Sketching History: Edmonton Residences

The City of Edmonton’s John Walter Museum consists of three houses built by John Walter. He came from the Orkney Islands in 1870 to build York boats for the Hudson's Bay Company, and then carried on to own and operate businesses including a blacksmith and carriage shop, ferry, coal mine, and sawmill. 

Herbert and Elsie McLuhan built their house in the Highlands neighbourhood in 1912. The craftsman style bungalow was designed by architects Nesbitt & Morehouse and constructed by Bailey & Berry.

The house features a low pitch roof, open verandah with front gable, and tapered square columns. The wood cladding and double hung wooden sash windows are typical of Edmonton homes of the era. Marshall McLuhan spent his early years here until 1915 when the family moved to Winnipeg. He is known for his sociological and philosophical theories, focusing on language, perception, and communication under the influences of the mass media. 

This two and a half-storey Four Square house was built by Garnett Meiklejohn in 1912. In 1915, Herbert and Eda Owen moved in and the house also served as a Dominion Meteorological Station. A 60-foot tall wooden tower, painted red, sat atop the roof with access from a modified rear dormer. It held a rotating anemometer to gauge wind speed and the tower had to be climbed daily to take readings. 

Herbert worked as meteorologist with Eda assisting him. When Herbert left to fight in WWI, Eda took over his duties, and when he died overseas in 1917, she was named the Provincial Agent and Weather Observer at a time when women were not considered persons under the law, nor thought to be qualified to be working as professionals.

Edmonton realtor Edward H. Molstad and his wife Addie built their home in 1912. It is a stately two-storey brick and wood Four Square house originally built on 5 acres of land, surrounded by a circular driveway, fountains and trees, and included a carriage house and servants’ quarters. In 1931, part of the house was converted into apartments, but the Molstad family continued to live there until 1982.

When Walter and Jean Kipp purchased the house in 1988, they worked to restore it to its previous glory as a single family home. Present owners Scott and Erica Richards continue the care for the preservation of this elegant home.

The interior retains the original hardwood floors, oak panelling, sculptured ceilings, brass chandeliers, and fireplaces. In 1994, Molstad House became Edmonton’s first historically designated residential building, and was designated a Provincial Historic Resource in 1996. 

The Trynicky Apartments and Georgia Apartments, with their distinctive pink and blue colour scheme, were a recognizable feature for six decades, perched atop the river bank in the Boyle Street neighbourhood, one of the oldest in Edmonton. The property is non-grid aligned because it followed the traditional Metis river lots common to the city’s fort history, which were long and narrow plots perpendicular to the river.