Glenora, Edmonton
Encyclopedia
Glenora is a prime residential neighbourhood in the city of Edmonton
, Alberta
, Canada
, overlooking the North Saskatchewan River
valley.
Glenora is bounded on the east by Groat Road, on the north by 107 Avenue, on the west by 142 Street, and on the south by the river valley and the McKinnon Ravine. Immediately across Groat Road and to the east and north east is the neighbourhood of Westmount
. To the north is the neighborhood of North Glenora
. To the north west is the neighbourhood of McQueen
. To the west is the neighborhood of Grovenor
(sometimes called West Glenora and Westgrove) and to the south west is the neighbourhood of Crestwood
.
where Groat Road is now. Carruthers wanted to develop the area as a residential neighbourhood but transportation for commuters was clearly a problem. In 1909 he reached an agreement with the City of Edmonton to build a bridge across the ravine in exchange for the City guaranteeing to extend streetcar service to the area. The City wanted a 40 feet (12.2 m) wide bridge, but eventually settled for a 20-foot bridge and a donation of land. The Carruthers bridge, finished in 1910 now carries 102 Avenue across the ravine, and marked the beginning of the development of the area. The bridge made possible the construction of the new official mansion for the lieutenant-governors of Alberta, Government House
which began which was completed in 1913. The 1913 Edmonton real estate crash slowed development substantially, but the local elite wanted to live close to the governor's mansion, and near the view of the river valley and with good connections to the streetcar system. As is typical all across the mid-latitudes
of the northern hemisphere
, in Alberta the winds are more often west-to-east than vice versa, and the "West End" (which included Glenora) had much better air quality than the east, which partially explains why Glenora is a "posh" neighbourhood while Boyle Street
, a streetcar suburb of the same vintage to the east of Downtown Edmonton, is low income, much like the contrast between the West and East Ends of London, England.
An example of the upmarket houses in the area is The Graenon in St. George’s Crescent, a 3152 square feet (292.8 m²) mansion built in 1914 and commissioned by a former chief justice
, George Bligh O’Connor, and his wife Margaret – a journalist and one time theatre critic for the Edmonton Bulletin
. In 1966 it was inherited by their daughter Peggy O'Connor Farnell, a former British intelligence service
employee during the Second World War, and her family who then lived in it until 1999. In the meantime Farnell helped to write a history of the Glenora neighbourhood that was published in 1984 and republished in 1999.
and Alberta Government House
.
Alberta Government House was the home to the first six lieutenant governors of Alberta. Today it is used for government conferences, receptions and dinners. An appreciation of the historical significance of Government House is fostered by the Government House Foundation, consisting of 12 volunteers appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
The Royal Alberta Museum was originally opened in 1967 as the Provincial Museum of Alberta. On May 24, 2005, the name of the museum was changed to the Royal Alberta Museum when "Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II graciously consented to assign the designation 'Royal' to the Museum" during her visit for the Alberta Centennial.
Located in the river valley immediately below Alberta Government House and the Royal Alberta Museum is the Government House Park.
Other noted landmarks are the Glenora Bed and Breakfast and the home of Kenneth Freeland which attracts onlookers from all over Alberta.
s located in a high rise building. Almost all the remaining homes are apartments in low rise buildings.
Glenora is a neighbourhood with an average per household income that is higher than the per capita income for the city of Edmonton as a whole. Approximately one in three Glenora households have an income over $100,000 per year.
There are four schools located in Glenora. Glenora Elementary School and Westminster Junior High School are both operated by the Edmonton Public School System. St. Vincent Catholic Elementary School is operated by the Edmonton Catholic School System. There is also the Progressive Academy, a private school, located near the north east corner of the neighborhood.
units among them with non-commercial uses limited to the first two floors. This proposal is opposed by some of the residents of Glenora and the neighbourhood of Grovenor located immediately to the west.
The Glenora Community League Civics Committee is also in the process of developing a draft "Glenora Area Redevelopment Plan (ARP) and Strategic Plan".
