East
of the tracks is becoming the artistic area of Old Strathcona,
supplying must-haves to artists of all media.
—
Alhambra Books
—
Paint Spot
—
Clay Works
—
Stained Glass
—
Silk Screen Shops
—
Videodrome (Alternative Video)
—
And More
The area has a history of its
own. According to the book Old
Strathcona Edmonton's Southside Roots,
after the railway came in 1891, the east side of the tracks was
earmarked to be the industrial area, with workshops, grain elevators
and mills (hence the name of the one-time Mill Restaurant). But
residences quickly mixed in and the community of Ritchie (south of
Whyte Avenue between the railway line and Mill Creek ravine) became
an enclave of German-speakers. They attended the German language
Trinity Lutheran Church and worked at local German delicatessens and
workshops. Zeidler’s woodworking factory at 10066 Whyte Avenue
employed many German-speakers, some hired as soon as they got off the
train at the nearby railway station.
There was also Minchau’s
blacksmith shop building, built in 1925 and still standing after
almost 90 years. Adolf Minchau, of German ancestry, came to
Strathcona from Russia in 1907. He became a prominent businessman and
landlord on Whyte Avenue, and a leader in the Canadian Society for
German Culture. But during WWII the government, suspecting him of
disloyalty, interned him and confiscated his Whyte Avenue buildings.
The German businesses in Ritchie
are almost all gone. The Whyte Avenue Zeidler’s factory is no more,
but many buildings on Whyte Avenue are the original pre-war (that is,
World War One!) buildings. You can even see the rickety outside
wooden stairs on some. This area has again and again shown itself to
be unusual. In 1966 a tall tipi behind a store attracted the
attention of the Edmonton Journal. A family was living in it, but
without running water it was condemned by and city inspectors and the
family had to find other accommodations. One of the largest survivors
is the large building at 10008 Whyte. This building held Moreau &
Sons store in 1912.
A short distance behind the
Moreau Building is the old King Edward School, at 101 and 85th, built
in 1914. This school replaced the 1902 Grandin Street School nearby,
and in turn its students moved to a new King Edward School which
opened in 1949 across the street.
Other character homes from the
pre-war period can be seen scattered through the Strathcona Community
League area, around King Edward School. It seems that finer larger
ones can be seen north of Whyte Avenue and sometimes quite quaint
smaller ones can be seen to the south. In the early days, when many
of these were built, the only dry and free way across the river for a
vehicle, horse-drawn in those days, was the Low-Level Bridge, opened
in 1900. Thus those doing business in Edmonton preferred to live near
Strathcona Road/99 Street, the route to Edmonton, and paid extra for
the privilege. (Continued on overside)
Old
Strathcona Before the Great Depression
The history presented here was
taken from Old
Strathcona Edmonton's Southside Roots
by Tom Monto, available at Alhambra Books. This 500-page tell-all is
the story of southside Edmonton from
its start as a scattering of Metis/Indian pioneer cabins to a
bustling section of the City of Edmonton in the boom times of the
1920s. Fort Edmonton and tradition drew many First Nations people to
the area. The old ways changed dramatically with the coming of the
CPR in 1891, giving rise to a European-style commercial centre of
South Edmonton.
The young community became the town of Strathcona in 1899, then a
city in 1907. Amalgamation with the larger city of Edmonton in 1912
ended the community’s separate existence, but residents of “Old
Strathcona” played a large role in the life of the combined cities,
as the last section of the book reveals.
Today, 99 Street has preserved
many of the old buildings that for decades have housed small shops
for those passing by or living nearby. Many remember Tubby Bateman’s
IGA on 99th. He owned and operated his own shop, and he appreciated
his customers, most of whom he knew personally. The money he earned
he put back into the community with selfless acts of giving. Another
good reason to buy local, from local businesses. The corner of 99
Street and Whyte Avenue is the site of a fine but understated bank
building. Its smoothly curved walls enhance the look of the corner.
The first church east of the
tracks was an 1893 woodframe Holy Trinity Anglican Church at the
corner of 100th and 81st. The wood Anglican building was moved a few
blocks away, and in 1912 it was replaced by a clinker brick building,
still standing at 101 and 84th. the minister’s rectory at
An historic German-language
Lutheran Trinity Church now stands on that site. A German-language
church, built of wood, was put on the religious corner in 1902. In
1914 the congregation built a brick church, which is now a registered
historic site. The English-style rectory across the street is worthy
of a look as well.
Other registered historic
resources east of the tracks (named after their first resident)
include:
10065 - 80 Avenue Adolph Adams
Residence,
9633 - 83 Avenue Trinity Church
rectory
9938 - 85 Avenue Thomas Scott
Residence at
9944 - 85 Avenue Joseph Graydon
9945 – 85 Avenue Alexander
Benson
Many historic East Strathcona
buildings are now gone. Old buildings on the north side of 80 Avenue
east of 102 burnt down in a spectacular flame around the turn of the
century (Y2K that is). It started about 9 am and even by 4 pm
additional firetrucks, from Stony plain and Beaumont, were still
arriving. Telephone poles across the back alley show evidence of the
conflagration.
