Key Number:	HS 56339
Site Name:	Hudson's Bay Company Department Store
Other Names:	The Bay
Site Type:	0400 - Mercantile/Commercial: General and Mixed Use Commercial

Location

ATS Legal Description:

			Twp	Rge	Mer
			52	24	4

Address:	10230 Jasper Avenue NW
Number:	30
Street:	102 NW
Avenue:	Jasper NW
Other:
Town:	Edmonton
Near Town:

Media

Type	Number	Date	View	Source

Architectural

Style:	Art Deco or Moderne
Plan Shape:	Rectangular
Storeys:	Storeys: 2
Foundation:	Basement/Foundation Wall Material: Concrete
Superstructure:	Poured Concrete
Superstructure Cover:
Roof Structure:
Roof Cover:
Exterior Codes:	Massing of Units: Row, Related, Intermediate Wings: Unknown Wall Design and Detail: None Roof Trim - Eaves: Decorated Soffit Roof Trim Material - Eaves: Concrete Roof Trim - Verges: Decorated Soffit Roof Trim Material - Verges: Concrete Towers, Steeples and Domes: None Dormer Type: None Chimney Location - Side to Side: Unknown Roof Trim - Special Features: None Window - Structural Opening Shape: Flat Window - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Head: Plain Flat Window - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Sides: Plain Window - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Material: Wood Window - Sill Type: Plain Slip Sill Window - Sill Material: Wood Window - Trim Within Structural Opening - Head: Plain Window - Trim Within Structural Opening - Sides: Plain Window - Number of Sashes: One Window - Opening Mechanism: Fixed Window - Special Types: None Window - Pane Arrangements: 2 over 2 Main Entrance - Location: Corner Main Entrance - Structural Opening Shape: Flat Main Entrance - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Head: Plain Flat Main Entrance - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Sides: Plain Main Entrance - Trim Outside Structural Opening Material: Wood Main Entrance - Trim Within Structural Opening - Head: Plain Main Entrance - Trim Within Structural Opening - Sides: Plain Main Entrance - Number of Leaves: 2 Main Entrance - Number of Panels Per Leaf: 2 Main Entrance - Leaves - Special Feature: Glass Main Stairs - Location and Design: None Main Porch - Type: Recess Main Porch - Material: Concrete
Exterior:	The 'Bay' is an early local example of the Commercial Modernistic style, with influences of Art Deco noticeable at the entrances and corners, and Art Moderne in the horizontal window treatments. Completely 'modern in design' the building was of reinforced concrete construction. The exterior treatment consists of a black Quebec granite base which also flanks all main entrances. The upper storeys are of Manitoba Tyndal limestone. The limestone forms panels over the entrances and corners and contains carved motifs depicting the history of the Company and the West. Glass blocks and stainless steel trim complete the exterior. The original cork roof insulation that was imported from Spain in 1938 is still in place under the present third floor finish. Over each entrance a large carved panel depicts a scene from the early history of the HBC in Edmonton. One of these stone carvings illustrates the ship 'Nonsuch', which was the first vessel to sail from England to Canada on a HBC trading expedition. Another carved panel shows a York Boat, a small flat-bottomed sail boat developed by the HBC for river travel to Hudson's Bay and frequently constructed at Fort Edmonton. Above the other two entrances two panels depict the fur trader and the farmer, symbolic of the early pioneers that played a large part in the development of the HBC and western Canada.
Interior:	N/A
Environment:	Neighbourhood: Downtown By its location on this site since 1894, the size of the present store, and its frontage on Jasper Avenue, the Bay is an Edmonton landmark. Its show windows are a Jasper Avenue attraction, and the use of awnings during the summer enhances pedestrian travel. The historical carvings are a unique contribution to Edmonton's streetscape. Like Eaton's, with which it shares common materials, it requires a thorough cleaning to enhance its unusual architecture. Three HBC stores have been landmarks on this site since March 1893 when the first store opened at the northwest corner of the intersection of 103 Street and Jasper Avenue. The present building is a familiar and significant landmark in downtown Edmonton, and one of only two remaining early department stores. The low, three-storey massing maintains the human scale and modest height of most of the older Jasper Avenue buildings. The block long facade of display windows and summer awnings provides continuity in the ever-changing commercial appearance of shop windows that extend from 100 Street to 109 Street.
Condition:	Good
Alterations:	Additions: 1948, 1955. Following World War II the third storey was added to the building and completed in 1949. The next major addition was constructed in 1954-1955. It comprised a three-storey extension to the north which doubled the size of the building. Two carvings depicting the Red River cart and buffalo were included over the two new entrances. In 1974 and 1980 major renovations were undertaken to upgrade the interiors of the store.

