Saskatchewan Drive

The Manhattan and Strathcona House


Capital View Tower and Riverwind


Waterford House, Tower on the Hill and Lord Strathcona Manor


Kennedy Towers, Cranleigh Towers, and the Water's Edge


Parkside Towers and One River Park


9929 Saskatchewan Drive and Riverview Manor

My first models on the south side of the river, and from west-to-east this mostly completes the skyline along Saskatchewan Drive.

There are a couple of really nice building along here - notably One River Park and Riverwind. There is also the funky modernism of Kennedy Towers and Capital View Tower, and the cold precision of the Water's Edge.

Too many of these buildings - notably One River Park and Riverwind - make the mistake of thinking that people only want views of the river and that everything else secondary. This is a problem throughout Edmonton resulting in many forgotten north walls, although in the case of Saskatchewan drive it is the south wall that is ignored.

A rail right-of-way runs behind several of these buildings and beyond that is heritage neighbourhood, so while there is no such thing as a guaranteed view the one south from these towers is pretty close. I haven't spent much time on low-low floors, but from 6 or 8 storeys up almost any view will look good, and at 10 or 20 storeys the view out to the distant Alberta horizon can be spectacular. Maybe one day Edmonton will figure that out, but after more than 50 years of high-rise construction it hasn't happened yet.

21.5 more Apartments, and 0.5 Offices

The Elmhurst and Riverview Towers


The Mayflower and Park Place


Illuminada I & II


The Wimbledon, B&H Tower and Shaughnessy House


Hudson House, The Hargate and Prominence Place


Hyde Park, The Berkeley and The Albany


Centurion Towers and Oak Tower


Oliver Place, Oakwood Towers and the Mountbatten


Park Plaza, Oxbridge Place & The Carlton

In this batch of models the 0.5 of an office and an apartment is Park Plaza, which has 6 floors of residential above 10 floors of office. As far as I know, it is the only building of that type in Edmonton. (It also shouldn't be confused with Park Square, Park Place, Park Tower, Parkside Tower, or Central Park).

Also in this group is the Wimbledon, which I would have to say is by far the most phallic building in Edmonton especially when viewed from Jasper Avenue. Something like that doesn't just happen by accident, does it?

Beyond that, these models are mostly interesting because they largely "complete" the skyline of Oliver. There are still a few office buildings to do around 112 Street, and a few more apartments that I just happened to miss when I was taking photos, but this is basically it.

30 Apartments and 1 Office

I don't particularly like modeling apartment buildings, but occasionally I'm hit with a need for completeness. This set has a few buildings in the McKay Avenue area, along with a lot in southeast Oliver and Grandin. Previously I hadn't done anything in that area, but this should fill it in nicely.


Hillside Estates North & South, Dunedin House and McDougall Place


Grandin Green and the David Thompson


Park Towers, the Panorama and the Edgehill


Central Park, the Trethway, Dorchester House & Maureen Manor


Valhalla and Victoria Park Tower


York House, Bondell Tower, Lancaster House & the DeVille


Academy Place and Windsor Arms


Capital Place, Tower on the Park and Grandin Manor


Westwind Estates and Le Jardin


Tegler Manor, Rosedale Place, Westcliffe Arms and Grandin Towers


Cathedral Court

Apartment buildings are a really great way to learn how to do photereferenced models in Sketchup. If you're interested in taking a crack at modeling they are the absolute best place to start because apartment buildings are impossible to screw up.

In the same way that they are impossible to screw up they are also almost impossible to do really well. There are three or four different ways to model balconies (all on display here), and none of them are good. With a model like the Baker Clinic, QE II Planetarium or SAGE you can strip away the questionable additions, the neglect, and the urban clutter to reveal the hidden intent. With an apartment building there's nothing hidden - it's a box; or in this case many, many boxes. Apartments get pretty boring once the initial learning is over.

Probably the most interesting thing about these models is seeing "families" of buildings pop up. There are the obvious ones like Hillside Estates North and South; and the more recent Grandin Manor, Grand Central Manor, Lord Strathcona Manor, etc.  There are also:

The David Thompson and Capital Centre
The Edgehill and Victoria Park Towers
Maureen Manor, York House, Academy Place, Windsor Arms and several more I haven't gotten to.
Grandin Towers and Jasper House
Le Jardin, Jasper 111 and Rocky Mountain Court in Calgary

Leamington Mansions

Model and Building information

I think I'm going to have to name this one "Edmonton's Forgotten Building." I'm sure that many people know about it tucked away just off Jasper Avenue, but it doesn't seem to be very high profile compared to similar buildings like Le Marchand, Annamoe Mansions, the Westminster, or the Arlington.

