The original Imperial Bank of Canada building, completed in 1908, once featured downtown Edmonton’s greatest colonnaded facade.
by Scott Messenger
Picture a Greco-Roman temple fronted by four-storey columns and Ionic capitals. You have to imagine it because it was demolished in 1950. But across the street from its Jasper Avenue site is a reminder of that ancient architecture. Built in 1994, the Hop’s Handbags store salvaged four columns from the Canadian Pacific Railroad building that occupied the location for more than 80 years. While just a couple metres tall, the columns and their Corinthian capitals, as well as the Alberta-themed frieze between them, are a classy contrast to the sleek facades of the capital’s core. Even nicer than that exterior, though, is that someone’s using the interior. Hop’s left in 1997, and the place sat vacant until 2005. After Scope Communications moved in, Edmonton’s finest example of old world charm also became headquarters for Design Group Staffing Inc.
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