Description of Historic Place

The Goodridge Block is a rectangular, three-storey brick Edwardian style commercial building. Located on a corner lot at the intersection of 97 Street and Jasper Avenue, it anchors the historic East Jasper district in the City of Edmonton.

Heritage Value

The Goodridge Block is historically significant as a mixed-use retail and office block developed by Leonard Goodridge in the heart of Edmonton's business district at the height of the pre-World War One economic boom. The Goodridge Block has a strong historical association with the hardware business beginning with the opening of W.W. Sales in 1930 under the direction of S.P. Wilson. The business name W.W. Arcade, which has sentimental associations for generations of Edmontonians, was adopted in 1942 when the Ainslie Brothers took over the business, and was continued by the Imperial Lumber Company, from 1980 until its closure in 1989.

The Goodridge Block, constructed between 1911 and 1912, is architecturally significant as a representative example of classical tradition in commercial architecture. Well-known Edmonton architect Robert Percy Barnes (1859-1926), generally credited with founding the Alberta Association of Architects in 1906, designed the Goodridge Block.

Source: City of Edmonton (Bylaw: 10469)

Character-Defining Elements

- Form and massing that characterize the building's principle brick facades on a prominent corner lot;
- patterns of fenestration and rhythm of the structural openings;
- rusticated pilasters that emphasize the recessed end bays featuring a single window;
- brick and cast stone detailing, including the belt course above third storey windows, quoins, segmental window arches, voussoirs, keystones;
- metal cornice and parapet with date plaque;
- mosaic tiling and corner support pillar at the street corner entrance.