Historical

Construction:	Construction Date:
Construction Started Construction Ended	1938/01/01 1939/01/01
Usage:	Usage Date:
N/A Retail Department Store	1939/11/14
Owner:	Owner Date:
Hudson's Bay Company

Architect:	Moody and Moore
Builder:	Bennett and White Construction Co.
Craftsman:	N/A
History:	Fur trading was the original and exclusive activity of the H.B.C., but as settlers arrived, this was expanded to include providing supplies for the newcomers. Over the years, the variety and volume of goods increased, and the premises needed to house them grew proportionately. The first store was opened in 1890, in a small rented wood-frame building at 98 Street and Jasper Avenue. In 1893, the 'Bay' moved to a slightly larger structure of the same type, followed in 1905 by a three-storey brick building on the same site at the northeast corner of Jasper and 103rd. Finally, in 1938-1939, this Moderne Style department store was constructed. The Winnipeg architectural firm of Moody and Moore was responsible for the design of The Bay, which was carried out in Tyndal limestone, black granite, stainless steel and glass block. A third storey was added to the original two-storey building in 1948. In 1954, the building was doubled in size through an expansion to the north. Its eye-catching design and carved historical panels made the Bay an instant and enduring landmark in Edmonton. *** Edmonton came into existence as a Hudson's Bay Company post and for much of its early history was nothing more. The 'Bay' has been a dominant factor in the rise of the community and the Company's new store marked a continuation and affirmation of this tradition. The present store structure was the fifth store erected by Hudson's Bay Company in Edmonton and the fourth on the same site. The Company has traded on this site since 1894. Construction of the present structure began in 1938 on the 102 Street and Jasper Avenue portion and moved west in three sections so that retail trade would not be interrupted. The first section was completed in September 1938, the second section in November 1938 and the last in August of 1939 with a formal opening on November 14, 1939. The floor space of the store was doubled to the north in 1954. The structure was designed by Moody and Moore of Winnipeg and constructed by Bennett and White Construction Company Ltd. for a cost of $1.25 million. The addition was constructed by C.H. Whitman Ltd. on a design by K.C. Stanley and Company for a cost of $3.25 million. The construction of the new building in 1938 marked the importance of Edmonton as the centre of a rich farming area and as a supply centre for mining and trade in the Mackenzie basin and western arctic. *** In September 1989 the City of Edmonton declared three facades of the downtown Hudson's Bay Store a Municipal Historic Resource. For two centuries the Hudson Bay Company (HBC) has been a part of the history of Edmonton. In 1802 Fort Edmonton was relocated to the Ross Flats by the HBC. From that time on the development of the City and the local HBC establishment has been parallel. The HBC is the oldest incorporated join-stock merchandising company in the English world, the oldest business institution in North America, and the largest retailer in Canada. The HBC as a business organization has played a major role in the history and development of western Canada. Shortly after the early pioneers began to move from behind the protective confines of the fort's palisades to the new settlement on the top banks of the river valley, the HBC established its first store outside the fort. They opened their first store in 1890 on Jasper Avenue at 98 Street, which was a central location in the new town. In March 1893 the company opened a small two-storey frame store at the northeast corner of 103 Street and Jasper Avenue. This site became the store's permanent location. During the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897 the retail outlet had a big share in outfitting the thousands of gold-seekers who were bound for the North. As the town grew, so did the HBC store. After Edmonton was incorporated as a city in 1904, the HBC built a large three-storey brick store on the same site as the 1893 store. The city's growth after the arrival of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway in 1910 was accompanied