Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village

It took forever - just over 6 months from my trip to collect the photos to uploading the final model - but it's finally complete. And it turned out pretty well:




A total of 22 models, with lots of neat stuff including a few churches:




A wide variety of houses:



And my first (and likely last) grain elevator:

Gibson Block

Model and Building information

Edmonton's own flat iron building, complete with a painted sign that's almost enough to get me drinking Pepsi:



The model itself is just okay. I've mentioned patchwork buildings before, and this one has some of that with the entrance and the north side just not quite working out.

Low Level Bridge

Model and Building information

I've often wished that Edmonton didn't paint so many of its bridges in funny colours. The Walterdale is green, the Dawson is blue, the ones straddling Groat are red, and on the Capilano they are green again. What's wrong with good, old, Victorian black?

Then there is the Low Level, which does have a bit of a greenish hue but which is basically just gray. And I don't like it. I guess that neutral colours work on fancy bridges like the High Level, but that the smaller bridges really do need something extra.

For the model Google's terrain was once again way off. The level of the water under the bridge slopes by 25', which means that the piers had to be different heights which makes no sense at all. The elevation of the south approach is also too low, so there is quite a major speedbump at that end.

Jasper Block and the CKUA

Model and Building information

Probably the most interesting thing about this model is that the CKUA building was originally the Alberta Block, and it was built at roughly the same time as the Jasper Block and in a similar style:


(Source: The Glenbow Archives)

While it would be nice to have another historic facade on Jasper, I quite like the moderne update and its cool, segmented windows. It just isn't a style that Edmonton has very much of, and it makes a nice change.

Tegler Building (1911-1982)

Model and Building information

My 150th model, and to mark that occasion we have the Tegler Building. This completes my personal trinity of Edmonton's lost buildings, along with the Library and the Courthouse.

I think that for many Edmontonians the Tegler also serves somewhat as the one-that-got-away - given historical designation only to have it taken away again; and imploded only to be replaced by a bland and rather lame piece of post-modernism. Looking at it today makes me realize what the intersection of 101 Street and 102 Avenue once have must been, particularly at street level. How different would 101 Street or Rice Howard Way feel if they were still lined with those storefronts today?

The model reuses textures from all the usual suspects - the Buena Vista, CIBC and Bowker - along with a colourized version of Tegler's lower floors. I really like how it turned out, and when I set out to model some of Edmonton's lost buildings this was exactly what I was aiming for.

McKay Avenue School and 1881 Schoolhouse

Model and Building information

The tricky thing about McKay Avenue School is getting a good photo of its front elevation. That is where all the detail is, but it faces north so it never has good sun, it is in the shadow of several apartment blocks which just makes matters worse, and it is pretty much obscured by trees.



So for this model the front is mostly made up of pictures of the other sides, with the important and non-copyable parts - the doors, pilasters, datemarkers - spliced in after some colour-tuning. For a patchwork building it turned out pretty well.

Although it is not visible in the image, the one-room schoolhouse from 1881 that is located in the southwest corner of the site is also included in the model.

Library (1923-1968)

Model and Building information

Another of Edmonton's lost buildings, which again makes use of the all-purpose textures of the Bowker Building and Downtown CIBC, along with roof tiles borrowed from the Annamoe Mansion. There are also a few textures taken from the one colour photograph of the library that I could find. References for this building are tough to find though, so this model isn't particularly good or accurate, but I think it gets the point across.

Government House

Model and Building information

Sometimes the process of creating a model helps me to better appreciate a building. Other times, it has the opposite effect.

Government House is definitely a nice building, and the sandstone is a gorgeous material just like it is on the Legislature. But sixteen columns? Is that necessary? Two wouldn't have been enough? And are all those different types and sizes of windows really required? Not just the ones that are two panes wide, or the ones that are three panes wide, but also those two at the back that are four panes wide and a totally different shape (and which I skipped).

The model turned out really well, but it was a bit annoying to make.

CIBC Edmonton Main Branch

Model and Building information

The first step in making a model is to basically take the building apart piece by piece - to figure out how it works, which bits are important, where to cheat, and where not to cheat. Once that's done then it can be put back together again. The whole process involves looking at the building in a lot of detail, and at the end I usually come away with a deeper appreciation of it.

I've always been aware of the downtown CIBC. It's an old building, and Edmonton doesn't have so many of those that I could just completely ignore this one. And it is located at the intersection of downtown's two spines - the history of Jasper, and the high-rise corridor of 101 Street. Still, there was just something about the building that never really grabbed me - as important as Jasper and 101st is, in practice it isn't really that important at all; the building itself tends to be lost behind the mess of planters and trolley lines and urban clutter; and the Tyndall is just so very, very gray, especially in the shadows of the neighbouring office towers.

