Amazing example of building reuse in Edmonton: La Bosco Bakery & Cafe at 10413 79 Avenue NW. labosco.ca
It was originally built in 1953 as a storage garage for Manbro Ltd (was there ever a more testosterone-laden business name?), part of the Manning Lumber companies owned by Percy Manning. At the time Manning Lumber was located between 79 & 80 Aves where the Brooks NOFRILLS now is.
But the building quickly became an auto body shop. An auto upholstery business took it over in the 1960s and then in the mid-1970s, a transmission shop moved in.
After decades of industrial uses the property wasn't looking too great ("OH NO") in this 2009 Google Street View image.
In 2018 the property went up for sale. If I had seen this ad at the time I would have rolled my eyes at it -- "Oh yeah, super property!" -- but bless his heart the realtor actually was right.
Someone bought it for a good price, replaced the floor, cleaned up decades of motor oil and transmission fluid, exposed the barrel truss, added a skylight to support lush indoor plantings, and opened a lovely bakery and cafe.
When the snow all melts, the former vehicle storage area out front will be full of people socializing. So please, think hard before tearing down a building. Value its embodied carbon, renovate it to be more energy efficient, and turn it into something wonderful. #yegheritage

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More from @e_backstrom

Mar 4
Promising news for the Koermann Block on 96 Street: City Council has agreed to sell the site for below market value for affordable housing on the condition that the building is protected as a Municipal Historic Resource. #yegheritage globalnews.ca/news/9520645/e… Photo of the Koermann Block at the corner of 96 Street and 1
Many people are know that Strathcona had a significant German community 100+ yrs ago because aspects of it (e.g. Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, K&K Foodliner) still exist, but downtown Edmonton had one too. Here's a map of German families prior to 1914. sites.ualberta.ca/~german/Albert… Map of German households on the east side of Edmonton's down
One of the leaders of this community was Gustave Koermann, editor of the Alberta Herold, a German-language weekly published on Namayo Ave (97 St). Born in Dortmund in 1865, he came to the US in 1881 and ran a German paper in Winnipeg for 15 years before coming to Edmonton. Historic photo of the building in which the Alberta Herold, Masthead from a 1908 edition of the Alberta Herold.
Read 20 tweets
Jan 27
Tim's tweet prompted me to look into the history of a building on 109 Street I've always wondered about. Why *does* it look like a ruin? #yegheritage #yeghistory
The building appears to have been built in 1911 by the Canadian Locomobile Co. Ltd. Just a few years after the first car arrived in Edmonton in 1904, Canadian Locomobile was selling Hupmobiles & Pathfinders in a crowded auto sales market.
The building took up the entire lot on the corner of Ninth & Victoria (109 St & 100 Ave) and was so large that it was used for boxing matches that outsold smaller venues.
Read 16 tweets
Jan 4
Beautifully-maintained house in Viewpoint. Built in 1916 by Arthur and Annie Foley. The Foleys, originally from Bowmanville, Ontario, moved to Edmonton in 1906-07 when Arthur became Alberta's first poultry superintendent.
At a time before the petrochemical industry, agriculture was the big economic deal in the province, and Arthur was mentioned hundreds of times in Alberta newspapers. ImageImageImage
Arthur appears to have retired about 1930. The Foleys enjoyed their family and a cottage at Alberta Beach before they died within two months of each other in 1943. ImageImage
Read 4 tweets
Dec 29, 2022
The church at 10665 98 Street NW that burned down yesterday connected a fascinating number of Edmonton's religious denominations and cultures.
St. Andrew's Anglican Church was built in 1910 south of Jasper Ave along Alex Taylor Road, where the Valley Vista Apartments are now located. The "little church on the hill" served Anglicans in the Boyle Street neighbourhood. @DioEdm
In 1922, financial difficulties prompted the St. Andrew's parish to merge with the St. Paul's parish in McCauley. The combined parish, renamed St. Stephen's, used the building on 96 St. that had been St. Paul's until 2009. ststephensyeg.ca/about/our-hist…
Read 16 tweets
Nov 1, 2022
There's a 120 year old house in Mill Woods?! Yes, there is. It's the Place place, and it's up for sale. #yeghistory #yegheritage realtor.ca/real-estate/25…
William Place was born in Ogdensburg, NY in 1843. After marrying Lucretia Hill of Morrisburg, ON, the couple moved to Edmonton, where Lucretia's brother lived. In 1902 they bought a farm south of town and promptly replaced its log house with the frame house still standing today.
Here's a picture of the Place children Elzetta and George at the time they lived in the house.
Read 18 tweets
Oct 15, 2022
Century Park timeline
2022: a couple of early risers walking their dogs in a grassy area surrounded by apartments, construction materials & equipment and an empty parking lot next to an LRT station just out of view. Image
2005: architect James Cheng's concept for a walkable, mixed-use, high-density, transit-oriented urban village that wowed planners and helped #yegcc decide to fund extension of the LRT to the site. Image
1981: Heritage Mall opening day with thousands of cars and at least two boys on bicycles. Image
Read 8 tweets

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