Edmonton's Little Italy

Little Italy is an area in transitions. As an inner-city area, it welcomed and, continues to welcome, newcomers to the City. Enrico Butti, whose family came to Edmonton in 1920 from the mines in Nordegg, remembers that it was a wonderful area with large houses. Many became the boardinghouses that housed men who came to work in the North or the mines. They witnessed family reunifications. Italian immigrants are house proud and also great gardeners and the neighbourhood in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s flourished. But the economic success of the Italian community, and its upward mobility, meant that other communities and locations became the choice of residence. Very few Italian families live in the neighbourhood today and they have been replaced by Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants and First Nations. The neighbourhood is at a turning point with many houses rundown. However, new families are moving in and the area businesses and the McCauley Community League have been working to make it a "safe" and prosperous neighbourhood once again. Problems with drug houses and prostitution are being addressed.

Streetscapes

Streetscapes