He chose land where the north-south and east-west ox cart paths crossed, in order to build a general store with his half-brother John Christian Schultz.

[4] In 1976, the City of Winnipeg signed an agreement with private developers to open an underground concourse linking shopping malls under the four corner properties.

[citation needed] Portage and Main is the brunt of popular jokes referring to it as the coldest and windiest intersection in Canada.

The long-standing cold weather legend is unproven, because there are no official temperature measurements at any street corner in Canada to confirm the coldest intersection.

"[13] The British band Blurt have a song named "Portage & Main" on their album Kenny Rogers' Greatest Hit.

[4] In his song "Free in the Harbour," Canadian folk singer Stan Rogers referenced Portage and Main as a stop for fishermen from Hermitage Bay, Newfoundland on their way to find oil field work in "the hills of Alberta."