I thought that maybe it was just an incorrect perception that I had, but a quick google search on the building turns up essentially nothing. It was built prior to 1919, and that is all that I can find. There is no plaque from the Edmonton Historical Board, and most surprisingly Lawrence Herzog doesn't seem to have ever mentioned it in any of his excellent articles; and he's written about everything.

So yeah, Edmonton's forgotten building.

I've actually been inside once, visiting a friend of a friend of a friend. That was years ago, and the only thing that I remember was the clingwrap they'd had to put over the windows because it was cold outside. It's hard to tell what the status is today, because there are several broken and boarded-up windows in the rear, but there are still suites advertised for rent.

As for the model, it is pretty straight-forward. As is typical with these types of buildings the rear elevation uses a different brick from the rest. And as is typical of my models I've ignored that fact and used the same brick throughout.

Annamoe Mansion

Model and Building information

A very cute little apartment building in an amazing location on Victoria Promenade overlooking the river valley.

This is one of the many buildings in Edmonton that uses one style of brick on the front elevation, and then another (presumably cheaper) style and colour everywhere else. When making a model, that's annoying. This model uses the fancy brown brick on all four sides.

Fifth Street Lofts and the Ellis Building

Model and Building information

I've never really like the Fifth Street Lofts. I'm not sure why, because it is definitely the type of building that should appeal to me, and yet it doesn't.

I think the Ellis Building is great, though.


Model and Building information

There's just something about its Gropiusness that works so very well.

The Arlington (1909-2008)

Model and Building information

I spent some time on the top floor of the Arlington about a year before it was destroyed by fire. I remember the deceptively large windows (those architects sure knew how to work proportions), the wonderful sliding doors separating the bedroom from the living room, the murphy bed, and the original hardwood floors coated by what seemed like an inch of varathane.

I don't have any photos of the Arlington, so this model doesn't use any textures from the actual building. Instead, the textures are repurposed from the Buena Vista Building on 124st and Derwas Court on 121st.

The Lamplighter

Building Information:

10333 121 St NW
25 stories, 75m/250', 8000sqft floorplate

Model Commentary:

The Lamplighter is an odd looking building. It's very tall and very thin, and the balconies protrude out from the building at all of the corners. This gives it an almost skeletal appearance - or maybe it's more like a tree that has lost its leaves.

The balconies of apartment building are very fiddly, and so normally I don't put much detail into modelling then. I think that I'll have to add them when I retexture it though, because without them the model isn't quite right.

Top of the Valley

Building Information:
12141 Jasper Avenue NW
Built in 1975, 16 stories, 48m/160', 7,000sqft floorplate per tower

Model Commentary:

This is notable as my first model that was of more than one building. Beyond that there's not much to say.

Signature Place

Building Information:

10145 121 Street NW
Built 1963, 14 stories, 45m/140', 10,000sqft floorplate

Model Commentary:

This is certainly not one of my finest models. It was, however, my first use of a transparent texture and my first attempt at an awning. It was very exciting.

The Pinnacle

Building Information:

10127 121 Street NW, Edmonton, AB
Built in 1972, 26 Floors, 80m/260', 11,000sqft tower floorplate

Model Commentary:

The Pinnacle was my fourth model, and with it I started to figure out what I was doing. It was the first building that I attempted to model a podium for, and it was the first to incorporate a logo. It was also the first building which was reasonably symetric, and that let me copy and reuse some of the sections. I still wouldn't mind retexturing it, but I am much happier with it than with many of my other early models.

As for the building itself; I kind of like it. It is a slab tower, and Edmonton certainly has enough of those. It has a huge setback though, which minimizes its impact. It is the tallest building outside of the downtown core, and because of that height it is nicely proportioned. It is also all-white, which is a rarity in Edmonton.

The Glenora

Building Information:

12319 Jasper Avenue NW, Edmonton, Alberta
Built in 1989, 17 stories, 56m/180', 6000sqft floorplate

Model Commentary:

This was my third model, and as with my other early models I would like to retexture it one day. It does have interesting geometry though, and it was definitely the most complicated of my early attempts.

The Gainsborough

Building Information:

10011 123 Street NW, Edmonton, Alberta
Built in 1981, 23 stories, 70m/230' tall, 6000sqft floorplate

Model Commentary:

The Gainsborough was the second model that I made, and it is one of a half-dozen that are from the weekend when I first started to play with Sketchup. Those early models were all of buildings in the Oliver area; which is where I live. Initially I had intended to focus on Oliver, but that quickly changed and I moved on to modeling the larger downtown area.

Starting in Oliver was a good though, because the early models were a learning experience. This shows in these models - particularly in their textures - and one day I hope to go back to update them.