Kaizen
Senior Member
Saturday afternoon,
- Thread starter Daveography
- Start date
Kaizen
Senior Member
Kaizen
Senior Member
Brighton looks so good and almost ready for occupancy. The Pendennis Rebirth is happening. Might the neighbors take notice and clean up the shrapnel and/or move on.
The 'Sea Palace See Food' joint could be great if it could sea life... Or is it cool if the property lord' just vamos' the neighborhood and catch ya later?
These 2 buildings look like they could be renovated and rented without much worry, with some effort. I can't remember when they last where a legitimate block, probably 40 years or more?. A big part of me detests this drawn out decay of a neighborhood propagated by...I don't know what to say
The 'Sea Palace See Food' joint could be great if it could sea life... Or is it cool if the property lord' just vamos' the neighborhood and catch ya later?
These 2 buildings look like they could be renovated and rented without much worry, with some effort. I can't remember when they last where a legitimate block, probably 40 years or more?. A big part of me detests this drawn out decay of a neighborhood propagated by...I don't know what to say
_Citizen_Dane_
Active Member
^ Looking back on old Google streetview's, that Sea Palace building has had the same "For Sale Or Lease" since at least 2007. For context, the old Gem Theatre was still its neighbour then! One really has to wonder if it is for sale at all. Maybe the owner is just charging some obscene amount for it?
As for that white building, I'm really hoping it's getting the love it deserves. Its the 1950 Cowan Block, and while it may look like a pretty bog-standard Moderne building, its actually pretty important to the city's architectural story. It was designed by Edmonton's first, and one of Canada's very first, all women architectural firms, Wallbridge & Imrie, and it represents one of their very rare commercial commissions.
As for that white building, I'm really hoping it's getting the love it deserves. Its the 1950 Cowan Block, and while it may look like a pretty bog-standard Moderne building, its actually pretty important to the city's architectural story. It was designed by Edmonton's first, and one of Canada's very first, all women architectural firms, Wallbridge & Imrie, and it represents one of their very rare commercial commissions.
archited
Senior Member
Maybe they'll get the same repurposed-in-place treatment as the other two, creating a trend along the block.
Edmontonian
Active Member
Hopefully someone will be willing to buy it now that its next to Brighton and Pendennis.
JNO1
Active Member
Some shots of Brighton, Pendennis, the old Gem Theatre and the area taken in the early 1990s. That old green Sea Palace sign has sure stood the test of time!!
Kaizen
Senior Member
KyleBlanchett
Active Member
That Georgia Baths neon sign is up on the Neon museum. I didn't know that where it was originally located .
Moderne
Active Member
Yeah same here, I assumed it was in Vancouver.
_Citizen_Dane_
Active Member
There used to be a bunch of steam baths between 95th and 97th streets back in the day. In the 1970's the Edmonton Journal ran a story about them;
OverheardatYEG
Active Member
Interesting piece of Edmonton history thanks for the post!
archited
Senior Member
@_Citizen_Dane_ do you happen to know what structure used to exist between the Cowan Block and the Flat Iron Building? I'm with you on the deserved preservation of the Cowan Block. And, while on the subject of this area, does anyone know if there are preserved plans of the Gem Theatre?
_Citizen_Dane_
Active Member
I do! it was the Emery Manufacturing Co. building, a pretty unostentatious Edwardian-era structure. Here it is in 1927, shortly after gaining a second floor;
As for the Gem, this website from the Edmonton Heritage Board has the original blueprints in pretty high quality, including the original, unfulfilled plan for the building which would have seen an extra two storey's built atop the theatre block. You may noice it bears a striking similarity to 124th Street's Buena Vista Apartments, which is fitting given they were designed by the same architectural firm, Magoon & MacDonald;
Gem Theatre - Edmonton Historical Board
www.edmontonsarchitecturalheritage.ca
And for anyone interested, here's a pretty cool look at the area around the Brighton Block and Pendennis Hotel, courtesy of a 1914 fire insurance map;
archited
Senior Member
Thank-you @_Citizen_Dane_ -- I think it would be really cool to reconstruct this block with upper storey additions from the WW Arcade bldg. (as I knew it) to the Flat Iron Building along Jasper Ave. -- in fact I am considering making it my mission. Upper storeys ultra modern with lots of glass juxtaposed against historical reproductions at ground to second floor levels (maybe 4 storeys in the case of the Gem that was never realized).