The Forks National Historic Site

More Information

In 1974 the federal government designated The Forks National Historic Site (FNHS) to preserve and protect the 6,000 years of human history at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine rivers. After land was purchased from CN in 1984, planning and site development began for Canada’s first national historic site operating in an urban environment. The site opened in 1989, the same year as the Forks Market and Plaza.

The FNHS includes interpretive exhibits, year-round walking paths that link with the Forks trails, winter skating trails, a shared garden of early architectural stone carvings, and the portal to Esplanade Riel walkway. The heart of the site is the magnificent sculpture by Marcel Gosselin titled “The Path of Time” (1990), featuring two large bronze shells around a limestone centrepiece. The site includes a circular wood pergola with limestone seating, constructed on an axis with Saint Boniface Cathedral across the river on the east side, and the dome of Union Station on the west.