A brick building built by J.J.
McKenzie stood proudly at the corner of 102 Street and Whyte Avenue
for almost 100 years but then was destroyed by a fire around 1998.
Old woodframe buildings between 80 and 81 Avenues on the east side of
102 Street also burnt down in 1986. These included a building that
had once housed J.J. McKenzie’s car garage and dealership. In 1912,
a garage employee took a car, “a six-cylinder Everitt”, out for a
test drive. Going west on Whyte Avenue, he met a horse-drawn wagon
coming toward him on the wrong side of the road. The test-driver took
the car off he road and was finally able to stop it after it had
crashed through a fence. The horse and vehicle had been thrown down
but suffered no lasting injury. In the 1960s, one of these old wooden
buildings housed the Yardbird Suite folk club. (Edmonton Journal,
December 9, 1966; Old Strathcona Before the Great Depression, p. 336)
Speaking of transportation. In
the old days, a streetcar used to come south on the High Level Bridge
then east on Whyte Avenue to 91 Street. The bridge across Mill Creek
used today was built in 1961. It replaced a 1911 bridge angled
northeast-southwest. The 1911 bridge facilitated travel as previous
to its opening the best route was a “low-level” bridge at Wye
Road (today’s 76 Avenue).
Worries about the safety of the
streetcar crossing the CPR railway line caused the part of the route
east of 104 Street to be replaced by buses in 1944. Eerily, the last
streetcar crossing the railway line at Whyte Avenue did in fact crash
into the side of CPR train. Luckily there were no injuries. Old
Strathcona Before the Great Depression, p. 314)
The east view of the Strathcona
Railway station is at least as good as any other. The octagonal
baywindows harken to Scottish roots perhaps in reference to the
Scottish ancestry of many CPR officials. The building’s wide
bellcast (overhanging) eaves remind some of Oriental stylings. The
station’s east view was used as a backdrop for a SNL skit entitled
“Polynesia Town.” Yes, the skit’s director well-remembered John
Candy once writhed in the snow in pretend anguish in front of 10119 -
81 Avenue. Unfortunately it seems this view will be obstructed by a
new mega complex planned to be built there.
About the same time the station
was built, CPR built a new roundhouse, in which railcars could be
serviced and turned around on a “turntable.” This once-notable
infrastructure investment can now be seen (at a distance) at 78 and
100th.
The first church east of the
tracks was an 1893 woodframe Anglican Holy Trinity Church at the
corner of 100th and 81st. The wood Anglican building was moved a few
blocks away, and in 1912 it was replaced by a clinker brick building,
still standing at 101 and 84th. the minister’s rectory at
An historic German-language
Lutheran Trinity Church now stands on that site. A German-language
church, built of wood, was put on the religious corner in 1902. In
1914 the congregation built a brick church, which is now a registered
historic site. The English-style rectory across the street is worthy
of a look as well.
Other residences registered as
historic resources east of the tracks (named after their first
resident) include:
10065 - 80 Avenue Adolph Adams
Residence,
9633 - 83 Avenue Trinity Church
rectory
9938 - 85 Avenue Thomas Scott
Residence at
9944 - 85 Avenue Joseph Graydon
9945 – 85 Avenue Alexander
Benson
And north of here a single block
at the top of Scona Road is almost a time capsule. 92 and 93 Avenue
east of 99 Street have no less than 10 historically-recognized homes.
The small–town character of
Old Strathcona can be seen at the corner of 76 Avenue and 96 Street,
where old-style strip malls provide needed services and goods to
local customers. Another at 66 Avenue and 96 Street does the same for
Hazeldean. (People looking for an available doctor should check out
the new one here—just starting up business, he is advertizing for
patients!) The corner grocery store next door (Shop Easy!) is a case
where small can be good.
The street where John Candy once
emoted -- 81 Avenue east of the tracks -- is carrying on his artistic
drive. With its old-style small-town diagonal parking and historic
buildings still hanging on and now finding new uses, some of the
younger computer set may think they are in a different city.
Certainly it is a world apart from the chain stores and the plastic
existence found elsewhere. The area is working its way toward a
future where humans and their potential, artistic and otherwise, will
be respected, where money is not the real bottom line, a place where
, writers, actors and artists of all kinds, storekeepers, customers
and friends can find a common meeting point.
East Strathcona is the place
where they are meeting.
Alhambra
Books 10115- 81 Avenue
More
than 40,000 books, used, and collectible.
Specializing
in classic literature, spirituality, technical
and history, see
above!
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