Erik Backstrom has lived in Strathearn since the late 1990s and has seen a fair bit of evolution that Edmonton neighbourhoods go through first hand.
River lots 21 and 23 formed the present day community of Strathearn, 1882. (Image courtesy of City of Edmonton Archives, EAM-85)
The log house of George Donnell purported to be built in 1872. Mr. Donnell held the first title to Lot 21 and Donnell Road in the northwest corner of the Strathearn neighbourhood pays tribute to this early homesteader. Date unknown. (Image courtesy of City of Edmonton Archives, EA-81-1)
Edmonton’s first telegraph operator, James McKernan (far right in the second row), was the owner of the north half of River Lot 23 that formed the present day Strathearn neighbourhood, 1931. (Image courtesy of City of Edmonton Archives, EA-10-2304)
Connors Road is being reconstructed to accommodate Bonnie Doon trolleybuses. September 20, 1950. (Image courtesy of City of Edmonton Archives, EA-600-5027a)
New road to accommodate Bonnie Doon trolleybuses is taking shape. Coming off south end of Low Level Bridge is reconstructed Connors Road leading up the hill to Strathearn and other communities. September 20, 1950. (Image courtesy of City of Edmonton Archives, EA-600-5027b)
This new construction in Riverdale was photographed from the top of the north riverbank. Some portions of Cloverdale on the south side can be seen, and Strathearn is at the top of Connors Road. April 1990. (Image courtesy of City of Edmonton Archives, 2_EA-207-549)
Edmonton subdivisions, [ca. 1912]. (Image courtesy of City of Edmonton Archives, EAM-13)
Exhibit of peonies from Silver Heights peony gardens at a fair in Edmonton, 1926. (Image courtesy of Glenbow Library and Archives, Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary, ND-3-3312)
Strathearn residents enjoying games (between rain showers) as part of the Picnic on the Pavement, an event to ask questions about Valley Line, 2019. (Image courtesy of the City of Edmonton)
Strathearn is a roughly triangular-shaped residential neighbourhood in south central Edmonton. It is bounded on the south west by Connors Road, on the east by 85 Street and on the north west by the North Saskatchewan river valley. To the north, it overlooks the river valley neighbourhood of Cloverdale. To the east is Holyrood and to the south west is Bonnie Doon.
Part of the area of Strathearn was annexed by the City of Strathcona in 1907, and then became part of the City of Edmonton when Strathcona amalgamated with Edmonton in 1912. The name Strathearn is likely a reference to the Governor General of the day, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn.
“Just before World War I, there was this huge boom in development frenzy and lots of subdivisions all over the place, one of which was called Strathearn,” Backstrom says while sitting in Strathearn’s Silver Heights Park, a stone’s throw from the Valley Line LRT on 95 Avenue. “This economic boom fell apart in 1913 and World War I happened and so very few houses were built.”
“So, if you look in Strathearn there are a few, very few, houses from 1912, 1913, 1914,” he continues. “And then nothing happened. This mostly stayed as market gardens and farms. In the 1920s, there was Dr. James Brander whose dad had come out from the east and they were looking for something to do and they set up a peony garden. They brought all sorts of varieties of peonies in from Europe. It was called the Silver Heights Peony Garden, straddling what is now Strathearn and Holyrood. Ft. Edmonton Park has re-established the Silver Heights Peony Garden there to commemorate that history. Apparently, it was quite a tourist attraction.”
Things changed dramatically in Strathearn with the end of World War II and the discovery of oil at Leduc Number 1. Edmonton’s population grew quickly and subdivisions like Strathearn started to take off.
“Basically the neighbourhood developed between 1946 and 1952-1953,” says Backstrom. “Lots of houses were thrown up quickly. Oil had been discovered and so there were a lot of people working in the oil industry. It was a time when there was a lot of demand for [places to own] but also places to rent. And so, this Strathearn Heights Apartment complex right here…a very large complex. Five hundred units of housing that was basically workforce housing and this great source of affordable housing ever since.”
More changes came to Strathearn after Backstrom’s arrival in the neighbourhood:
“Strathearn has always been a relatively modest neighbourhood. When we moved in in the late 90s, it wasn’t a fancy place. It was just this amazingly convenient community in terms of downtown. And so eventually people discovered that. And there have been a lot of nice houses along Strathearn Drive that have gone in. The way the neighbourhood is designed is just this amazing mix right now. A mix of owners and renters, a mix of affluent and not so affluent and people in between. One thing I’ve always liked is that it isn’t just a completely homogeneous neighbourhood.”
And there are other charms.
“There is this really lovely top of bank park along Strathearn Drive. I would say, maybe I’m biased, but I would say it’s Edmonton’s best top of bank park,” Backstrom says, “this really lovely space between Strathearn Drive and the top of the river bank where people can picnic and enjoy themselves. The community league in recent years has done the Strathearn Art Walk in September and uses this space to do this great event.”
Backstrom loves the ease in getting from Strathearn to downtown and he sees that only improving.
“I’m super excited for the train to open,” he says. “The LRT will connect us even better to downtown and the broader city even more. I think that’s going to be a really positive thing for the community.”
Off the top, Backstrom spoke of Strathearn’s evolution, and he sums it up this way: “You can evolve for better or for worse. In my opinion, it’s gotten better.”
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