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Strathcona Hotel
Edmonton
Other Names:
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Hotel Edmonton
Westminster Ladies College
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Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The Strathcona Hotel is a three-storey rectangular wood-frame structure built in 1891, with a two-storey annex to the west (built 1903) and a three-storey addition to the north (1907), situated on two city lots at a prominent corner location in Edmonton's historic district of Old Strathcona.
Heritage Value
The historical significance of the Strathcona Hotel lies mainly in its service as a stopover for countless immigrants after the arrival of the railway in Edmonton in 1891. It has added significance as the oldest known wood frame commercial structure in the region.
Built by the Calgary and Edmonton Railway Company in 1891, across the street from its railway station at the "end of steel," the Strathcona Hotel was the first hotel in South Edmonton (by 1899 the Town of Strathcona) and thus served as a stopping point for immigrants seeking to establish homesteads or businesses in the Northwest. From 1891 to 1904 it was the largest hotel in the region, it was an important meeting place and landmark for early Strathcona. Because it relied heavily on revenue from the tavern located in the west annex, prohibition forced the sale of the hotel. It was purchased by the Presbyterian Church, which used the building to house the Westminster Ladies College from 1918 to 1924. With the end of prohibition the building reverted to use as a hotel.
As one of last nineteenth-century wood frame hotels remaining in Alberta, the Strathcona Hotel is a good example of a frontier commercial building. On a prime corner location at the intersection of the historic Calgary Trail and Whyte Avenue, it plays an essential role in maintaining the historic character of the streetscape of a heritage area.
Source: Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, Historic Resources Management Branch (File: Des. 203)
Character-Defining Elements
The late Victorian commercial style of the Strathcona Hotel is expressed in character-defining elements such as:
-form, scale and massing;
- unusual L-shaped floor plan, with two annexes;
- large hipped roof;
- horizontal exterior wood siding;
- historic exterior colour pattern;
- detailing, including decorative brackets under eaves, pediments over windows and doors;
- fenestration pattern;
- masonry extension to north;
- sawn cedar roof shingles;
- sightlines of building from Whyte Avenue and 103rd Street, and corner entrance.
Location
| Street Address: |
10302 - 82 Avenue NW |
| Community: |
Edmonton |
| Boundaries: |
Portion of Lots 1 and 2, Block 68, Plan I |
| Contributing Resources: |
Buildings: 1
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ATS Legal Description:
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Mer |
Rge |
Twp |
Sec |
LSD |
4
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24
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52
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29
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08
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PBL Legal Description (Cadastral Reference):
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Plan |
Block |
Lot |
Parcel |
I
I
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68
68
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2
1
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Latitude/Longitude:
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Latitude |
Longitude |
CDT |
Datum Type |
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53.518393 |
-113.495269 |
GPS |
NAD 83 |
UTM Reference:
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Northing |
Easting |
Zone |
CDT |
Datum Type |
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Recognition
| Recognition Authority: |
Province of Alberta |
| Designation Status: |
Provincial Historic Resource |
| Date of Designation: |
2001/03/27 |
Historical Information
| Built: |
1891 to 1891 |
| Period of Significance: |
1918 to 1924 |
| Theme(s): |
Peopling the Land : Settlement
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| Historic Function(s): |
Commerce / Commercial Services : Hotel, Motel or Inn
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| Current Function(s): |
Commerce / Commercial Services : Hotel, Motel or Inn
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| Architect: |
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| Builder: |
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| Context: |
HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE
Built by the Calgary and Edmonton Railway Company in 1891, the Strathcona Hotel is the oldest frame commercial building and the first hotel in Old Strathcona. The first night's rest for many newcomers to Edmonton was in the Strathcona Hotel, built across the street from the "end of steel". The proprietor in those days was "Dad" Sharples, who was known for his spirited rendering of English music hall songs in the bar.
Prosperity lead the Strathcona to expand twice - a two-storey annex to the west erected in 1903 and a three-floor extension to the north added in 1907. During the prohibition era 1918-1919, the hotel was the home of the Westminster Ladies' College.
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Additional Information
| Object Number: |
4665-0471 |
| Designation File: |
DES 0203 |
| Related Listing(s): |
4664-0224
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| Heritage Survey File: |
HS 16786
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| Website Link: |
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| Data Source: |
Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, Historic Resources Management Branch, Old St. Stephen's College, 8820 - 112 Street, Edmonton, AB T6G 2P8 (File: Des. 203) |
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