Arch Madness: A look at Edmonton’s most threatened historic landmarks

Arch Madness takes a look at Edmonton's most threatened historic buildings. (Dan Rose)

Edmonton is ever-changing, and often has a reputation for letting some of its well-loved, historic treasures fall to the wayside.

Dan Rose has been aiming to make the conversation around Edmonton’s historic buildings more accessible and fun through his bracket contest Arch Madness.

Rose started the contest via Instagram during the COVID-19 pandemic, where everyone was living through their phones and going for walks while everything was shut down.

“I’ve been doing this type of stuff for almost a decade now – trying to find fun, interesting, non-traditional approaches and avenues to get people excited and interested in talking about historic architecture and conservation,” said Rose. “It’s always been interesting to me to find engaging ways to get people interested in the subject.”

Working at the Edmonton Heritage Council, which is sponsoring this year’s bracket, and serving as the chair of the city’s historical board has given Rose a unique and robust perspective on historic buildings and efforts to protect them.

This year’s Arch Madness is the “Most Threatened Edition” and features 16 iconic landmarks that are on the chopping block for demolition or slated to be rehabbed beyond recognition.

Some of those landmarks include the Princess Theatre, the High Level Bridge, the old Royal Alberta Museum building, and the Free Mason’s Hall.

“This year’s theme is very much a reflection of how bad our city has been at stewarding and preserving and rehabilitating historic buildings,” said Rose. “It reflects the state of historic conservation and appreciation of historic architecture and design in Edmonton, which again, is fun for people, but kind of sad for me.”

The picks for this year were also chosen because of their reuse potential, one being the Edmonton Power and Light Substation #100 located on the exhibition grounds that was pitted against the Free Mason’s Hall in Monday’s voting.

“There’s ostensibly an entire community development coming down the way. Why can’t that building be part of that conversation and that trajectory?” said Rose.

Built in 1913, the substation serves as an early example of industrial architecture pre-World War I. The structure has long been neglected by EPCOR, and is now currently owned by the city.

“It seems uncouth to me that, as stewards of that historic resource, it’s facing such an uncertain future where there could be so much life and vitality and vibrancy in that space.”

Rose’s top pick for this year’s bracket is Whyte Avenue’s Princess Theatre, which has sat empty since 2022.

“It’s not hyperbolic for me to say they’re all on the chopping block, but the one that I would say is the most imminently in danger is probably the Princess Theatre,” he said.

Rose toured the property with a broker and some real estate folks back in January.

“The building is in such a shambolic state of affairs inside. It’s quite heartbreaking,” he said, adding that the roof is failing in multiple parts, causing water to pour through the roof during a January thaw.

Speaking with architects and engineers about the fate of the building hasn’t been optimistic, with Rose hearing that the 111-year-old theatre is at serious risk of being structurally compromised and failing to the point of needing to be demolished.

“Close your eyes and picture Whyte Avenue. What building do you see? It’s that beautiful marquee sign at night and it’s the beautiful marble facade. It’s quite literally, the crown jewel, in my view, of Whyte Avenue,” said Rose. “It’s such a linchpin on the avenue, that to lose it is just shocking.”

While each year of Arch Madness has sparked more conversations about Edmonton’s conservation habits, Rose said the city is still tearing down more buildings in its historic inventory than adding to it.

“We probably tear down more buildings than we save at this point,” said Rose. “(But) I can confidently say that there are more people thinking, actively engaging in the conversation.”

He said he’s heard from Arch Madness players over the years who have started to write letters to city council and participate with their community leagues in an effort to save historic landmarks.

“One of the primary problems we face that has created the conditions for this year’s bracket is a near complete absence of any relevant or guiding policy framework in the City of Edmonton right now,” said Rose. “Up until a couple of years ago, it was sorely neglected and was 15 years out of date and just woefully equipped to guide any serious planning conversations.

“I always encourage people to yell at council to do that. Now they’re doing it.”

Voting for Arch Madness began on March 7 and ends March 31. If you’d like to participate, you can visit Rose’s Instagram here.