Through the essays, observations, and photos contained herein, Forgotten Edmonton aims to question people’s preconceived perceptions of our great city story-by-story and building-by-building. While architectural history has been the predominant focus of this project thus far, the hope is to branch out with other topics on Edmonton’s heritage over time, be it transit history, labour activism, or criminal trials.

Forgotten Edmonton is the work of Dane Ryksen, an undergraduate with the University of Alberta’s Department of History, Classics & Religion, and an active member of the Edmonton Historical Board’s Historic Resource Review Panel.

As recounted by Liane Faulder in a feature piece for the Edmonton Journal, Ryksen is a “self-described ‘architecture nerd,’” who “became fascinated by the cityscape as a teenager. He remembers tackling a stop-motion movie project in junior high and thinking hard about how to construct a 1930s, gangster-style movie set complete with period buildings, entirely from Lego. While the movie project never materialized, the creative experience sparked something within Ryksen, an urge to observe, to wonder, to share.”

It’s probably hard to think of a twelve-year old being that interested in old buildings, but it’s true. Dane was always the nerd. When the Edmonton Oilers made it into the playoffs in 2006, it’s all anyone at his school could talk about. Him? He couldn’t care less — he was too busy reading up on Medieval knights and Golden Age pirates. From a young age, history was the only thing that interested Dane. It made sense that he grew to love Edmonton’s historic architecture. After all, what’s better than a piece of the past that you can see and touch? 

In the years since, Ryksen’s interest in Edmonton’s story has expanded far beyond architecture. He now writes on a wide breadth of local topics — from transit history to Great Depression labour struggles — with a particular emphasis on the personal. It’s his sincere hope that Forgotten Edmonton manages to be a jumping off point for others with a burgeoning interest in the city’s past.

Dane’s work has been referenced in, featured in, or the subject of numerous projects and publications including: 

• The Edmonton Journal

• The MADEcast, podcast of Media Architecture Design Edmonton

• RETROactive, the official blog of the Historic Resources Management Branch of Alberta, Culture & Status of Women

• The Yards, the official magazine of the Oliver and Downtown Community Leagues

• A Little Bit Ritchie, podcast and blog of the Ritchie Community League

• Heritage Forward, a grassroots built-heritage advocacy group

Forgotten Edmonton acknowledges that our city lies on Treaty Six territory, the traditional space of the Cree, Saulteaux, Blackfoot, Métis, Dene, and Nakota Sioux.