This view of Winnipeg is from a water colour painted in 1870. It depicts a scene as one looks north. At this time Winnipeg was not yet incorporated as a village, town, or city, and there was no sharp dividing line between the open prairie and the settlement. The width of Main Street was not dictated by visions of eight-lane traffic but was based on the mode of travel of early Red River Carts. They travelled in a random fashion to avoid the deep, muddy ruts of the carts ahead and this took up a great deal of space.
