Heritage buildings in Edmonton, as elsewhere in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, may be designated by any of the three levels of government: the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

(federal government), the

Government of Alberta The government of Alberta (french: gouvernement de l'Alberta) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Alberta. As a constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor—i ...

(provincial government), or the

City of Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...

(municipal government).

Federal sites

there are currently ten sites in Edmonton with plaques erected by

Parks Canada Parks Canada (PC; french: Parcs Canada),Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 48 National Parks, th ...

and listed in the Directory of Designations of National Historic Significance of Canada, and one recommendation to create a new plaque in Edmonton. Only National Historic ''Sites'' commemorate buildings, and there is only two National Historic Sites in Edmonton, the former location of

Fort Edmonton Fort Edmonton (also named Edmonton House) was the name of a series of trading posts of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) from 1795 to 1914, all of which were located on the north banks of the North Saskatchewan River in what is now central Alberta, ...

near the

Alberta Legislature Building The Alberta Legislature Building is located in Edmonton and is the meeting place of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and the Executive Council of Alberta. It is often shortened to "the Ledge". The Alberta Legislature Building is located at 10 ...

, and

Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries. Gover ...

. There are also four plaques for National Historic People and National Historic Events in the city. The federal government also has a separate heritage register for buildings it owns, under the

Federal Heritage Buildings The Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office (FHBRO) was established in 1982 after the Government of Canada adopted an internal policy on managing heritage buildings. Today, federal heritage is incorporated into the Government of Canada's Treasury ...

program. In Edmonton, three buildings are listed: the Grierson Centre's, former RCMP Centre Building 3 (now a prison), and two buildings at

CFB Edmonton CFB Edmonton (also called 3rd Canadian Division Support Base Edmonton) is a Canadian Forces base located in Sturgeon County adjacent to the City of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. It is also known as Edmonton Garrison or "Steele Barracks". His ...

, the Headquarters Army Western Command Building J3 at Edmonton Garrison, and the Spall Block, Building h-14 at Griesbach. The only other heritage recognition provided to buildings by the federal government is that of ''Heritage Railway Station'' under the ''

Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act The ''Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act'' is an act of the Parliament of Canada. The ''Act'' was enacted in 1988 in response to a long-standing and widespread concern that Canada’s heritage railway stations were not being protected. B ...

'' (because railways are federally regulated). The former

Strathcona Canadian Pacific Railway Station Strathcona Canadian Pacific Railway Station was built by the Calgary and Edmonton Railway in what was then the City of Strathcona, Alberta. The station was started in 1907, completed in 1908, and expanded in 1910, and is located at what is now 8 ...

is one such station.

Provincial sites

Historic designation in Alberta is governed by the ''Historic Resources Act''. Sites owned and run by the provincial government as a functioning historic site or museum are known as Provincial Historic Sites. The two Provincial Historic Sites in Edmonton are the

Royal Alberta Museum The Royal Alberta Museum (RAM) is a museum of human and natural history in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The museum is located in Downtown Edmonton, north of City Hall. The museum is the largest in western Canada with more than exhibition space ...

, and

Rutherford House Rutherford House is a historic building and museum in the Strathcona area of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The structure was the home of the first Premier of Alberta, Alexander Cameron Rutherford, from 1911 to 1941, and has subsequently been desig ...

. Buildings and sites owned by private citizens and companies or other levels or branches of government may gain one of two levels of historic designation: "Registered Historic Resource" or "Provincial Historic Resource" (the later being the higher designation). There are 45 Provincial Historic Resources and 30 Registered Historic Resources listed with the Alberta Register of Historic Places within Edmonton city boundaries. Since 2007 the provincial government has also recognized the

Old Strathcona Old Strathcona is a historic district in south-central Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Once the commercial core of the separate city of Strathcona, the area is now home to many of Edmonton's arts and entertainment facilities, as well as a local s ...

district as a "Provincial Historic Area", only the second such area in Alberta. The province also lists buildings deemed historically significant by municipal governments on the Alberta Register of Historic Places, which is also part of the larger

Canadian Register of Historic Places The Canadian Register of Historic Places (CRHP; french: Le Répertoire canadien des lieux patrimoniaux), also known as Canada's Historic Places, is an online directory of historic sites in Canada which have been formally recognized for their her ...

although this does not imply provincial or federal government status or protection.

Municipal sites

The City of Edmonton maintains the "Register of Historic Resources in Edmonton" which has several different categories of buildings and sites: Municipal Historic Resources (76 sites), A-List Resources (190 sites), and B-List Resources (305 sites), for a total of 571 sites on the register. Sites can be put on the Register, which is simply a list of buildings the city deems "historic," by the City's staff at any time without the knowledge of the owner or

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

. However the owner must be notified and city council must vote to approve designating a building as a Municipal Historic Resources. Only Municipal Historic Resources are protected from

demolition Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...

. In addition to this the City publishes a list of historic resources that were demolished after being added to the register. In the last report 27 historic buildings were listed as demolished. As an appendix to the Register, the City also lists all buildings at the municipal

Fort Edmonton Park Fort Edmonton Park (sometimes referred to as "Fort Edmonton") is an attraction in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Named for the first enduring European post in the area of modern-day Edmonton, the park is the largest living history museum in Canada by ...

museum, and historically significant

landscapes A landscape is the visible features of an area of Terrestrial ecoregion, land, its landforms, and how they integrate with Nature, natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionar ...

cemeteries A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

and

monuments A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

street furnishings Street furniture is a collective term for objects and pieces of equipment installed along streets and roads for various purposes. It includes bench (furniture), benches, traffic barriers, bollards, post boxes, phone boxes, streetlamps, traff ...

, and architectural fragments.

References

{{Edmonton * *

Federal sites

Provincial sites

Municipal sites

See also

References