Edmonton Architectural Tour | Glenora
Morning! Welcome back to my architectural tour of Edmonton. A mini series I created which highlights some of Edmonton’s most unique and eye-catching homes.
Anyone who knows me knows I have a hard time sitting still. In fact, one of the things I’ve been struggling the most with over mat-leave is running at a slower pace. I’ve been trying to think positively about it though; it’s an opportunity to get curious and explore things I otherwise wouldn’t have had time to. Which brings me to this series.
Early into my leave, I came across a Daily Hive post about the coziest Edmonton neighborhoods to explore in the fall. If you’re familiar with Edmonton, it’s not exactly a hot tourist destination so I just loved how well the post highlighted some of the city’s hidden gems. Normally, I would have read through that post and immediately moved on, but since I had nothing but time and 2 month old who was pretty happy in his stroller, I was inspired to create my own version of that post highlighting some of more unique neighborhoods in terms of architecture.
I’ll be honest, after the initial excitement of the idea wore off, I was a bit worried that this was more of a make work project as Edmonton isn’t exactly known for it’s architecture. I wasn’t even confident I would find enough eye-catching homes to create a blog post let alone a mini series. As it turns out, Edmonton does have a lot of interesting homes, you just have to know where to look.
Glenora
On to Glenora!
Development of this community began in 1910, but slowed substantially after the 1913 Edmonton real estate crash. The saving grace for this community was it’s proximity the governor’s mansion, the river valley views, and good connections to the streetcar system, so despite the economic slow down, the local elite continued to buy and settle in the area. In addition to the near-by amenities, the air quality in the area was considered to be better as Alberta winds are more often west-to-east, so that also contributed to Glenora’s reputation as the “posh” neighborhood.
Fast forward to today and Glenora still remains one of Edmonton’s most desirable neighborhoods. It’s close proximity to downtown has ensured land prices remain high, a factor that I feel would be contributing to all of the large infills that have replaced the original homes in the area. Honestly, this community reminds me a bit of my Pinterest boards in that there is an eclectic mix of architecture, ranging from classic and traditional to ultra-modern, some of which looks very similar to images of homes I’ve scrolled past on social media. It’s definitely an area where residents are getting creative in their home designs and I enjoyed seeing some trendier styles in real life.
Hope you enjoy!
Follow along the rest of the tour:
BY EMILY RADKIE