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, overlooking the North Saskatchewan River
North Saskatchewan River
The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows east from the Canadian Rockies to central Saskatchewan. It is one of two major rivers that join to make up the Saskatchewan River....
valley.
Glenora is bounded on the east by Groat Road, on the north by 107 Avenue, on the west by 142 Street, and on the south by the river valley and the McKinnon Ravine. Immediately across Groat Road and to the east and north east is the neighbourhood of Westmount
Westmount, Edmonton
Westmount is an established central-west residential neighbourhood in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Westmount is wedge shaped with the point in the wedge overlooking the North Saskatchewan River valley, and is geographically close to the downtown core...
. To the north is the neighborhood of North Glenora
North Glenora, Edmonton
North Glenora is a residential neighbourhood in west Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.Residential development in North Glenora began before 1946 when one in twenty of the residences were built according to the 2001 federal census. The majority of the residential construction occurred during the fifteen...
. To the north west is the neighbourhood of McQueen
McQueen, Edmonton
McQueen is a residential neighbourhood located in west Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is named for the Rev. David George McQueen, who served 43 years as minister at Edmonton's First Presbyterian Church from 1887 to 1930....
. To the west is the neighborhood of Grovenor
Grovenor, Edmonton
Grovenor is a residential neighbourhood in west Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was originally called Westgrove and a professional building on 142 Street still uses that name....
(sometimes called West Glenora and Westgrove) and to the south west is the neighbourhood of Crestwood
Crestwood, Edmonton
Crestwood is a residential neighbourhood in west Edmonton, Alberta, Canada overlooking the North Saskatchewan River valley and nestled between two ravines.-Geography:...
.
History
The area that is now Glenora was originally part of a river lot farm homesteaded by Malcolm Groat, the namesake of Groat Road. The land changed hands several times before ending up in the possession of James Carruthers, a wealth grain merchant from Montreal in 1905. At this time, the city ended at the ravineRavine
A ravine is a landform narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streamcutting erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. A ravine is generally a fluvial slope landform of relatively steep sides, on the order of twenty to...
where Groat Road is now. Carruthers wanted to develop the area as a residential neighbourhood but transportation for commuters was clearly a problem. In 1909 he reached an agreement with the City of Edmonton to build a bridge across the ravine in exchange for the City guaranteeing to extend streetcar service to the area. The City wanted a 40 feet (12.2 m) wide bridge, but eventually settled for a 20-foot bridge and a donation of land. The Carruthers bridge, finished in 1910 now carries 102 Avenue across the ravine, and marked the beginning of the development of the area. The bridge made possible the construction of the new official mansion for the lieutenant-governors of Alberta, Government House
Government House (Alberta)
Government House is the former official residence of the lieutenant governors of Alberta, currently retained for ceremonial events and entertaining.The property for the house was purchased by the Province of Alberta in 1910, as well as the surrounding area...
which began which was completed in 1913. The 1913 Edmonton real estate crash slowed development substantially, but the local elite wanted to live close to the governor's mansion, and near the view of the river valley and with good connections to the streetcar system. As is typical all across the mid-latitudes
Mid-latitudes
The mid-latitudes are the areas on earth between the tropics and the polar regions, approximately 30° to 60° north or south of the equator. The mid-latitudes are an important region in meteorology, having weather patterns which are generally distinct from weather in the tropics and the polar...
of the northern hemisphere
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
, in Alberta the winds are more often west-to-east than vice versa, and the "West End" (which included Glenora) had much better air quality than the east, which partially explains why Glenora is a "posh" neighbourhood while Boyle Street
Boyle Street, Edmonton
Boyle Street is a neighbourhood located in central Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, immediately east of the downtown core...
, a streetcar suburb of the same vintage to the east of Downtown Edmonton, is low income, much like the contrast between the West and East Ends of London, England.
