Key Number:	HS 53484
Site Name:	NWMP ED Barracks
Other Names:
Site Type:	1402 - Military: Barracks

Location

ATS Legal Description:

			Twp	Rge	Mer
			52	24	4

Address:	9530-9542 - 101A Avenue
Number:	30-42
Street:	95
Avenue:	101A
Other:
Town:	Edmonton
Near Town:

Media

Type	Number	Date	View	Source

Architectural

Style:
Plan Shape:	L
Storeys:	Storeys: 2
Foundation:	Basement/Foundation Wall Material: Stone
Superstructure:	Brick
Superstructure Cover:
Roof Structure:	Flat
Roof Cover:
Exterior Codes:
Exterior:	Stepped Parapets; central corner tower; contrasting brickwork
Interior:	Site contained jail cells, stables, kitchen, dining room officer bedrooms, Rec. Room
Environment:	Neighbourhood: Boyle Street Site is Approximately 7 Acres in size, top of Grierson Hill
Condition:	Good
Alterations:	N/A

Historical

Construction:	Construction Date:
Construction Started Construction Ended	1912/01/01 1913/01/01
Usage:	Usage Date:
Headquarters- Prison	1912/01/01
Owner:	Owner Date:
N/A

Architect:	N/A
Builder:	N/A
Craftsman:	N/A
History:	see also HS 6380 and HS 20676 First Occupant: RNWMP Barracks Erected By North West Mounted Police; later Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Barracks, stables, cells within the complex; cost $ 70,000; tunnel under Barracks extends south to the river - used for utility services, long since dismantled. In 1913 barracks occupied (by 20 officers) by the R.N.W.M.P. 'G' division under command of Insp. E.A. MacDonell. In 1935 - became 'K' Division. 1986 - building remains empty as the future of the day-parole programme uncertain - renovation held over. Estimated cost $ 70,000.00 1974 November 20 - Demolition Permit. ***** In 1874, Fort Saskatchewan became the first base of the North West Mounted Police in the area--a choice encouraged, if not wholly determined by a clash of personalities between the Chief Factor at Fort Edmonton, and the Mounties' commanding officer. Only in 1909 did the Mounties finally move to Edmonton. Known as the Edmonton Barracks, this building was erected in 1912-1913 according to designs by architect Roland Lines. It contained ten cells for male and two for female prisoners, a padded cell, a recreation room, five bedrooms for sergeants, twenty cubicles for constables and a tunnel leading to the river valley. Built at a cost of $70,000, the battlemented and towered brick Barracks was tangible evidence of the presence of the law in Edmonton. The patterned brickwork of the original Barracks, as well as the fine stone entry to the later west wing can best be seen from the courtyard. Officers and their families were housed in cottage-like rowhouses - now demolished--on the south side of the courtyard. * * * OLD RCMP BARRACKS (1913) Building Faces Uncertain Future It was 34 years before the Royal North West Mounted Police would swallow their pride. After conducting operations from Fort Saskatchewan since 1875, the RNWMP - as the RCMP were then called - eventually accepted the pre-eminence of Edmonton. So in 1909, they packed up their kit-bags for the last time and rode up river to their new two-storey brick and stone regional headquarters at the top of Grierson Hill in the bustling City of Edmonton. The first detachment of Mounties to arrive in these parts rode up 20-strong to Fort Edmonton under the command of Inspector W.D. Jarvis in the fall of 1874. They overwintered at the fort where Hudson's Bay Company factor Richard Hardisty tried to convince them to stay. Hardisty and other local settlers naturally desired the close proximity of the police. According to a 1937 account by W.A. Griesbach in the 'Scarlet and Gold', Hardisty had already picked out a location for the police fort - across the river where the University of Alberta stands today. Scuttlebutt has it that Jarvis was adamant that any centre of settlement in these parts would naturally coalesce around Fort Saskatchewan. Jarvis reasoned that because the banks of the North Saskatchewan River were lower there, this would facilitate the building of bridges, the crossing of a railway, and the development of a city. Despite or more likely because of the words Hardisty and Jarvis exchanged on the subject, the Mounties decided to show the factor just who really was the boss. The Mounties proceeded up river in the spring of 1875 to build what was first called Sturgeon Creek Post. The now unused barracks in Edmonton serve as a testimonial to the Mounties' erroneous assumption, which some say was exacerbated by a personality clash between Jarvis and the Hudson's Bay Company factor. The L-shaped Edmonton barracks is part of a U-shaped formation, flanked by newer buildings on either side. The property is owned by the federal government, and the newer properties house prisoners on day-parole at what is now known as Grierson Centre. The original fortress-like barracks with corner towers and crenellated parapets were designed by architect Roland Lines. Lines, who was killed in the First World War, was a most productive architect. The numerous buildings he designed or helped design, changed the face of the city in the prosperity that reigned here prior to the First World War. When built, the barracks were complemented by another L-shaped building to the east, containing a 25-stall stable, storage space for hay and room for carriages and vehicles. The barracks, which cost $70,000 to build, contained 10 cells for male prisoners and two for women on its first floor, as well as a kitchen, dining room, and offices. The basement contained a padded cell, cells for 'refractory' prisoners and other facilities. A recreation room, five bedrooms for sergeants, and 20 cubicles for constables were on the second floor. The moving of the RNWMP's 'G' division headquarters to Edmonton - which in 1935 was to become 'K' division - was naturally greeted with dismay in Fort Saskatchewan. 'To speak frankly, the townspeople do not like it,' The Edmonton Bulletin reported. The building's future is uncertain. Officials say that if the barracks are sold, they will be protected by a Provincial Historical Resource designation. Alberta Culture has noted that the building has great historical and architectural significance, as there are no others of equal stature in the province.

Internal

Designation Status:	Designation Date:
Municipal A List

Register:	A3

Links

Internet:
Alberta Register of Historic Places: