The West Residence
10434 91st Street
Originally: “1281 Jasper Avenue East”
Constructed: 1906
“Edmonton and Winnipeg, only hours apart today, once held the distinction of being ‘a summer apart’ — it took a whole summer to make the round trip between the two points.
This was… years ago, before the C.P.R. had pushed into Calgary to bring Edmonton-bound travellers within two-hundred miles of their destination. Before the days of the railway, however, the prairie-spanning journey from southern Manitoba to the doorstep of the Rockies was a formidable undertaking. In Edmonton’s circles no one knew this better than William R. West.”
West made his summer trek in 1881. At the time he was twenty-one years old. A trained mason, he had heard “the word at Winnipeg… that a qualified tradesman would do well in the Upper Saskatchewan country.” He made his journey “the hard way, [by] driving a herd of cattle,” the Edmonton Journal reminisced. In later years West recalled “that he had to run most of the way to keep his wandering charges heading the right direction. With all the running, the distance covered seemed more like 1,000 than the 850 miles generally accepted.” It took him three months to reach Edmonton.
Despite his age, William proved nothing short of a man’s man. If a job needed doing or an adventure or opportunity needed taking, West was there in the thick of it. In Edmonton he was a ranch hand and bricklayer, a general contractor and a North-West Mounted Police Constable, a veteran of the North-West Rebellion and a city council candidate, a founder of the Northern Alberta Old Timers Association and a president of the Edmonton Exhibition Association, a fellow of the International Order of Odd Fellows and a member of the Masonic Lodge.
The same year West ran for elected office, 1906, he decided to settle down and enter a lite-retirement to spend time with his wife of sixteen years. Elizabeth Anne* was an Irish girl who’d come to Canada when she was just seventeen. “She spent two years in Winnipeg before setting out for Edmonton. She went by railway to Calgary, being escorted on this trip by Richard Hardisty, chief factor of the Hudson’s Bay Company and senator representing the Northwest. The trip from Calgary to Edmonton was made by buck-board and noted for its discomfort. Mrs. West's chief recollection of this part of her trip from Winnipeg was the number of rivers that had to be forded by the bumping, bouncing buck-board,” the Journal recounted.
The two purchased a plot on what was once River Lot 20 and got to work building their dream home. Given his background, William likely built it with his own hands. Although subdued, the West’s residence became a noteworthy local example of the gingerbread house-like Queen Anne style. A Guide to Canadian Architectural Styles describes it as a “blend of medieval and classical motifs.” “Medieval motifs include Tudor windows, corner towers, bay and oriel windows, and some medieval carving… [which] are combined on facades that are usually asymmetrical in elevation, with high, irregular rooflines punctuated with many dormers, gables, and ornamented chimney stacks.”
Mr. and Mrs. West lived here until 1920. In later years they moved to Jasper Place. William passed away on February 1st, 1938 after a long bout of illness. Elizabeth followed on December 13th, 1939. Both of their remains are entombed at Edmonton Municipal Cemetery.
Some eighty years on, their home faces demolition. If rezoning is approved, a six-storey mid-rise, aptly dubbed River Lot 20, is set to take its place. Despite calls for its preservation, in the estimation of its promoters, the West Residence is simply too far gone to be saved.
A condition assessment report carried out on behalf of the developer describes the old home as in “poor to unacceptable condition.” The biggest point of contention is the basement, which has been “compromised due to soil pressure and settlement, resulting in cracking and water ingress as well as bowing of the foundation walls. The foundation deterioration is the cause of most of the poor conditions seen throughout the remainder of the house,” from “cracking and loose mortar,” to splitting plaster-lath walls and ceilings.
In the report’s estimation, the home would need $1,077,000 to salvage. “Based on the high value of work to be completed at a minimum to stabilize and repair the building to an acceptable condition, the consultant team recommends that the building be demolished,” it reads.
The loss of the West Residence would be significant and not just the reasons you’d think. Sure, the destruction of a pioneer’s home and a rare example of an eclectic style would make it sorely missed. But perhaps bigger than any of that would be the loss of a sense of place. As the Edmonton Historical Board explains, the home is a defining piece of the Boyle Street neighbourhood in that it’s “one of only a few surviving [original] homes in an area that has largely been redeveloped with walk-up and high-rise apartment buildings.”
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*Author’s Note:
The spelling of Elizabeth Anne's name changes from source to source. Some suggest it was Anne while others write it as Ann. Anne is more prevalent in sources contemporary to her life, so was chosen here.
Sources:
‘Old Timer’, “The Third Column: Pioneer Builder,” Edmonton Journal, January 24, 1958.
“Candidates Now In The Campaign,” Edmonton Journal, November 27, 1906.
“Fair Association Had Profitable Year In 1916,” Edmonton Journal, January 11, 1917.
Leslie Maitland, Jacqueline Hucker, Shannon Rickets, A Guide to Canadian Architectural Styles (Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview Press, 1993), 98.
Henderson’s Edmonton City Directory, (1920) s.v. “10434 91,” pg. 148.
“Deaths: Mr. William West,” Edmonton Journal, February 2, 1938.
“Deaths: Mrs. Elizabeth Anne West,” Edmonton Journal, December 15, 1939.
“Hold Last Rites For William West,” Edmonton Journal, February 4, 1938.
City of Edmonton, Administration Report, Rezoning & Plan Amendment, Boyle Street: 10434 & 10438 - 91 Street NW (City of Edmonton: Edmonton, AB, June 23, 2020),
https://pub-edmonton.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=3344
"West Residence,” Edmonton Historical Board: Edmonton’s Architectural Heritage, accessed January 8, 2021, https://www.edmontonsarchitecturalheritage.ca/index.cfm/structures/west-residence/
