Edmonton Alberta History Street System Miscellaneous Facts

1 History

Edmonton was founded in 1795 when a Hudson's Bay Company Trading Post was established with the construction of Fort Edmonton. John Rowand , a fur trader for the North West Company, arrived in Edmonton in 1804 and became respected and accepted as a leader by the Plains Indians , managing Edmonton's fur trade with the Cree and Blackfoot in Edmonton for about 30 years. Fort Edmonton became a local economic centre, the major stopping point before pioneers headed up north or farther west.

More people began settling in the vicinity of Fort Edmonton in the 1870s after the government offered the land to settlers at a good price. Edmonton officially became a town in 1892 with a population of 700. The city boomed during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897 as thousands of eager prospectors heading north via the "All Canadian Route," stopping in Edmonton for supplies. By 1904 Edmonton had 9,000 residents, and a year later it became incorporated as a city and declared the provincial capital.

In 1912 Edmonton, which was located on the north shore of the North Saskatchewan River, amalgamated with its sister city of Strathcona on the southern shore to attain a combined population of 53,000. The High Level Rail Bridge across the river was completed in 1913, cementing the link between the north and south sides of Edmonton. In the 1930s Edmonton continued to thrive as a northern business centre, and an aviation shipping point for food and medical supplies using the new bush planes. In 1942 the construction of the Alaska Highway made the city into a major ground transportation and supply centre to the far north. It was at about this time that Edmonton officially became known as "Gateway to the North."

Shortly after World War II oil was discovered near the nearby towns of Leduc, Redwater, and Pembina. The area around Edmonton became home to most of Alberta's oil production, and the subsequent oil boom gave Edmonton new status as the Oil Capital of Canada. The city began growing even more dramatically after the Arab Oil Boycott of 1973, and combined with satellite cities such as St. Albert and Sherwood Park, Edmonton's metropolitan population now sits at a 937,845 (per the 2001 census). Oil production and refining remains the basis of many Edmonton jobs, but other industries have also risen in prominence as the population grew and diversified.

2 Street system

In 1914 Edmonton adopted a new numbered street and avenue system, which with a few small modifications is still in use. The centre of the city, Jasper Avenue and 101 Street, was set as the starting point. Jasper Avenue was one of the few streets that was not given a number, but the other avenues were numbered as if Jasper Avenue had been 101 Avenue.

Avenues run east and west; Streets run north and south. Avenue numbers increase to the north; street numbers increase to the west. When a street lies between two numbered streets, letters are used, for example, 107A Avenue lies between 107 Avenue and 108 Avenue.

Houses with odd numbers are on the east side of a street or the south side of an avenue. Dropping the last two digits of a house number tells you what two streets or avenues the house lies between, for example 8023 135A Avenue is between 80 Street and 81 Street, and 10004 104 Avenue is between 100 Street and 101 Street.

In the 1980s as the city grew, it began to run out of street numbers in the east and avenue numbers in the south. Therefore, in 1982 a quadrant system was adopted. Quadrant Avenue (1 Avenue; not yet built) and Meridian Street (1 Street) divide the city into four quadrants: northeast, northwest, southwest and, most recently, southeast. The vast majority of the city falls within the northwest quadrant.

All Edmonton streets now officially have their quadrant included at the end of their names, but it is usual to omit "northwest," especially when there is no possibility of confusion with a street in another quadrant. However, the city's emergency services have begun to encourage residents to get into the habit of using quadrants in all addresses.

3 Miscellaneous facts

Edmonton is on the site of Edmonton House , an important 19th century trading post, and is also the site of West Edmonton Mall, the world's largest mall. The University of Alberta, Grant MacEwan Community College, Concordia University College , and Northern Alberta Institute of Technology are in the city.

Edmonton is served by Edmonton International Airport. Air passenger service from the Municipal Airport downtown was consolidated to the International Airport in 1996 and now is mostly used for charter planes and flight training.

Edmonton boasts the longest stretch of urban parkland in North America, the North Saskatchewan River Valley. Every year it hosts the largest alternative arts festival in North America, the Edmonton International Fringe Festival. It also hosts Jazz City International Music Festival annually during the month of June as well as the Klondike Days Festival, as well as the Edmonton Folk Music Festival in early August. The Klondike Festival was originally an annual fair which eventually adopted a 'gold rush' theme. Attendance can exceed 750,000 over a week long period and activities include chuckwagon races, carnival rides and fairways, tradeshows and daily fireworks. Other festivals and events include the International Street Performers Festival, the Folk Festival, Heritage Days and the Dragon Boat Festival.

