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The photographs in this series were taken c. 1977 – 1979 at the Bus Depot Mall on Portage Avenue and Balmoral Street, Winnipeg MB. At the time I worked close by and passed through the mall frequently. There were two bus lines operating out of the facility; Grey Goose and Greyhound. Grey Goose serviced all of the smaller communities and Greyhound ran between major centres. Greyhound exited the Canadian market in 2021.
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Bus Depot mall, Portage Avenue, Winnipeg Mb
Balmoral Street access, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Waiting area with lockers, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Waiting area and Snack Bar, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Waiting area and ticket counter, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Waiting area and Grey Goose ticket counter, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Departure/Arrival area, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Boarding area, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Waiting area and Greyhound ticket counter, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Arrival/Departure area, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Arrival/Departure area with Medallion and Pong machines, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Portage Avenue entrance, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Loading/boarding area, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Boarding/loading area, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Custodian and Greyhound ticket counter, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Arrival/departure area, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Loading/boarding area, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Weight and fortune machine and lockers, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Arrival/departure area with Medallion machine, Pong game and Photo booth, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Lockers and Snack Bar, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Waiting area, Greyhound ticket counter and Gift shop (closed), Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Arrival/departure area, Grey Goose ticket counter and cafeteria, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Grey Goose ticket counter, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Grey Goose ticket counter, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Arrival/departure area with pay telephones, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Balmoral Street entrance, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Arrival/departure area and Grey Goose ticket counter, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Arrival/departure area with pay telephones, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Waiting area with lockers and arrival/departure times, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Grey Goose bus, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Loading/boarding area, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Greyhound/goose bus, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Shipping office for Greyhound/Grey Goose bus lines, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Waiting area, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Drivers at Grey Goose ticket counter, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
Loading/boarding area, Bus Depot mall, Winnipeg Mb
16 Responses
Nice exhibit, Robert. Great candid street photography. I miss the kind of signage we see in some of the photos. There is something more human about it compared to today.
Thank you Brian … You just don’t see Neon inside much anymore… love the signage too
Thanks for the memories Rob! I spent time in the bus depot during these, years-my high school years.
Thanks Lila
be so different now….. every hand would have a cell in it……. lol
Yes, can you imagine a machine that can tell you your weight and give you a fortune card… pretty exciting stuff.
Pay phones and photo booths! And good public transit. All things of the past!
My brother and I were sent up to Swan River by bus every year at Spring Break to stay with my Grandmothe.
This exhibit brings back many fond memories of the Winnipeg bus depot and of that time in my life when every experience seemed new and exciting.
I heard someone call the camera a memory machine once… glad that some of these touched your memory. A Swan River connection… what was you GM’s name if you don’t mind me asking?
My first year in Winnipeg (1980), we took the bus home to Swan River on long weekends, the bus was always full of friends from back home.. so much fun.
Thanks Rob for posting..
There used to be two buses running to SR every day. The daytime one (milk run) stopped at every little town and the overnight (red eye) only stopped at Dauphin, Neepawa …
Lovely series, Rob! I was at UWinnipeg in 1989 and the view in the top photo was just about the same then, with The Bay and United Army Surplus, but sans the fantastic BUS sign. I only rode the bus once, up to Swan to see Mag and Ernie, with my bro. It was a memorable trip, as Suzanne’s comment so aptly captures. Your photos of the bus depot and of Swan River tug the heartstrings and jog some fond memories. Thanks so much for sharing.
Thank you, Glen
I’ve always loved black & white images! What great shots of the bus depot Rob! It was in the perfect place, not at the airport! Such a shame to have lost Greyhound and Grey Goose. In winter we felt safer taking the bus to Thompson than driving, especially in frigid temperatures. Many rural people are quite stranded now.
Thank you, Jane… The best part about buses and trains is that, while they may take a bit longer, you spend less time travelling to and from airports/hotels … there is a northern bus service running, but they drop people off at the airport ? Too bad.
I remember a charter service that some ski club would run between Winnipeg and McCreary MB (Mount Agassiz). It would leave either the Bus Depot or Grant Park Shopping Mall at 6:00 am and return by 7:00 pm 9 on winter weekends in the late 70’s and early 80’s. The weird thing that I remember about those trips is that there was a regular bus driver, and his name was Ken Arbuckle. Not sure why that stuck. These pictures just brought that all back to me. Thanks Rob.