Winnipeg poised to put its best foot forward: Historic status coming to The Boy with the Boot

A bronze statuethat's been vandalized, stolen and moved aroundWinnipeg several times overthe course of 126 years is poised to receiveofficial historic designation.

On Friday, city council's historical buildings committee will consider addingThe Boy with the Boot to its list of historical resources.

The 1.2-metre, 140-kilogram statue, commissioned in 1897,depicts a young boy wearing a boot on his left foot while his right hand holds a leakyboot from his right foot.

The statue was originallyplaced at a fountain outside Winnipeg's old Victorian "gingerbread" city hall in 1898, near a statue of Queen Victoria, according to a report to city council. The bronze boyhad to be moved in 1913 to make way for a driveway in front of city hall.

The statue was then deposited ina wooded area in AssiniboinePark, where it occasionally frightened people, owing to its obscure location.

"There are some reports of people stumbling across the statue and it being kind of hidden amongthe trees there," senior city archivist Sarah Ramsden statedon the city's website.

In 1953, The Boy with the Bootwasmoved again, this time to theentrance to AssiniboinePark's English Garden.

Thereit has remainedalbeit, with some interruptions.

"The statue appears to be in good condition despite numerous incidents of theft and vandalism. Several times, park officials have found the statue with the boot missing and in 1994, a local fraternity stole the entire statue,"Winnipeg heritage officer Murray Peterson writes in a report about the statue.

"After several months it reappeared in the garage of a popular local radio host with a note that read, 'Timmy went on a journey, Timmy is lonely and wants to go home.'"

Thebroadcaster in question wasPeter Warren, who hosted CJOB's Action Line in the 1990sbefore he moved to Victoria, B.C.

The city has no record of who designed the statue or who cast it, though heritage officer Petersonwrote it was likely created in Italy.

"Its construction history is unclear and the origin of the reason for its creation range from remembering a drowned Italian newspaper seller, to a Civil War drummer-boy who carried water to his fallen comrades, to a young firefighter who used his boot in a bucket chain or emptied it after the fire was out," he wrote.

Similar statues exist in the U.S., Europe and Cuba, Murray added.

The Assiniboine Park Conservancy said in a statement it's been informed of the pending historic designation.

"We have no concerns or objections to the proposed historical designation for The Boy with the Boot statue," communications director Laura Cabak said.

"And yes, he's still there."