Club.
Opened in 1988, the original Portage Avenue location is immediately recognizable by its soft neon horse that welcomes country music enthusiasts for an evening of honky-tonk entertainment.
Unless, of course, you’re there on No Country Mondays, in which case you’ll be drinking and dancing to pop radio hits.
“This is where true country enthusiasts and ‘weekend cowboys’ can get their boots on to Manitoba country music,” Einarson said.
Other notable bars of the era: Silverados, Ma’s Corral, and Teddy Bob’s.
Of course, Pal has since moved on, after his original Portage Avenue site was demolished in 2016 to make way for condos.
The new location is owned by a new owner at 436 Main Street, the former Bank of British North America. The current building has also housed several bars, adding Whiskey Dix and The Empire Cabaret.
The Pal opened in 1988 on Portage Avenue as a predominantly country bar and over the years has attracted many celebrities, athletes, and even hosted weddings for shoppers who gathered there.
Honorable Mentions (in no order)
Did we miss one or more? Feel free to email us and let us know.
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