Old Strathcona
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Old Strathcona is a neighbourhood located on the southside of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, near the University of Alberta. The neighborhood centres on Whyte Avenue (82nd Avenue), which is home to numerous shops, restaurants, and popular nightlife spots.
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[edit] History
Strathcona was once a separate city, achieving town status in 1899 and city status in 1907. Strathcona amalgamated with Edmonton in 1912. A large part of the popularity of Whyte Avenue is due to its character buildings. The oldest commercial building is the Strathcona Hotel, built in 1891 with the coming of the railway. Wooden buildings in the area were built before 1902 when the Town of Strathcona passed a bylaw requiring the building of brick buildings to prevent the fires that were devastating so many prairie towns. Much of the current brick stock was erected during the 1910-1912 boom that brought thousands of settlers west. Old Strathcona is one of very few areas left in Canada with a "first generation" building stock. In 2005, Edmonton City Council sent a letter to the Province of Alberta requesting heritage status for the area.
[edit] Present day
In the 1990s, Old Strathcona was home to many independent coffee shops, most notably, "Cafe LaGare", "Misty Mountain", "Planet Cyber Cafe" (then renamed Naked), "Hemp Cafe", "Netwerks New Media Cafe", "Buy the Cup", and the "New York Bagel Cafe" (recently re-opened in an 'off-Whyte' location after a devastating fire in 2003 that levelled the landmark "Albert's Restaurant" building on 104 St and Whyte). These have since closed down over the period of 1995-2005, and now Starbucks, Timothy's, and The Second Cup are on the main intersection of 104 St and Whyte but lots of smaller cafes, including "Friend's Nest", "Block 1912", "Flavours", "Two Rooms", and "Pack Rat Louie's" all serve coffee. Motorcyclists typically drink the regular coffee at Tim Horton's on Whyte Aenue.
Over time, the area has become the premier entertainment strip in Edmonton, offering a variety of live music including blues, jazz, rock, country and alternative music, as well as salsa dancing. The primary location for pubs, nightclubs and lounges on Whyte Ave is between 99 and 109 Street (the area commonly referred to as Old Strathcona) with the majority of clubs directly on Whyte Ave. or just off Whyte Ave. and on side streets.
Whyte Avenue arguably remains the centre of Edmonton's alternative lifestyles, containing various independent clothing and other types of shops catering to a variety of alternative subcultures (ranging from hippie to raver to goth etc). Clothing is the fastest growing business trend in the area, with well-known retailers such as Gravity Pope, Avenue Clothing Co., Foosh, Colourblind, Divine, Queue, Sophia's and American Apparel highlighting the avenue. Old Strathcona was a bastion of small, local and independent business.
Additionally, there are a number of restaurants in this area including "Da-De-O's," "Julio's Barrio," "Café Mosaics" and "Tasty Tom's". Several of the bars also have kitchens including "The One", "The Urban Lounge", "Savoy" and "Sapphire". In total, there are almost 100 places to eat in Old Strathcona. Again, a majority of eateries are locally owned.
[edit] Theatre
Old Strathcona is home to a vibrant independent theatre scene, with eight theatre companies operating out of several buildings in the neighborhood, including the Varscona Theatre, Transalta Arts Barns, Walterdale Playhouse and Catalyst Theatre. The Varscona Theatre alone is home to five award-winning companies: Shadow Theatre, Teatro la Quindicina, the variety show Oh Susanna! and improvisation troupes Die-Nasty and Rapid Fire Theatre. Every August, Old Strathcona plays host to the Edmonton International Fringe Festival, the largest Fringe Theatre event in North America. The Old Strathcona Theatre District is home to some of the most creative talent in the world.[citation needed]
[edit] Events
Old Strathcona celebrates all year long. January brings Ice on Whyte, a sculpting competition and outdoor playground. June has Improvaganza, an invitational international improv festival, hosted by Rapid Fire Theatre. July is the busiest of all, starting with the Silly Summer Parade on July 1. Whyte Avenue closes down on July 9 for the Whyte Avenue Street Sale. In mid July, the Whyte Avenue ArtWalk puts more than 140 artists on the sidewalks of Old Strathcona. In August, the Edmonton International Fringe Festival welcomes hundreds of thousands of theatregoers and festival patrons. The fall brings the Edmonton International Film Festival and InterFEAR, a multi-medium Halloween arts festival.
Old Strathcona has a year round farmers' market that requires all vendors to be primary producers. Edmonton's thriving market garden industry finds an average of 10,000 customers every Saturday.[citation needed] Customers are able to find fresh, locally grown tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers as early as March.
On June 17th 2006 the Edmonton Oilers won game 6 of the Stanley Cup playoffs, while playing at home. As a result of problems during previous game celebrations the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) presence on Whyte Ave has been heavy.
