Jasper Place
As many know, Next Architecture Inc. provides a broad range of conservation resource management services on historic buildings. Over time we have developed a keen sense of the contextual history that surrounds buildings. While we can easily see our vertical heritage (buildings, bridges, etc.) we may not be as acutely aware of our horizontal heritage (roads, abandoned railways, etc.). Often, these are only revealed by analysis of aerial photographs or, today, Google Earth.
We would like to share one example in Edmonton, which because of the progress of the western expansion of the LRT may be soon lost, but for now we can explore its history. During the 1930s, the population of the Hamlet of West Jasper Place grew as many Edmontonians moved out to escape high taxes in the city. Many residents worked in Edmonton, and by the 1940s the trolley line extended to the then modern 149th Street, close enough to West Jasper Place to allow returning workers at the end of their work day to walk the rest of the way home.
The terminus became a regular stop when Jasper Place was annexed by Edmonton in 1964. The terminus was then moved next to the former Jasper Place Municipal Building (now a Telus facility) next to Butler Memorial Park (where ETS recently completed work on a new Jasper Place terminal). The stop east of 149th Street was abandoned when Council moved to decommission the trolley lines in 2009. Since then, it remained semi-operational as a lay-over for ETS buses and a popular spot where ETS could watch and time buses and their drivers. This terminus can still be seen today as it is a “laydown” for the LRT expansion project just east of 149th Street on Stony Plain Road.
Credits: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JasperPlace, Google Maps, City of Edmonton Archives 1965Aerial_Vol11_No183
