Key Number:	HS 16786
Site Name:	Strathcona Hotel
Other Names:
Site Type:	0405 - Mercantile/Commercial: Hotel or Inn

Location

ATS Legal Description:

			Twp	Rge	Mer
			52	24	4

Address:	10302 - 82 Avenue NW
Number:	02
Street:	103 NW
Avenue:	82 NW
Other:
Town:	Edmonton
Near Town:

Media

Type	Number	Date	View	Source

Architectural

Style:	Classical Revival
Plan Shape:	Rectangular
Storeys:	Storeys: 3
Foundation:	Basement/Foundation Wall Material: Concrete
Superstructure:	Nailed Frame
Superstructure Cover:
Roof Structure:	High Hip
Roof Cover:
Exterior Codes:	Roof Trim - Eaves: Brackets Window - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Head: Plain Pediment Main Entrance - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Head: Plain Pediment
Exterior:	The design of the Strathcona Hotel - a rectangular wood-frame structure - is typical of frontier buildings, having only a few details to suggest a particular style. In this case, brackets under the eaves and pediments over the windows and doors give the hotel a classical appearance.
Interior:	The interior of the hotel has been extensively altered. Originally, the hotel contained 45 guest rooms, a dining room and a beer parlour.
Environment:	Neighbourhood: Strathcona The Strathcona Hotel is located in the heart of the Whyte Avenue business district and the Old Strathcona Conservation Area. It fits in well with the other historic facades which line this historic part of Edmonton. The present site and situation remains functionally compatable with the original purpose of the Strathcona Hotel.
Condition:	The original wood frame building and north annex remain structurally sound with old but serviceable electrical and mechanical equipment. The west annex, known as the Wee Book Inn is in poor condition and has been joined to the small single store building immediately west of it. The original facades of the two buildings have been joined and blended by a stucco covering. The west annex unlike the north annex has been, historically, only briefly connected with the hotel. (June 1975) Good.
Alterations:	A recent stuccoing has obscured the original wood siding and brick work. The interior has been altered extensively as has the exterior of the first addition. (June 1975)

Historical

Construction:	Construction Date:
Hotel constructed North annex added West annex added	1891/01/01 1907/01/01 1913/01/01
Usage:	Usage Date:
Hotel (date approximate) Westminster Ladies' College Hotel	1891/01/01 1916/01/01 1919/01/01
Owner:	Owner Date:
Thomas A. Anderson Calgary and Edmonton Railway Nanton & Munson W.H. Sheppard Jos. Beachamp & E. Chevi... Presbyterian Church of Canada Harries C. Pellet Western Impros. Co. Ltd. Harrie C. Pellet & Char... W. Smith Stampede Hotel Ltd. Vanguard Holdings Ltd. Strathcona Hotel Edmonton Ltd.	1888/10/13 1891/01/01 1891/10/14 1906/12/01 1912/10/12 1913/12/03 1928/10/08 1928/10/23 1933/06/09 1958/03/05 1958/11/20 1964/05/05

