In the middle of a makeover, Oliver's West End Telephone Exchange building has been designated a Municipal Historic Resource by city councillors. The Edwardian-style building at 12019A 102 Avenue was designed by Alberta architect Allan Merrick Jeffers, who also designed the Legislature, Government House, and Athabasca Hall at the University of Alberta.

West End Telephone Exchange, image by Forum contributor Daveography

Jeffers is one of the most well-known Albertan architects, serving as the provincial architect from 1907 to 1912 and as Edmonton's city architect from 1912 to 1914, when he was commissioned to design two new telephone exchanges to service Edmonton's growing population. The city had always been at the forefront of telephone technology; Alex Taylor started Edmonton's first telephone service in 1881 until it was purchased by the City in 1905.

The North End Exchange and West End Telephone Exchange were both constructed in 1912, housing among the first automatic switching stations in the country. A City news release points to the building's "modest ornamentation and strong symmetry," also noting more distinctive features like the raised parapet at the north gable, a multi-paned semicircular attic window, and a lintel inscribed with 'Telephone Exchange'.

A rendering of the finished Oliver Exchange, image via Beljan Development

The integrity of the historic property is being retained as Beljan Development turns the building into a collaborative mixed-use office, retail and workshop complex. The project began in March 2017 and is expected to be completed in the summer. 

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