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Echoes of Edmonton's Original Downtown

It’s Our Heritage

By Lawrence Herzog

Reprinted from Real Estate Weekly (Edmonton), November 2, 2000

In the early days of the 20th century, it was the heart of downtown Edmonton. Now the block of Jasper Avenue between 96th and 97th Street seems little more than a cluster of mostly derelict buildings, forsaken by time. But local merchants and the Downtown Development Corporation (DDC), in partnership with the Alberta Main Street Programme, are aiming to change all that, with a grand revitalization of a district they’ve come to call the Jasper East Village.

The name has a historical connection because that block of vintage buildings, built before the First World War, is called “Jasper East.” And a village is exactly what the area was and, if the rejuvenation is successful, will be again.


She [Kathryn Ivany] knows that some Edmontonians have trouble seeing past the dilapidated exteriors of many of the structures, but likens them to grandmother’s tea set. “That tea set, tarnished over time, just needs some attention to bring it back to full lustre. Once it is polished up, it’s as good as new — better than new, because it has a connection to the past that something new doesn’t have.”


One of the first initiatives of the three- to five-year project is a walking tour booklet, published by the DDC with the generous assistance of the City of Edmonton Archives and the Edmonton and District Historical Society. The booklet offers the chance to wander and explore the area around that historic block of Jasper Avenue, including the east side of 97th Street and along 96th Street north from Jasper.

It offers up stories of such local establishments as the Great Western Garment Company, Edmonton’s flat iron building and Leonard Gooderidge’s block, which became a local hardware institution. There are tales of the building erected by a famous Edmonton photographer and another that became one of the city’s earliest moving picture houses.

“It’s like an area stuck in time,” offers Kathryn Ivany, past-president of the Edmonton and District Historical Society. Kathryn wrote the booklet. “When downtown moved westward after the Hudson’s Bay Company sale, the area was left alone. And then it missed the seventies boom that destroyed so many historic buildings. Now, there it is.”

Kathryn donated hours of her time this summer to researching the walking tour booklet and then acting as a guide on a tour offered during Edmonton Historic Week (July 30-August 7, 2000). She knows that some Edmontonians have trouble seeing past the dilapidated exteriors of many of the structures, but likens them to grandmother’s tea set. “That tea set, tarnished over time, just needs some attention to bring it back to full lustre. Once it is polished up, it’s as good as new — better than new, because it has a connection to the past that something new doesn’t have.”

Some of the highlights of the walking tour include: The Gooderidge Block, better known as the W.W. Arcade Building, at the corner of Jasper Avenue and 97th Street. Leonard Gooderidge took over the title to this property from his mother and developed the structure beginning in 1911. Designed by London-born architect Robert Percy Barnes, the building quickly became a local favourite when it opened in 1912.

The street level originally housed a men’s wear store; a barber shop; a wine, liquor and cigar store; and a pool hall. The upper floors were used as offices.

In 1930, the main level was taken over by Samuel Peter Wilson and a fellow named Welch. He opened a store called W.W. Sales (for Wilson and Welch). And so began an Edmonton legend. Wilson retired in 1942, and Alex Ainslie, the gentleman who had managed the store, joined with his brothers Bob and Dave to take over the store and change the name to W.W. Arcade.

So began a 60-year chapter in Edmonton retailing that ended in February 1991, when the building was purchased by the city and rejuvenated by the Downtown Development Corporation. Now, the main floor is home to the upscale Hardware Grill restaurant.

The Gem (Star) Theatre at 9682 Jasper Avenue was opened in 1914, by James Gooderidge, who also opened the adjacent Hub (Jasper House) Hotel. The Gem was designed by the prolific local architectural firm of Magoon and MacDonald. With its ornate plaster relief ceilings in the lobby and auditorium, stone pilaster-flanked entranceway and orchestra pit nestled under the screen, the 490-seat cinema was called stylish and modern. The Gem operated as a cinema for 50 years before the audience began to thin and the building deteriorate. In the 1970s, it was converted into a rock club called the Gem Theatre and, by the end of the decade, became a theatre again under the name Star. It has been vacant for many years, but a recent purchase by a local businessman holds the promise of new life.

Up 97th Street a couple of blocks, the Army and Navy has been a downtown landmark for more than 45 years. But the structure it has called home since 1955 is much older. Erected in 1911-12 as the Caledonian Department Store, the building was purchased by Great Western Garment (GWG) Clothing proprietor Charles Graham in 1917. Graham made the building the factory for his rapidly expanding company. From this Edmonton manufacturing base, GWG pioneered many clothing trends and supplied thousands of uniforms to Canadian Armed Forces during the Second World War. In 1954, GWG moved out and the Army and Navy moved in.

These are among the many fascinating discoveries to be made around the Jasper East Village.

“There’s a sense of continuity here that few other areas of Edmonton can match,” Kathryn Ivany concludes. “There’s a sense of the passage of time and Edmonton’s role in history. Discovering this forgotten part of downtown Edmonton and is a great way to spend a couple of hours.”

Copies of the Jasper East Village Walking Tour booklet are available from the Edmonton Downtown Development Corporation office on the main floor of Chancery Hall at 3 Sir Winston Churchill Square, directly north of the Winspear Centre concert hall.

Lawrence Herzog has been telling the stories of Edmonton people and places for more than a dozen years through his regular heritage column in Real Estate Weekly. His book, Built On Coal: A History of Beverly, Edmonton's Working Class Town, appeared on Edmonton’s best-seller lists for many weeks.

Real Estate Weekly is published by the Edmonton Real Estate Board to advertise properties for sale through member agencies. Each issue contains at least one, often several, articles on heritage buildings and issues in Edmonton and district.
 

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