As I worked on the model though, I grew to really like it. The renaissance influence is just so simple and elegant compared to some of the other more showy historic styles. And it's just so nicely proportioned and detailed.

The only real artistic license on the model is the addition of the Canadian flag. The flagpole is a very prominent part of the building, but I don't believe that I've ever seen it in use. When it came time to make the model, I decided that it was going to have a flag.

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.

The High Level Bridge

Model and Building information

A bridge model is a bit different from a typical building. Rather than modeling all the individual structural pieces, it uses a lot of partially transparent textures. Transparent textures can also be useful on building models (the sunshades on the Baker Clinic, or the fire escape on the Arlington), but not on this scale. Since transparent textures in Google Earth have to be png format (rather than the typical jpg) and since png's don't compress very much, this model is the largest model I've ever done at about 2Mb.

Still, I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. There's enough detail in the textures that you can zoom right in on the bridge, and it's a pretty good representation of what the High Level looks like.

The main annoyance was that the Google Earth terrain doesn't match the actual bridge approaches. This is particularly true at the north end, where the terrain had to be built up by 90' to avoid leaving the end of the bridge hanging in mid-air.

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.

Starlight Room or the Old Citadel

Model and Building information

Another model that it was tough to choose the right name for. Officially it is the Old Citadel, but do people know that? How about the Salvation Army Citadel? I'll always know it as Lush. Once again I went with the most recent name.

I'm not particularly happy with this model, although there's not much that could be done to improve it. The problem is that the building is just so simple - a door, a few windows, some gothic touches, and lots and lots of brick. The brick itself has incredible wear and texture, but that sort of detail gets lost when you're tiling a jpg around a featureless box.

Red Strap Market

Model and Building information

What to say about this building, other than that hopefully a new use is found for it one day soon. Those windows are just gigantic.

This is a model where I really don't know what name is best to use. Red Strap Market, even though it has gone out of business? Or Army & Navy which is probably what most people remember it as, even though that only goes back to 1954? GWG? Caledonian Department Store? I went with the most recent name, knowing it can be updated when the building finds a new role.

Buena Vista Building

Model and Building information

Unlike other trendy shopping areas in Edmonton like Whyte Avenue and 104 Street, 124 Street doesn't have very much in the way of "historic" architecture. Robertson Wesley United Church is certainly a landmark, and the building that houses Original Joe's dates back to 1915 (but since it is basically a brick garage the waitresses will always attract more attention than its Edwardian touches), and then there is the Buena Vista building.

The commercial buildings in the area are almost entirely modern. I find this reassuring, because it means that Edmonton - which has torn down many of its historic buildings, and which is a young city to begin with - can still create attractive areas. The built form matters as much as the specific style, and so it's not too late for us.

As for the Buena Vista building itself, it is hard to miss as you come across the iron bridge and head towards Jasper Avenue. For me it has always acted as somewhat of an unofficial gateway to the city's core.

H.V. Shaw Building and Maverick Brewery

Model and Building information

Another historic building with a nice and effective contemporary addition. The large painted sign on the side of the Shaw building is actually quite difficult to photograph in its entirety when you are standing on the ground. For the purposes of the model it had to be cobbled together from a few different photographs.

Oliver Telephone Exchange

Model and Building information

Tucked away in Oliver, the telephone exchange is a quaint little building with an addition that I think actually works. It doesn't try to compete with the original, but has a funky modern identity all its own.

Bowker Building

Model and Building information

The last of the Beaux Arts buildings built in Edmonton, given new life by a renovation and addition in the 1970's.

This is another building that most people experience by driving by. And the east side faces a no-man's-land of parking lots. With the renovations of the Federal building and its grounds that are underway, the Bowker will hopefully find new prominence as well.

This model was kicking around on my computer for a long time too. I originally started it after I finished the Legislature building in April of 2007. After a few quick attempts I gave up, and didn't return to it until April of 2009. That's probably for the best, because my skill with fiddly historical models has greatly improved over the years.

The Maclean Block

Model and Building information

The Maclean Block is celebrating its hundredth birthday this year, and it is the longtime home of the Edmonton institution that is Audreys Books.

I have to say that I'm not a huge fan of the purple awnings. But then again, its Audreys - how can Audreys not have purple awnings? There's also a fairly major cheat on the model's east elevation, because I was feeling lazy and knew that no one would notice.

Westmount Junior High School

Model and Building information

Westmount school certainly has opera in it.

Built in the middle nowhere, and in an area that would remain as the middle of nowhere for decades, I can't imagine the statement that it originally made on the geography, and on the children who trekked to it everyday. Now it's something that gets driven by without much notice.

The less said about the modernist addition the better. Obviously that was a thankless job, because there's no point in even trying to compete with the original school. But the solution involes one section that has 270 lineal feet of continuous precast concrete. How was that a good idea?