At 670 km², Edmonton is one of the largest cities in North America, by area — larger in area than Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit. Consequently, Edmonton also has the one of the lowest population densities in North America — about 67 times less than New York. It is an official sister city of Nashville, Tennessee, which is similar in having a large area but relatively low population density.

Edmonton is host to two Canadian Junior Football teams: The Edmonton Huskies and The Edmonton Wildcats.

Edmonton is at the heart of a metropolitan area that includes a number of towns and cities either adjacent to Edmonton's city limits, or within a few kilometres of it. These communities include Sherwood Park, St. Albert, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc, Nisku , and Beaumont , among others.

4 University of Alberta

The University of Alberta, situated on the southside of Edmonton's river valley is a board-governed, public institution with external funding in 2002/03 of more than $300 million. See also Index for University of Alberta Facts.

5 Edmonton restaurants and nightlife

Nightlife in Edmonton is mostly limited to the Whyte Avenue (82 Avenue) strip, and to a lesser extent, Jasper Avenue. Whyte Avenue is south of the University_of_Alberta|University of Alberta] and is comprised of popular bars, restaurants, clubs, and eclectic shops, some of which are listed at See Magazine or Vue Weekly. Edmonton is also home to two independent movie theatres in the Whyte Avenue area, the Garneau and Princess theatres, and Metro Cinema, showing a variety of underground or alternative films every week. The Yardbird Suite features live jazz music and is entirely volunteer operated. For nightclub addresses and event dates, check Edmonton Event Listings in See Magazine.

6 Media

Edmonton has 4 local television stations:

Access Network is also based out of Edmonton.

7 Professional sports teams

Edmonton Oilers, National Hockey League; Rexall Place
Edmonton Roadrunners, American Hockey League; Rexall Place
Edmonton Eskimos, Canadian Football League; Commonwealth Stadium
Edmonton Aviators, A-League Soccer

The Edmonton Eskimos hold the North American pro sports record for most consecutive playoff appearances (33 consecutive seasons, as of 2004).

The city had a minor-league baseball team in the Class AAA Pacific Coast League, the Edmonton Trappers, until the end of the 2004 season. The team moved to the Austin, Texas suburb of Round Rock, becoming the Round Rock Express.

Edmonton hosted the 1978 Commonwealth Games.

	↑ North St. Albert \| Sturgeon Municipal District
← West Parkland County Stony Plain Spruce Grove	EDMONTON	East → Fort Saskatchewan Strathcona County
	Leduc County South ↓

8 Also known as

Calgary and Edmonton have a long-standing rivalry; in recent years, Calgarians have dubbed the city "Deadmonton", in reference to its relatively stagnant downtown core. This trend is reversing, as development in the downtown district is booming with new condominium highrises, and luxurious loft spaces rapidly replacing derelict warehouses and industrial space. It is also sometimes referred to as "Edmonchuk" (in reference to the large Ukrainian-Canadian community), or "Redmonton" (in reference to its politics which tend to be slightly to the left of other parts of Alberta.)

More officially, Edmonton is nicknamed "Gateway to the North", "City of Champions" (which is not in reference to the success of the Oilers and Eskimos, but originally said by the mayor in the aftermath of the tornado of '87) and "Canada's Festival City" (for the Fringe Festival and other summer festivals.)

9 Military

Army: Edmonton is home to 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1 CMBG). Units in 1 CMBG include Lord Strathcona's Horse and two of the three battalions of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. As well Edmonton has a large army reserve element from 41 Canadian Brigade Group (41 CBG) including B Squadron of The South Alberta Light Horse (SALH). The SALH is one of Alberta’s oldest and most prestigious army reserve units.

Navy: The home of HMCS Nonsuch, for the Naval Reserve.

Air Force: Edmonton is also home to 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron, for the Air Reserve.

10 See also

11 External links

Alberta cities Edmonton, Alberta

<Hide>

Home > Edmonton, Alberta