Landmark Building
SHARPE RESIDENCE
5313 -50 (formerly Barnett) Avenue, Lacombe
Built in 1912
'); "Sharpe Residence")
By 1906 there were three doctors and two dentists in town and "the medical services available to the residents of Lacombe were considered much superior to those of many larger centres in the province." However, when Dr. Edward Montrose Sharpe first arrived in 1896 and for three years thereafter, he was the only medical practitioner in Lacombe. Conditions were primitive and communications difficult. A telephone exchange was installed in Lacombe in 1904, and Dr. Sharpe bought a Model T Ford in 1912, but ingenuity and endurance were still necessary attributes of a doctor working in Lacombe – especially during the winter months.
Dr. Sharpe's first residence and office was a wood frame building on 50th Street, about halfway down the block on the east side (no longer extant). He practiced medicine in Lacombe for many years, and served the community on the first hospital board and as mayor in 1909 as well. In 1912 he bought his property on 50th Avenue and in 1914 erected the building which now occupies it. Again, both his professional offices and residence were located in this house. In keeping with its owner's social standing and economic success, the Sharpe Residence, like that of Sandy Campbell, is a large and imposing structure. Elements of the Queen Anne Style – the tower-like structure – and the Bungalow Style – the bellcast roof with the gable oriented to the side, the exposed rafter ends and the fieldstone pillars -are mixed together in its design to produce a pleasing effect. Few alterations have been made to the Sharpe Residence. The tower appears to be missing the cone-shaped roof typical in Queen Anne Style homes, but in fact the original design called for a crenellated, shingled parapet to circle the top. Today this bas been replaced by a simple open balustrade. Originally, the porch was entered, not from the side, but directly in front of the main entrance to the house. Nevertheless, the eccentric and historically evocative Sharpe Residence retains its interest.
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 and Driving Tour: Lacombe. Alberta Culture and Multiculturalism Historic Sites Service and the Maski-Pitoon Historical Society of Lacombe, n.d., with permission from Alberta Culture and Community Spirit. Visit the Alberta Culture and Community Spirit for more information.