Architect:	1907 - W. Whiddington
Builder:	1891 - Calgary & Edmonton Railway Company.
Craftsman:	N/A
History:	Construction of the Strathcona Hotel, by the Calgary and Edmonton Railway Company was completed in December of 1891. The original building is the oldest wood frame commercial building and the first hotel in the Old Strathcona. Two brick additions were subsequently made to the hotel. The north annex was built in 1907 in keeping with the design of the initial structure always maintaining a functional connection with the hotel. The West Annex (Wee Book Inn) was built prior to 1903 of more modest proportion. It functioned for a time as the hotel bar-room and later a multitude of commercial uses generally disassociated with the hotel. For a brief period during 1918 -1919 the hotel was occupied by the Westminster Ladies College whereafter it served as a hotel to the press. * * The Strathcona Hotel although architecturally simple forms part of the historic facade of Whyte Avenue and the general character of the Old Strathcona Conservation Area. 1888, October 13 - owner: Thomas Anderson First Hotel in Strathcona Built by Calgary & Edmonton Railway During prohibition the Hotel housed the Westminster Ladies College (1918-1919). 10308 Whyte Avenue (82) shown as a stationery and tobacco store. The rooms at north end were 'Sample rooms' - rooms where travelling salesman could display wares. Part of a trend in which railway companies constructed the lines themselves and the hotels at the end of the lines. Present Owner: Strathcona Hotel Edmonton Ltd. ***** Construction of the Strathcona Hotel began in August 1891 and it was completed in November of the same year. It was built by the C & E Railway, (later the Canadian Pacific) and opened for business under manager, Dad Sharples, formerly a dining car conductor on Dec. 5, 1891. This is one of the oldest remaining wood frame buildings in Strathcona. In 1907 an addition designed by Architect W.A. Whiddington, was built by Pheasy and Batson at a cost of $18,000, extending the hotel at the north side. A west annex (now the Wee Book Inn) was built in 1911 as a barroom but this function ceased when prohibition was introduced in July, 1915. During the prohibition era the hotel was as a school for girls. Currently the hotel has 47 rooms, 6 baths and a beer parlour. The original wood siding exterior has been stuccoed over while the heating, electrical and plumbing systems although old, are apparently still in good condition. This building is of simple design but has historical character and is kept in generally good condition. * * * The Stratchcona Hotel is the oldest wood frame commercial building on Whyte Avenue. It was constructed by the Calgary and Edmonton Railway Company in 1891, and was originally named the Hotel Edmonton. Even with additions in 1907 and 1913, the Strathcona could not compete with its grand CPR cousins where size was concerned, but its local reputation could rival any of them. In 1911 the Edmonton Bulletin, referring to the Strathcona Hotel, noted that 'this city has for years provided first class hotel accommodations and at the present time has one of the best known houses in this section of Canada.' Business suffered at the Strathcona during prohibition, when laws against the sale of liquor were brought into effect. In order to survive, hotels had to find alternate uses for thieir rooms. For a brief period the Strathcona served as the home of the Westminster Ladies College, but in 1919 it returned, unlike its neighbour the Dominion, to its original function. Prohibition ended in Alberta in 1923, giving hotels a new lease on life. The Strathcona survived the crisis and has continued to operate as a hotel to the present day. The design of the Strathcona Hotel - rectangular wood-frame structure - is typical of frontier buildings, having only a few details to suggest a practicular style. In this case, brackets under the eaves and pediments over the windows and doors give the hotel a classical appearance. The building's simplicity allowed it to be constructed at minimum cost - $5,000 in 1891, and with the maximum content - 45 guest rooms a dining room and a beer parlour. New arrivals in Strathcona would probably have found the solid, substantial appearance of the hotel comforting after their journey, and its classical styling and large hipped roof lent an air distinction to the new streetscape. The Strathcona Hotel was declared a Registered Historical Resource in 1976. * * * STRATHCONA HOTEL (1891) The Lap of Luxury In 1913, The Edmonton Journal described the Strathcona Hotel as an historical landmark having 'an eye to comfort and refined good taste, both in arrangement of offices, lounging room and sleeping quarters. 'It was here the big men of yesterday gathered to execute some of the largest land deals made on the American continent,' The Journal extolled in its 10th anniversary issue. The Strathcona Hotel is the oldest wood frame building on the south side. Today, rooms are rented at $13 per night to a 'working class' clientele, and the hotel also serves as home to long-time residents. The south side hotel caters to a walk-in trade in its tavern - students, baseball teams and old-timers. Its longevity and prominent location have earned it a special place in the city's heart. The Strathcona Hotel opened in December 1891 as the Hotel Edmonton, to serve passengers off the Calgary and Edmonton Railway. It is believed to have been renamed the Strathcona after the town of Strathcona was incorporated in 1899. It was built at a cost of $5,000, and in its original plan, the front entrance was on First Street (now 103rd Street), with an office entrance on Main Street (now Whyte Avenue). At that time, the ground floor housed an office, billiards room, bar room, kitchen and two pantries. There in no longer a kitchen or restaurant on the main floor, simply a lobby, offices and a tavern, as well as a small shop. The site was originally owned by Thomas A. Anderson, who sold it to Winnipeg real estate brokers Augustus Nanton and John Henry Munson in 1890. Nanton and Munson assembled much of the land in Strathcona for the Calgary and Edmonton Railway, in order to build up a thriving end-point, and profit, for both parties. While Nanton and Munson's name remained on the land title until 1906, some say it was held in proxy for the Calgary and Edmonton Railway. In 1906 the property was sold to brewing magnate William Henry Sheppard for $6,500. In the hands of later owners, prohibition pushed the hotel into foreclosure. From 1923 to 1928 it was owned by the Presbyterian Church, and was known as Westminster Ladies College. Construction of the building began August 5, 1891, a few days after the first train rolled into the South Edmonton station from Calgary. The hotel was originally stained in dark wood, but was painted a cream-color with maroon trim around 1910. In 1978 the hotel was given a major facelift. Its stuccoed exterior was removed and replaced with stained cedar siding. It was restored to its 1910 colors in 1982, and plastic cornices replaced the former wooden ones. A two-storey brick annex was erected on the western side in 1903 to house an expanded bar, and in 1907, a concrete extension designed in keeping with the original structure was built to the north at a cost of $18,000. In its heyday, the hotel had 54 rooms, now there are 46. In 1915, with the onset of Prohibition, the bar annex was leased to a fruit store and a bank. It was later registered under a separate title, and is home to another business. Although described as simple architecturally, the hotel forms an integral part of the historic facade of Whyte Avenue. It was designated a Registered Historic Resource by the province in 1976. * * * HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE : Construction of the Strathcona Hotel, by the Calgary and Edmonton Railway Company was completed in December of 1891. The original building is the oldest wood frame commercial building and the first hotel in the Old Strathcona. Two brick additions were subsequently made to the hotel. The north annex was built in 1907 in keeping with the design of the initial structure always maintaining a functional connection with the hotel. The West Annex (Wee Book Inn) was built prior to 1903 of more modest proportions. It functioned for a time as the hotel barroom and later a multitude of commercial uses generally disassociated with the hotel. For a brief period during 1918 - 1919 the hotel generally desassociated with the hotel. For a brief period during 1918 - 1919 the hotel was occupied by the Westminster Ladies College whereafter it served as a hotel to the pressent. The Strathcona Hotel although architecturally simple forms parts of the hitoric facade of Whyte Avenue and the general character of the Old Strathcona Conservation Area. PRESENT CONDITION: The facade remains similar to the original structure with stucco obscuring the original wood siding and some of the wood decoration has been removed. The West Annex has a similar stucco covering.

Internal

Designation Status:	Designation Date:
Provincial Historic Resource Municipal Historic Resource	2001/03/27 2007/05/22

Register:	A91

Links

Internet:
Alberta Register of Historic Places:	4665-0471