Landmark Building
GRIERSON RESIDENCE
6124-111 Avenue, Edmonton
Designed By: Magrath-Holgate
Built in 1912
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The Grierson Residence was designated a Provincial Historical Resource in 1983. It is named Robert Walter and Allie Grierson, who bought it in 1916. R.W. Grierson was the younger brother of Edmund Grierson, the namesake of Grierson Hill, Grierson Church on 82 Avenue, and owner of several early Edmonton hotels.
When R.W. Grierson started out in 1910, real estate was a good way to earn a living. By the mid-teens, however, the economic slump and WWI had made things much harder. Grierson continued in real estate, though the activities of his firm, R.W. Grierson & Co., were interrupted during the 1930s. He last appeared in the city directory in 1940, but his wife, Allie, kept this house until 1972.
The $4,300 Grierson Residence was part of Magrath-Holgate’s November 1912 development push. It was an important part of the streetscape on Jasper Avenue, as 111
Avenue was then known. The large properties on Ada Boulevard – especially the Magrath and Holgate Mansions – gave the houses on the north side of 111 Avenue river valley views, setting them apart from the rest of The Highlands, and giving them prestige second only to Ada Boulevard addresses.
Typically, Edmonton’s narrow lots resulted in houses with architectural details concentrated on the front. Though The Highlands had wider lots than elsewhere in Edmonton, the houses could still be quite one-sided. In contrast, the Grierson Residence has a wrap-around verandah, corner tower, swept dormer and Palladian windows, creating a distinctive design on two sides. Its proportions are less vertical, and details less profuse than textbook examples, but the Grierson Residence is closest to the Queen Anne Style of any home in The Highlands.
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.