Sadie Grimm Picnic Shelter
Year
2024
Location
Winnipeg Beach Provincial Park, Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba, Canada
Client
Coalition of Manitoba Motorcycle Groups Inc.
Images
Anvil Tree Inc.
The Ride and Its Afterlife
Anvil Tree Inc.
In 1914, Sadie Grimm became the first Canadian woman to win a motorcycle competition that, at the time, was a sport dominated by men. Grimm won by being the first rider to ride from Winnipeg to Winnipeg Beach that year. The feat was notable as there was an almost complete absence of roads at the time.
In 2017, as a tribute to Grimm, the Coalition of Manitoba Motorcycle Groups initiated the building of a legacy structure in the form of a picnic pavilion at the site of the former Empress Hotel in Winnipeg Beach where she completed her ride in 1914. The Province of Manitoba pre-approved an unique all-steel & concrete preliminary design by architect and motorcycle enthusiast Brian Mansky. That plan was subsequently modified and approved and is being built by design-builder Anvil Tree. The picnic shelter is being constructed in Winnipeg Beach Provincial Park.
Collective Memory in Motion
Anvil Tree Inc.
In 2017, in recognition of this achievement and her early promotion of women motorcycle ridership as having national importance, Grimm was inducted into the Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame (CMHOF). She was also recognized in Manitoba Legislature for these accomplishments. The road to the CMHOF involved hundreds of hours of volunteer time. This included the painstaking research, public presentations and public awareness events including a special ride organized by the Women’s Riders Committee (WRC) of the Coalition of Manitoba Motorcycle Groups (CMMG) from Winnipeg to Winnipeg Beach annually since June 2017.
Credits
Design, Fabrication, Installation & Images: Sputnik Architecture Inc. & Anvil Tree Inc.
