Thanks to my friend John Buckberrough from Vancouver, I was able to take a little trip back in time to an Edmonton that only some of us are likely to remember. John collects gas station memorabilia, specifically old British American Oil memorabilia.

In his search for BA maps and such, he came across a visitor’s guide to Edmonton, circa 1950, and was kind enough to send it to me.

In 1950 we were describing ourselves as the “oil centre of Canada” and a “city of breathtaking developments.” Very few people remember that at one time the oil centre moniker was accurate.

But that was before we taxed all the oil companies into the waiting arms of Calgary.

According to the guide, at the time of publication we were Canada’s fastest-growing city.

An aerial view of the city shows very few tall buildings, most of which I cannot identify save for the Macdonald Hotel.

In 1950, the population of greater Edmonton was 150,000 and we had 56 schools and seven hospitals.
What I found most interesting were the things that still exist here and those that have long ago disappeared.

The King Edward Hotel at 101st Street and 101 Avenue was touting itself as “one of the finest hotels in the West.”

There were 11 hotels within a few blocks of each other in the downtown. Save for the Macdonald, the Grand and the York, they are all gone now.

It’s hard to imagine a time when we would direct visitors to the York Hotel.

It’s also hard to imagine going to Hep’s on Stony Plain Road for dining and dancing, or to Chick’s Bar-B-Q where one could also dance and “positively drool over the mouth-watering specialties.”

If you wanted to stay in the downtown, you could eat at the Seven Seas and taste its “exotic” cuisine. I suppose you could also treat yourself to a made-in-Edmonton Sick’s Dry Ginger Ale.

The city was planning a Miracle Mile Shopping Centre between 100 Street and 99 Street from 101A Avenue to the CNR Station.

I wonder what happened to those plans? In 1950, every plane on the circle route refueled at what the guide calls “the big Edmonton Airport.”

Given the potential we had in 1950, I wonder how we fell so far behind Calgary in our development.
One can only hope we do a much better job during the next 62 years.