Featured Articles - Old Strathcona's Challenge

Strathcona is a great urban space. It has it all: a large residential population, cafes, shops, people, market, community, heritage buildings, and special events. It's really an ideal community," says David Murray.

An architect and Strathcona resident, Murray remembers the neglect that once characterized this turn-of-the-century neighbourhood, now blessed with a commercial hub focused on a collection of refurbished historic buildings. Its inherent charm ignored until the early1970s, Old Strathcona now looks better than ever. Edmonton's showcase community, Strathcona is also the most happening shopping and entertainment district in town.

Murray was one of a handful who recognized the area's potential and worked to bring it back to life.

"In this historic atmosphere we wanted to make a clean, safe, and a pleasant place to be, where people want to live, businesses want to operate, and both sides thrive. We wanted to bring back the small town feel," says Judy Berghofer, founding member and former president of the foundation.

In fact, the redevelopment of Old Strathcona was so successful it served as a model for Alberta's Main Street program, established to help communities restore a regular heartbeat to their municipal centres.

Strathcona began as a settlement in 1891 and vied for commercial supremacy with Edmonton, situated on the north shore of the North Saskatchewan River. In the five years it was a city—between 1907 and 1912—Strathcona experienced dramatic commercial growth. However, after it amalgamated with Edmonton in 1912, business favoured the northern bank of the river, and Strathcona declined. Not until the 1960s was the legacy of historic commercial, civic, and residential buildings rediscovered and efforts begun to reclaim the community's heritage.

For 30 years, the Old Strathcona Foundation (OSF) has raised funds and directed projects to restore buildings and revitalize this community. With assistance from various government jurisdictions, including $100,000/yr for the last decade from the City, the foundation drove the improvements and spurred community groups and property and business owners to participate.

As a result, Strathcona not only became Edmonton’s people place, but also its grassroots cultural area. Indeed, for Shirley Lowe, executive director of the Old Strathcona Business Association (OSBA), Strathcona supplanted Edmonton's downtown.

Locals and visitors alike enjoy Old Strathcona on a sunny day.

"When I go to the market on Saturday I meet more people than I do in my neighbourhood," says Lowe. In many ways the Old Strathcona market hearkens back to a regular small-town scene. The aisles are thick with a motley assortment of people, jostling for position at their favourite fruit and vegetable stands, chatting with friends, munching on baking or fruit samples. With market purchases in hand, they walk a block to Whyte Avenue, stop for a leisurely coffee, then extend their shopping to a book, fashion, gift, or sporting goods store.

Whyte Ave is the bustling heart of Strathcona. It has the retail mix people want and attractive, restored buildings of a scale people can relate to. Community residents can find just about any service they need. Accountants, car servicing, banks, churches, health-related shops, and medical professionals are interspersed with clothing, book, and music stores. Visitors can choose from over 80 restaurants and coffee shops, and 25 pubs. Seven theatres run regular seasons, not including the mammoth Fringe Festival, and two movie theatres offer Hollywood-alternative flicks.

Strathcona circa 1973? Picture urban blight. A handful of worn Edwardian buildings had escaped zealous developers. A few neighbourhood businesses struggled to survive, notably Chapman's clothing and Shragge's dry goods. Many had lost their customers to malls, explains P.J. Duggan, to be "replaced by businesses that catered to alcoholics." Duggan, now superintendent of the Edmonton Police Service, was then the lone cop on the Strathcona beat. He recalls the secondhand shops, Tracy Starr's strip joint, and the Princess theatre, then a porn house.

Fast forward to 1985. A number of buildings had received municipal designation as historic buildings. A handful had a similar federal or provincial designation. The exteriors of many had been renovated either to reveal or reflect their original facades. Warm brick and welcoming windows and signage greeted the increasing number of visitors. The streetscape was redesigned, incorporating trees, brick sidewalks, lighting, and garbage containers with an early 1900s look. Young families started to move into the neighbourhood, attracted by the schools, a library, and the small-town neighbourliness. A big brick community hall was built. With the city's help, theatres and a jazz club put down roots when they were granted long-term leases to city-owned properties. Two popular parades a year and the Fringe theatre festival (now the largest in North America) became major tourist attractions.