This project is a very bad idea. People who bemoan trying to save "every old, boring building" are completely missing the point. The charm and appeal of Old Strathcona, and particularly this stretch of Whyte Ave judged on the whole, not one particular building. If we continue to chip away at a key component of this area, we'll also start chipping away at a key component of Edmonton's culture.
You could look at it from that point of view, but this whole district was meant as preservation of the warehouse and antiquated structures; that was what made the area what it is today. The murals add to the small quaintness of this area's historical past. You need to judge it from that perspective. I started frequenting that street since the mid 80s... it fits and reminds me of how it use to be.
it’s really interesting too how long strathcona/whyte was able to hold onto that vibe. for a while, it seemed like, while the individual businesses may change and rotate, whyte ave had kind of aged into this quirky/quaint/arty vibe and there wasn’t a lot of big changes to the landscape. things started to change when some east whyte stuff like roots and fuzion got built, but even that seemed to more or less fill in and expand what whyte was already doing.
with the destruction of car dealerships and development of brownfield sites, strathcona is starting to take on a new vibe. perhaps a bit more grown up, more obviously gentrified and yuppie, perhaps also more sterile, but also more urban and dense. whenever i’m by the raymond block it is amazing how different whyte ave feels in that particular area compared to 5 years ago. it‘s definitely more towards ’big city’ vibes.
there’s some good and excitement with this dynamic growth, but also some issues. i think it aligns well with how edmonton has matured and become more urbane over the last decade as well. downtown edmonton in 2007 was very different from what it is today, too.
overall, i will still say that whyte ave is the best high street on the prairies in terms of vibrancy, amenities, and feel. obviously the best in edmonton, but also better than 17th or kensington or 9th/inglewood in calgary, broadway (nutana) in saskatoon, osborne or portage or corydon in winnipeg, etc. though these cities have some better overall neighbourhoods, i’d argue, as strathcona is very whyte ave-centric.
