Landmark Building
SHELDON RESIDENCE
6018-111 ave, Edmonton
Built in 1914
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In June 1914, Carleton G. Sheldon obtained a $3, 500 building permit for this lot, and by 1915 he was installed as the first resident. American by birth, Sheldon went to university and taught in the U.S. before coming to Toronto in 1906. He moved to Edmonton in 1913, and became general manager of the Western Foundry & Machine Co., of which William Magrath was vice-president. While Sheldon was general manager, the foundry made shell casings used by Canadian Forces in France during WWI.
In 1916 Sheldon became the business manager of the Humberstone Coal Company. Magrath may have had a hand in this move, since he and Holgate had marketed property for Humberstone. After 1922, Sheldon worked for Coal Sellers Ltd., but in 1932 he started his own company, the Sheldon Coal Co. He remained in the coal industry until his death in 1943; Sheldon Coal lasted eight years longer. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Sheldon seems not only to have weathered the Great Depression of the 1930s, but to have prospered.
The exterior of the Sheldon Residences is among the best-preserved in The Highlands. The broad sweep of the low-pitched gable roof, the wide steps to the full-width verandah, and the prominent central gable make this a good example of a Craftsman Bungalow Style house. Others Craftsman features include exposed rafter ends, the shingled exterior finish, the wide bracketed eaves, and the rusticated stone finish of the concrete foundation. The Bungalow Style was already popular in the United States – especially California – but quite new to Edmonton in 1914.
The Landmark Buildings and Places Database draws on the series of walking and/or driving tour booklets produced by Alberta Culture (now Alberta Culture and Community Spirit). The Heritage Community Foundation gratefully acknowledges the support of the Ministry through permission to reprint these materials online. Extracted from Historical Walking Tours of Downtown, 2004, Centennial edition of the brochure. Planning and Development Department, City of Edmonton, and Alberta Community Development., 2004, with permission from Alberta Culture and Community Spirit. Visit the Alberta Culture and Community Spirit for more information.