In the course of our daily reporting, we often uncover unusual projects, places, or connections that don't make the final cut. Instead of keeping it to ourselves, we're pleased to share our Architrivia.

After developing many of the mansions that came to typify the northeast Edmonton community of Highlands, neighbourhood boosters William Magrath and Bidwell Holgate partnered with Ontario businessman William Thomas Gibbard to finance a $90,000 apartment block that a 1913 newspaper later heralded as "the latest idea in architecture, comfort, modern equipment and convenience." 

The real estate boom gripping Edmonton before the dawn of the First World War proved the ideal time to establish a luxurious apartment building in the bedroom community, serviced by ground-level shops and lived in by the city's wealthy. The three-storey Gibbard Block was designed by notable Edmonton architect Ernest W. Moorehouse and originally held nine suites when it opened in 1912, offering tenants anywhere from one to five bedrooms, and modern conveniences like electric lighting, hot water, and personal telephone and intercom systems. The exterior was fashioned in Redcliff brick originating from southern Alberta, with Classical Revival features like brick pilasters and large keystones adding decorative enhancements to the facade. 

The Gibbard Block, image retrieved from Google Street View

Having held a mortgage on the property, Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario was bequeathed ownership of the Gibbard Block in 1926 following financially unpropitious times for Magrath and Holgate. The university would retain the property until 1945, when the building began cycling through a catalogue of owners. By the 1970s, most of the units had been switched to low-income housing. Dancer Ernst Eder turned the sagging fortunes of the building around in 1982 when he opened La Boheme, a French bistro that remains a community pillar today. The upper levels now form part of a bed and breakfast.

Recognizing the architectural merits of the building — and its role in representing Edmonton's dramatic economic shifts — the City of Edmonton recently signalled interest in designating the building as a municipal historic resource. The City would reportedly give the owners $472,000 to go towards $952,000 heritage work that would include roof replacement and installing storefronts and windows that align with the style at the time of construction.

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