Description of Historic Place

The Strathcona C.P.R. Station consists of a one-and-a-half storey building with a two-storey projecting polygonal tower. The station is located east of 103 Street and south of 82 (Whyte) Avenue in the historic district of Old Strathcona in the south of Edmonton.

Heritage Value

The Strathcona C.P.R. Station is valued for its association with the Canadian Pacific Railway (C.P.R.) and the early railways that helped to form Strathcona as a city prior to amalgamation with Edmonton in 1912. Strathcona was the northernmost terminus for the Calgary and Edmonton (C and E) Railway, a line later to become incorporated into the C.P.R.'s vast system of rail. Known as the 'end of steel', it was the point at which the railways could extend no further without building massive bridges over the North Saskatchewan River valley. Strathcona grew in importance as the end of the line and a major transportation and transhipment point in, and to, northern Alberta. The station remained in active railway use until 1980.

The Strathcona C.P.R. Station is also valued as an indicator of the importance of rail travel early in the twentieth century. Prior to the extensive network of highways that currently crisscross the province, the primary mode of transportation and shipment was the railways. Important connections between Calgary and Edmonton helped the province's two largest cities form and allowed access to business opportunities, government and family in each city as well as other smaller centres around Alberta.

The Strathcona C.P.R. Station is also significant for its architecture. Built with elements of Classical and Renaissance Revival architecture, this Edwardian-era station is massed in a long horizontal fashion along the rail tracks to maximize coverage of the platform serving arriving and departing trains. A massive roof, with large support brackets overhangs the platform to shelter passengers from the elements. Additionally, the tower affords the structure a prominent silhouette and makes it immediately recognizable. The same basic design was used for three subsequent Alberta C.P.R. stations constructed at Lethbridge, Red Deer, and Medicine Hat

Source: City of Edmonton (Bylaw: 13470)

Character-Defining Elements

The Classical and Renaissance Revival architecture of the Strathcona C.P.R. Station building is expressed in such character-defining elements as:
- form, scale and massing;
- bellcast hipped roof with oversized eave brackets;
- asymmetrical position of top storey and tower;
- masonry construction including brick facing with Tyndall stone details;
- polygonal tower on platform side of building;
- fenestration;
- doors opening onto platform area;
- smooth Tyndall stone window sills and tower cladding;
- paired stone brackets, dentil course and keystones on tower;
- smooth Tyndall stone corner quoining;
- rough Tyndall stone foundation.