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Site #10 Eddy Walkers Corner
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Eddy Walker was an early entrepreneur who built a group of small rental cabins on the corner of Ash Avenue and Prospect Street and in a few additional locations around town. He was known by all as “Mr. Winnipeg Beach.”
He began buying the cottages around 1929, and his cottages included #18 and #220 Hazel, #17 Spruce, #29 Prospect, and #5 Ash, as well as many lakefront units right where you are standing. At one point, Eddy owned 72 rental units in Winnipeg Beach. He refurbished the cottages himself and lived at the lake from April to October. People supplied their own food and some bedding, but there was still a lot of laundry to do.
His son and daughter Barbara recalled working as “hotel staff” all summer until they were adults. They called it hard work but enjoyable to be able to live out at the beach. David recalls going for “chips” downtown, skating at the roller rink, and climbing the water tower, which was not allowed but done anyway.
One unique project Eddy accomplished was hauling two Winnipeg city streetcars out to the beach and installing them side by side to make a unique cottage and workshop for his family. You can see the two fronts of the street cars in this photo with Eddy’s kids, David and Barbara. The street car cottage sat right where the old Empress hotel was located before it burned down and used the Empress's water tanks and sewage disposal system, which allowed Eddy to offer hot showers and flush toilets to guests, which would have been a real luxury at that time.
The double street car cottage ( the windows are the front of the streetcars) Eddy’s kids David and Barbara are standing in front.
Eddy was known for the beautiful gardens on his properties and the care he put into creating fun spots for kids to play.
Eddy loved music and was an accomplished musician. He played music with an orchestra around the city of Winnipeg and the Interlake area. He also taught accordion at Kent’s Accordion College in Winnipeg and gave free violin & accordion music lessons to the students at Winnipeg Beach School. Occasionally, he would gift an instrument to a child whose parents could not afford one.
Eddy used to take a trailer around the town on Sunday afternoons with a Piano in the back, playing music and inviting everyone to come to a musical sing-a-long on Sunday evenings across from his place at the Tennis courts. Plus, Sunday evenings in the summer were the scenes of bonfires, musical jam sessions, and sing-alongs, which were enjoyed by all who visited & lived in Winnipeg Beach. This was in addition to the pump organ he had in his cottage, where he played mostly old-time music every night for the guests.
Eddie held many jobs around the town over the years, including running a movie theater on Hazel Avenue and cleaning the beach each morning with a horse pulling a rake. He was described as easygoing and loved by all. Eddy was born in 1899 in London, England, and passed away in 1986. He married Freda and had two children, David and a daughter, Barbara. Sadly, they both passed away quite young. Most of his Eddy’s rental cabins were torn down in the mid-70s. However, the location will always be known as Eddy Walker's Corner.
The large purple Martin house in the photo now resides in the rear yard of a property on Ash.
Original Ad in the Free Press for Eddy Walker’s cabin rentals.
If you have any personal photos of this historic tour stop, please take a photo of them with your phone and email them to: winnipegbeachhistory@gmail.com