An example of the upmarket houses in the area is The Graenon in St. George’s Crescent, a 3152 square feet (292.8 m²) mansion built in 1914 and commissioned by a former chief justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
, George Bligh O’Connor, and his wife Margaret – a journalist and one time theatre critic for the Edmonton Bulletin
Edmonton Bulletin
The Edmonton Bulletin was a newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta published from 1880 until January 20, 1951. It was founded by Frank Oliver, a politician and future minister in the Canadian Government....
. In 1966 it was inherited by their daughter Peggy O'Connor Farnell, a former British intelligence service
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
employee during the Second World War, and her family who then lived in it until 1999. In the meantime Farnell helped to write a history of the Glenora neighbourhood that was published in 1984 and republished in 1999.
Places of interest
Located right at the eastern end of the neighbourhood, overlooking Groat Road and the river valley, are the Royal Alberta MuseumRoyal Alberta Museum
The Royal Alberta Museum is located in Edmonton, Alberta and was named the Provincial Museum of Alberta until 24 May 2005 when Queen Elizabeth II visited, bestowing royal patronage. It has a natural history exhibit, a wildlife exhibit, an entomology exhibit, a Native Culture exhibit, as well as...
and Alberta Government House
Government House (Alberta)
Government House is the former official residence of the lieutenant governors of Alberta, currently retained for ceremonial events and entertaining.The property for the house was purchased by the Province of Alberta in 1910, as well as the surrounding area...
.
The Royal Alberta Museum was originally opened in 1967 as the Provincial Museum of Alberta. On May 24, 2005, the name of the museum was changed to the Royal Alberta Museum when "Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II graciously consented to assign the designation 'Royal' to the Museum" during her visit for the Alberta Centennial.
Located in the river valley immediately below Alberta Government House and the Royal Alberta Museum is the Government House Park.
Other noted landmarks are the Glenora Bed and Breakfast and the home of Kenneth Freeland which attracts onlookers from all over Alberta.
Residential Glenora
Glenora is an older neighbourhood, with almost nine out of ten homes being built by 1970. Four out of every five homes is owner occupied. The average number of people per household is 2.4, with roughly two out of every three households having one or two people. Three out of four residences are single family dwellings with one out of five homes being apartmentApartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
s located in a high rise building. Almost all the remaining homes are apartments in low rise buildings.
Glenora is a neighbourhood with an average per household income that is higher than the per capita income for the city of Edmonton as a whole. Approximately one in three Glenora households have an income over $100,000 per year.
| Income By Household - 2001 Census | ||
| Income Range ($) | Glenora | Edmonton |
|---|---|---|
| (% of Households) | (% of Households) | |
| Under $10,000 | 3.4% | 6.3% |
| $10,000-$19,999 | 11.1% | 12.4% |
| $20,000-$29,999 | 7.1% | 11.9% |
| $30,000-$39,999 | 6.4% | 11.8% |
| $40,000-$49,999 | 7.4% | 10.9% |
| $50,000-$59,999 | 4.7% | 9.5% |
| $60,000-$69,999 | 6.1% | 8.3% |
| $70,000-$79,999 | 5.3% | 6.7% |
| $80,000-$89,999 | 5.7% | 5.4% |
| $90,000-$99,999 | 7.4% | 4.2% |
| $100,000 and over | 35.4% | 12.6% |
| Average household income | $95,028 | $57,360 |
Schools
Proposed development
There is a proposal to construct five highrise condominium towers of between 10 and 18 stories at the west end of the neighbourhood near the intersection of 102 Avenue, 142 Street, and Stony Plain Road. The five highrises could have up to 330 apartmentApartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
units among them with non-commercial uses limited to the first two floors. This proposal is opposed by some of the residents of Glenora and the neighbourhood of Grovenor located immediately to the west.
The Glenora Community League Civics Committee is also in the process of developing a draft "Glenora Area Redevelopment Plan (ARP) and Strategic Plan".
External links
- Alberta Government House
- Schedule B to the (DC2) SITE SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENT CONTROL PROVISION (2.2MB) (Provides details to proposed redevelopment at west end of Glenora neighbourhood.)
- Government House Foundation
- Royal Alberta Museum
- Glenora Neighbourhood Profile