MTM: Old Strathcona

Having been a little lax for the last two weeks, I decided that I should really put out an effort for this weeks My Town Monday post. I decided that I would introduce you to one of the most interesting and diverse sections of the city "Old Strathcona". I hopped onto a bus (or two) and within moments (pfft - it's Sunday) found myself walking down the main street of the district which is called Whyte Avenue. I walked all over the place taking photos and getting smirked at and had such a good time, that in the end I spent about two hours walking and took over 100 photos! Damn I love my digital camera! Of course all of those photos means that I have enough fodder for posts for the next few weeks at least. Now all I have to do is find appropriate information to go with them all and I will be all set.

Today I am starting you off just a bit north of Whyte Avenue, we are going to see the first fire hall, the subsequent memorial park and the old bus barns which are now the Farmers market.

If you click on the photos, you can read any signs I photographed.


These five photos are of the Firefighters Memorial, fittingly erected next to Edmonton Fire Station #1. Surrounding the bell tower are the names of fallen firefighters.


More plaques dedicated to fallen heros.

These are the three sculptured gates behind the memorial above, depicting the various modes of transport used over the years.


This sculpture is called the rescue.


From the Old Strathcona website:

Fire Hall #1 1911: 10322 83rd Avenue

Built in 1910/11 when fire engines were horse drawn, this fire hall served as a stable, a garage for the engines and a dormitory for the fire-fighters. Standing 77' high, the cupola-topped tower housed the hall's alarm bell and a drying rack for the fire hoses. Today it is the only surviving fire hall from this era in Edmonton, and is the only surviving fire hall of its type in Alberta.


The front of the fire house.

The Provincial plaque designating this an historic site.


I had to go around the back to get a good shot of the tower.


The edge of the bus barns butts right up against the fire house.

The Old Strathcona Farmer's Market, formerly the bus barns, where they parked all the trolley buses overnight. You have to watch you footing inside as they never have bothered to remove the curbs. They did take out the tracks though. Serious renovations were done a few years ago to make a year round multi-purpose community arts centre now called the TransAlta Barns.

Very back (side) door to the market.

This one is not quite as far back, you get an idea of just how big the building is though.

At the very back, they have donated space to the Edmonton Radial Railway Society to store the restored street cars that run in the summer to downtown over the High Level Bridge.


And this is where you board the street car.

I will have to wait now until next year before I can do a post on riding the street car, as they shut down for the winter - on Saturday! (Yeah, yesterday!)

Well, I hope you enjoyed that, next week, I will show you ...I don't know what but more of the area. I realized that I missed a few places so have to go back and get some more photos.

My Town Monday is hosted by our fearless leader Travis Erwin, drop by his site for links to more places around the globe.

Have a good day all.