Located between Union Station and the river, the Forks area has been rejuvenated in recent years. Previously used by the railroad, the buildings have been renovated and converted into covered markets and shops, restaurants and bars. The area around the buildings has been landscaped down to the river bank.

The Forks was one of the key sites of early railroad development on the prairies. The railyards of the Northern Pacific and Manitoba Railroad, the Canadian Northern, the Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad and the Canadian National Railway all used the site at one time or another. Many of the buildings you see now at The Forks date from this time. Union Station (1908-11), designed and built by Warren & Wetmore (the same architects who designed New York´s Grand Central Station), is still used as a passenger railway terminal as well as an office building. The Bridge and Building Structure (1889) is now the Manitoba Children´s Museum. The National Cartage Building is now the Johnston Terminal, and the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway Stable Building (1909-12) and the Great Northern Railway Stable Building are joined together to form The Forks Market.