Description of Historic Place

The Margaret Martin Residence is a two and one-half storey plus basement brick-clad residence with wraparound verandah, located at the corner of 84 Avenue and 106 Street, in the Strathcona neighbourhood of Edmonton.

Heritage Value

The Margaret Martin Residence is valued as the first house to be built in the Martin Estate in West Strathcona, representing the development of the City of Strathcona during the boom years prior to World War One. For a number of years the settlement of Strathcona, located on the south side of the North Saskatchewan River, was Edmonton's rival in size and importance. The area was originally split into two areas. West of 99 Street - such as this area - the residents were mainly from a commercial or business background, while those east of 99 Street were generally involved in trades, or employed by Gainer's or the Canadian Pacific Railway (C.P.R.).

The Margaret Martin Residence is additionally significant for it association with Margaret Martin, who with her husband, David, were pioneers in this neighbourhood. The Martins acquired a large tract of farm land in this location west of Strathcona in 1899. David died one year later, and Margaret continued on this land with their eleven children. As the population in the area expanded, the farm was subdivided and known as Martin Estates. This grand house was built for Margaret Martin and her family circa 1907. Margaret continued to reside in the house until 1939.

Furthermore, the Margaret Martin Residence is significant as an example of the four-square style, popular during the Edwardian-era and typified by symmetrical design, generous proportions and restrained detailing. This is an early surviving example of the early work of the Magoon, Hopkins and James architectural partnership, the partners of which went on to become some of the most respected architects in western Canada. Alberta had been created in 1905, and the construction industry was booming, creating significant opportunities that drew a large number of architects to the province. Herbert Alton Magoon (1863-1941) arrived in Edmonton in 1905, the same year that Edward Colis Hopkins (1857-1941) was appointed the Provincial Architect. English-born and trained P. Leonard James (1878-1970) arrived in Edmonton in 1906, and during his two year stay won the competition for the Strathcona and Royal Alexandra Hospitals, and completed a number of significant projects. In 1908, James relocated to British Columbia where he became one of the province's most prominent architects; the Margaret Martin Residence is one of the only buildings that survives from his short-lived partnership with Magoon and Hopkins.

Source: City of Edmonton (Bylaw 13791)

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Margaret Martin Residence include its:
- location on a corner lot, with associated landscape features such as two giant, mature Russian Willows;
- residential form, scale and massing, as expressed by its two and one-half storey plus basement height, two-storey bay window to the south, ground floor bay windows to the north and east, bell cast hipped roof and semi-circular dormers;
- broad roof overhangs, with closed eaves and curved decorative eave brackets;
- masonry construction, including brick cladding, and parged belt course and quoining;
- wraparound verandah with tapered square wooden columns and wooden balustrade;
- fenestration, such as: double-hung one-over-one wooden sash windows; round-headed dormer windows with pointed-arch muntins; original glazed wooden entrance door; and a bulls-eye window on the ground floor;
- interior features such as: staircases with square newels and lathe-turned balusters; six-panelled doors, some with transoms; wooden door and window trim; original hardware; wooden floors; and plaster walls.