Description of Historic Place

The Grierson Centre, also known as the Former Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Building, is located at the eastern extremity of downtown Edmonton. It is a large building composed of three attached, two-storey structures constructed of brick. Features of the building include its Collegiate Gothic and Tudor Gothic style elements including crenelated towers, a parapet, and decorative masonry work. Modern style elements can also be found in the block-like massing and horizontal emphasis of its later addition. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

The Grierson Centre is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values.

Historical Value
The Grierson Centre is associated with the development of the RCMP in the 20th century. The building’s inception and continuing additions reflect the administrative and directional evolution of the police force from frontier policing to national law enforcement. Since 1975, the building has belonged to the Department of the Solicitor General and has been used by the Correctional Service of Canada as a halfway house for paroled prisoners and for other functions of the penitentiary service.

Architectural Value
The Grierson Centre is a good example of a permanent and carefully styled structure, designed and specifically built for the purposes of the RCMP. It provides an informative visual chronology of the architectural preferences of the RCMP at this location. The earlier sections, designed in the Collegiate Gothic and Tudor Gothic styles indicate something of the status, needs, and evolution of the forces between 1912 and 1936, while the later modern addition is a variant of the institutional blocks erected in some numbers for RCMP headquarters purposes in the 1950s. Good craftsmanship and materials are evident throughout.

Environmental Value
The Grierson Centre reinforces the institutional character of its former RCMP compound setting at the edge of downtown Edmonton. It is a familiar building in the area.

Sources: Ivan J. Saunders, Former RCMP Compound, Edmonton, Alberta, Federal Heritage Building Report, 84-021; Grierson Centre, Edmonton, Alberta, Heritage Character Statement, 84-021.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Grierson Centre should be respected.

Its good aesthetic and functional design and good quality craftsmanship and materials, for example:
- the two-storey massing, which consists of three attached, L-shaped buildings;
- the masonry construction;
- the high rock-faced sandstone basement and the square three-storey tower;
- the elements of both the Collegiate Gothic and Tudor Gothic styles such as the crenelated central and corner towers, crenelated parapet, frequent emphatic pilastering, stone capped pilasters and the detailing of the main entrance;
- the Modern style elements constructed of brick and tyndall stone;
- the decorative yellow brickwork in the central tower and the sandstone lintels and sills;
- the inward-facing arcaded passageway;
- the window arrangement and treatment, including the stained glass windows.

The manner in which the Grierson Centre reinforces the institutional character of the former RCMP compound setting at the edge of downtown Edmonton, as evidenced in:
- its overall scale, design and materials, which harmonize with its urban surroundings;
- its familiarity within the area due to its large scale and known role as part of the former RCMP compound.