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Strathcona Garage
Edmonton
Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
Constructed in 1912, the Strathcona Garage is a two-storey, red-brick commercial building located on a single lot in the Edmonton neighbourhood of Queen Alexandra, which was once part of the formerly independent Town of Strathcona prior to amalgamation with Edmonton in 1912.
Heritage Value
The Strathcona Garage is significant for its association with the growth and development of the early automotive industry in Edmonton and architecturally as a rare example of an early twentieth century automobile dealership.
The Strathcona Garage served as an automobile dealership, garage and repair shop for more than 30 years. When the Strathcona Garage first opened in 1912, automobile ownership in Edmonton was rare, but by 1943 when the Strathcona Garage closed, automobiles had evolved from a luxury item available only to the affluent to a mass-produced technology that was accessible to a much broader demographic. The Strathcona Garage is valued for its association with this early transitional period in the development and evolution of the automotive industry and its association with the spread of a technology that shaped Edmonton and transformed the lives of its citizens.
The Strathcona Garage is valued as an excellent example of an early twentieth century automobile dealership. The two-storey red-brick building featured a commercial main floor which housed areas for a showroom, automobile storage and repair with the second floor dedicated to apartment suites. Large display windows on the north facade allowed views into the showroom where the latest automobile models were displayed. While overall the building’s design is relatively simple it is embellished by some ornamental features including crenellated parapets, arched entrances with decorative keystones, pilasters and brick corbelling, which were intended to convey the prestige associated with early automobile ownership.
Character-Defining Elements
Key character defining elements of the Strathcona Garage include:
-Form, scale and massing;
-red brick construction;
-four large skylights which allowed natural light into the second storey hallways and stairwell; and
-pattern, style and construction of all original windows and doors.
North Facade
-Large display windows at ground level with cornices above;
-pilasters which divide the facade into 3 distinct bays;
-crenellated parapet with corbelling below;
-central arched entrance with concrete voussoirs and decorative keystone;
-concrete sill and lintel bands; and
-concrete shields on the parapet and name plate (“S’cona Garage”) and date stone (“1912”) in central bay.
East Facade
-Large display windows with cornice above at the northeast corner;
-crenelated parapets at the northeast corner and above the central entrance;
-ten pilasters which divide the facade into 9 distinct bays above the first storey;
-concrete sill and lintel bands;
-arched central entrance with decorative keystone; and
-concrete name plate (“S’cona Garage”) on parapet above central entrance.
South Facade
-Arched brick window openings with concrete sills; and
-garage door opening.
West Facade
-Arched brick window openings with concrete sills
Location
| Street Address: |
10505 - 81 Avenue NW |
| Community: |
Edmonton |
| Boundaries: |
Lot 1A, Block 48, Descriptive Plan 9220734 |
| Contributing Resources: |
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ATS Legal Description:
PBL Legal Description (Cadastral Reference):
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Plan |
Block |
Lot |
Parcel |
9220734
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48
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1A
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Latitude/Longitude:
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Latitude |
Longitude |
CDT |
Datum Type |
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53.516834 |
-113.500775 |
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NAD 83 |
UTM Reference:
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Northing |
Easting |
Zone |
CDT |
Datum Type |
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Recognition
| Recognition Authority: |
Local Governments (AB) |
| Designation Status: |
Municipal Historic Resource |
| Date of Designation: |
2021/04/06 |
Historical Information
| Built: |
1912 to 1912 |
| Period of Significance: |
1912 to 1914 |
| Theme(s): |
Developing Economies : Trade and Commerce
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| Historic Function(s): |
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| Current Function(s): |
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| Architect: |
D. Hardie
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| Builder: |
J. Otto Edinger
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| Context: |
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Additional Information
| Object Number: |
4664-0163 |
| Designation File: |
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| Related Listing(s): |
4665-1397
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| Heritage Survey File: |
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| Website Link: |
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| Data Source: |
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