Pursuing a Historic Urban Landscape Approach to Heritage in Edmonton

The Alberta Register of Historical Places 23 describes the architectural history and significance of the area in the
following terms:
“Early constructions in Strathcona's commercial core were simple wood-frame buildings like the Strathcona Hotel and the
Orange Hall… The buildings erected in the Old Strathcona District after the turn of the century differed from their
predecessors not only in materials, but also in style. The false-fronted frontier architecture of the 1890s gave way after the
turn of the century to more ornate constructions, a reflection of the growth of business capital and entrepreneurial
confidence within Strathcona. Commercial buildings often exhibited a strong classical influence to project an image of
stability, permanence, and prestige. Examples of the increasing sophistication of architecture in the Strathcona district are
the elegant Princess Theatre, which boasted the first marble-fronted facade west of Winnipeg, and the Douglas Block,
which featured a diachromatic design of brick and stone and a crowning cornice, parapet, and pediment. Non-commercial
buildings like the South Side Post Office and the Strathcona Public Library also reflected the increasing sophistication of
architecture in the community in the post-1900 period while also embodying the success and importance of the district.”
Old Strathcona and Whyte Avenue have often been the source of debate and political mobilization around
issues of growth, redevelopment and protection. The early 20thC was characterised by rapid urban growth in
both Strathcona and Edmonton, and early politics in the region were focussed around the ability to attract
growth and development. At its inception Strathcona was created as an overt attempt to establish the south
side of the river, and its links to the CPR, as the economic centre of the region. This was a struggle of elites,
railway companies and landholders on each side of the river, each boosting their own municipality in bids to
out compete each other to capture the development of what was already becoming a booming metropolis
(Gilpin, 1981). Edmonton, led by an organised and active collection of city boosters (see also Kilpatrick, 1980),
eventually won this tussle having solidified itself as the preeminent commercial hub in the region, and having
gained status as the Provincial Capital in 1904. Strathcona’s eventual amalgamation in 1912 saw growth slow as
Edmonton continued to attract both investment and people, leaving Strathcona to survive as a suburban
community.
Recurring patterns of boom & bust, housing speculation and housing crises (see Edmonton Heritage Council,
2017), meant that during most of the 20thC the community became overtaken by increasingly outward
suburban development. City council began to think of the neighbourhood as a thoroughfare and the
demolition of a local tram service and the move towards modernist and car centred planning put the area in the
crosshairs as a site for freeway development at the end of the 1960s. With a development study in hand the
City of Edmonton began purchasing properties along 104 Street to create space for this new North-South
artery. The proposed development was deemed a threat to the physical heritage and character of the area
eventually leading to the establishment of grass roots movement in opposition.
Karen Wall (2002) provides a thorough account of the ups and downs of the preservation movement in Old
Strathcona over this time, while also addressing the interaction between heritage character and the retail
function of the area. With concern spreading about the freeway development, and no doubt inspired by the
Jane Jacobs political movement towards human scale urban development beginning in New York in the 1950s,
the Old Strathcona Foundation (OSF) was created. The organisation created a strong and influential voice
advocating for heritage protection, and furthermore linked heritage to a wider mandate for rethinking urban
planning in South Edmonton which was very much opposition to the rationalist planning and redevelopment
efforts which were in vogue at the time. Involving partnerships between government and an emerging network
of concerned citizens and stakeholders, the OSF fostered a number of parallel political projects included
23 https://hermis.alberta.ca/ARHP/Details.aspx?DeptID=1&ObjectID=4665-1350
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