Known in Edmonton for the apartment building (now also a
high-rise condominium), René Le Marchand was a French investor
who made a fortune in Edmonton’s land boom at the beginning of
the 20th century. Born in the department of Sarthe, near Le
Mans, it was his brother, Alphonse, an Oblate missionary, who
told him of the business opportunities of Edmonton. Using his
own funds and those of financial backers from his hometown, he
became a millionaire, and invested some of his money in the
construction of a Parisian style luxury apartment with an
unobstructed view of the Saskatchewan River, complete with
central heating, electric lighting and an elevator, such as had
not yet been seen in Edmonton in 1909.
A valet in Paris, it is said that he financed his initial
trip to Canada with the sale of the straight razors which his
eccentric master insisted receive only one use. It is also said,
in certain privy circles, that he never repaid his French
investors, and that they were still trying to recoup them from
his estate in the 1980s. He died in 1921.
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