Reverend McDougall’s 1871 Mission House: Epicentre of Edmonton’s Early Jewish Business Community
The year 2021 will be the 150th anniversary of the construction of Reverend George McDougall’s 1871 Methodist Mission House. This important…
Stories tagged: Economic history
From Parking Lots to Palm Trees (And Back Again): A Look Back at Heritage Mall
Brenda Hall was just 18 years old when she stepped off the bus in the community of Kaskitayo on a…
Edmonton’s Merchant Prince: James Ramsey
Echoes of one of Edmonton’s earliest successful retail enterprises can be found in the new Kelly Ramsey Tower now being…
Signs of Another Time
Drive around the heart of Edmonton and you’ll see them. Worn by time, pounded by the elements but still clinging…
Remembering the Corner Store
A bell jangles as the weathered door creaks open and the smells and memories flood back: being six years old,…
Edmonton’s Candied Past
Right from the beginning, Edmonton has had a sweet tooth. Newcomers from European countries brought with them a love for…
Modern Times: Christmas Shopping in Edmonton 100 Years Ago
Christmas is rapidly approaching, and it’s not hard to catch the spirit of the holidays in Edmonton. Trees are lit…
“Be patient, some goods are scarce”: Edmonton’s Wartime Black Markets, 1939-1945
Today when people think of the black market, they picture the seedy underworld of society buying and selling firearms and…
Edmonton: A World Class Dump, Part One – Grierson Dump
Waste may be as old as humanity, but the idea of trash is a relatively modern concept. In the first…
The Mountifield House
Designed by renowned local architect James Edward Wize and built in 1905, the Mountifield House was one of Oliver’s earliest…
June 29, 1915 — Edmonton’s River Valley Floods
On June 29, 1915, the North Saskatchewan River flooded Edmonton’s river valley. The river had flooded before, of course, but…
Baby, It’s Cold Outside!: A Brief History of Winter Fashion in Edmonton
As one of the largest Northern Canadian urban centres, Edmonton is known for its long, sometimes harsh winters. For centuries,…