by the addition of a fourth storey to the HBC store in 1911. The next year a six-storey annex was added north of the brick store and a five-storey brick warehouse was constructed beside it. In 1926 the HBC acquired the remaining one-storey buildings on the rest of the block to 102 Street, giving the company the entire Jasper Avenue frontage between 102 and 103 Streets. In December 1937 plans were announced to erect the present building in three stages, beginning with the 102 Street corner and progressing westward toward the old brick store. The architects for the new HBC store were the Winnipeg firm of Moody and Moore, with Robert Moore the partner in charge of the project. The building was constructed by Bennett and White Construction Co. of Calgary and Edmonton at a cost of about $1,000,000. The Calgary construction company had carried out additions to the Calgary HBC store (1929), and erected that city's Glenmore Dam (1930-1931). The construction was finished late in 1939, and on November 14 some 20,000 Edmontonians attended the opening of the new HBC store. At this point the store was two-storey building extending 320 feet between 102 and 103 Street and 150 feet from Jasper Avenue north. At the same time that the Bay store was being erected, the T. Eaton Co. Department Store, designed by Northwood and Chivers (1939; demolished in 1980); and the S.S. Kresge Co. Ltd. Store, also by Northwood and Chivers (1937; demolished), were being built. As well, Edmonton's two largest theatres, the Capitol and the Rialto, were undergoing extensive renovations and modernizing. The growth in the construction industry was a reflection of the pre-World War II economic growth of the city, not unlike the building boom of 1908-1914. In 1955 an addition to the Bay store was constructed by C.H. Whiteman Ltd. of Edmonton at a cost of $3,250,000. The architect for the addition was Kelvin C. Stanley and Company. Other local buildings by this firm are the Imperial Oil Building, Ford Motor Co. Building, and Avonmore United Church. Stanley also contributed to the design of the Edmonton City Hall (1957; demolished in 1989). 1890 - Hudson's Bay Company opens first store on Jasper Avenue at 98 Street. 1893 - March. HBC opens small two-storey frame store at the northeast corner of 103 Street and Jasper Avenue. c.1904 - Three-storey brick store replaces frame store. 1910 - Fourth-storey addition to building. 1912 - Six-storey annex added to the north of the brick store, and a five-storey brick warehouse constructed next to it. 1926 - HBC acquires the remaining one-storey buildings on the block. 1937 - December. Plans to erect new building. Architects: Moody and Moore of Winnipeg. Contractors: Bennett and White Construction Company of Calgary and Edmonton. Cost: $1,000,000. 1939 - November 14. New HBC store opens. 1949 - Third storey added. 1955 - Three-storey extension to the north constructed. 1974 - Interior renovations. 1980 - Interior renovations. 1987 - January. Store sold to current owners. *** Person: Hudson's Bay Co. - entered into retail trade 1890, traded on this site since 1894. - since 1926 have had entire block face on Jasper devoted to retail trade. Edmonton Journal: Dec 28, 1937 - 5th structure erected by HBC; third on this site - construction began on 102 Street and moved west so that retail trade not interrupted - constructed in mocha colored brick with Tyndall limestone accents over each entrance carved in a historical motif depicting company's development in west. April 13, 1938 - Bennett White Construction Co. from Calgary - did addition to Calgary HBC store 1929. Feb. 23, 1938 - constructed in 3 stages: 1st wing - September, 38; 2nd stage - November, 38, 3rd - completed August, 15/39. Nov 14, 1948 - official opening. Feb. 4, 1948 - all extension to cost $500,000 - additional story. Mar. 9, 1951 - announce plan for addition - entails closing lane. July 8, 1954 - announce expansion, double floor space of store, cost $3.25 million, contract to C.H. Whitham of Edmonton; feature of design includes two stone carvings of Red River Cart and buffalo symbolizing early history; K.C. Stanley Co. designers of addition.

Internal

Designation Status:	Designation Date:
Municipal Historic Resource	1989/09/26

Register:	A55

Links

Internet:
Alberta Register of Historic Places:	4664-0030