Description of Historic Place

The John McNeill Residence is a large, two-and-a-half storey, two-tone brick building with a cross-gable roof and offset front porch and balcony. Built on a city lot in the mature Alberta Avenue neighbourhood fronting onto 97th Street, it is located on one of the principal access routes to Edmonton's downtown.

Heritage Value

The John McNeill Residence is significant for both its association with John McNeill, a prominent Edmonton entrepreneur, and its Victorian design influences.

Built circa 1907, the John McNeill Residence is significant for its association with one of Edmonton's most successful transportation entrepreneurs, John McNeill, who lived in the house from 1910 to 1914. Shortly after arriving from Scotland in 1910, John McNeill bought a small company called Twin City Transfer and, typical of the entrepreneurial spirit of the times, successfully expanded the business to become the largest transportation company in Alberta. McNeill established the first taxi business in Edmonton, Twin City Taxi, in 1912. He also developed Edmonton's first private ambulance service, was involved in the establishment of its first airstrip, and played a role in local bussing service.

An eclectic building with Victorian and Queen Anne stylistic influences, the McNeill Residence is significant for its intriguing combination of architectural elements, including the use of colourful orange and buff brick to differentiate between architectural detail and main walls, the cross-gable roof, the covered porch and balcony and the roof level widows walk.

Source: City of Edmonton (Bylaw: 13827)

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the John McNeill Residence include:
- location along Alberta Avenue;
- form, massing, and materials;
- Victorian and Queen Anne stylistic features;
- cross-gable roof with return eaves and widows walk;
- orange and buff brick with coloured mortar joints;
- timber front door;
- timber porch with classical columns set on brick pedestals supporting the balcony above;
- orange brick detailing, including quoins at the exterior wall edges, cogging details at the eave and gable, brick banding at the stone foundation and eave, voussoirs in the round-arched roof windows, brick hood moulds around parged lintels;
- parged lintels and projecting sills;
- fenestration patterns and window styles, including the stained and leaded glass windows and the half diamond mullion pattern windows in the front (west) and south facades, the round-arched windows in the gable, the split windows with flat arch and keystone in the basement;
- decorative elements, including a decorative orange brick pattern below each window and the frieze with rosettes linked by a festoon of circular disks applied to the soffitt;
- stone rubble foundation;
- brick chimney at rear.