Strathcona Public Building

Strathcona Public Building
Strathcona Public Building, 2010
Former names	South Edmonton Post Office
General information
Type	Former: Post office Current: Restaurant/pub/pool hall
Architectural style	Beaux-Arts
Location	Edmonton, Alberta
Address	10501 82 Avenue
Coordinates	53°31′4.4″N 113°30′2.9″W / 53.517889°N 113.500806°W / 53.517889; -113.500806
Current tenants	Billiard Club, Chianti Cafe, Squires Pub
Construction started	1911
Completed	1913
Design and construction
Architect	David Ewart

The Strathcona Public Building or South Edmonton Post Office is an historic building in the Old Strathcona heritage district of Edmonton.

The building was constructed between 1911 and 1913, during a massive building boom in the Edmonton area, and at the same time that the city of Strathcona, Alberta (also called South Edmonton) was being merged into the city of Edmonton. It was designed by David Ewart, the Chief Architect of the Canadian Department of Public Works in an Edwardian Classical Free style. The building originally served as a post office and general federal government office building. In 1985 the building became a Provincial Historic Resource of Alberta.^[1]

As of 2010 the building has been divided into a number of restaurants and bars. The top floor is The Billiard Club, a pool hall.^[2] Since the early 1990s the middle floor has been home to Chianti Cafe, which serves Italian food, and is part of a chain based in Calgary and established in 1984.^[3] The basement floor hosts Squires Pub, a lounge/nightclub.

The building is very similar to the former post office in Regina, which was designed by the same architect.

References