Edmonton Cemetery Mausoleum Historical assessment and conservation plan
1930 Edmonton Cemetery Mausoleum, 11820 107 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta
Project
The Edmonton Cemetery Mausoleum is acknowledged to be a significant historic resource. This remarkable building was constructed in 1930. The Architect was William Ralston. It was one of numerous mausoleums that were constructed in Ontario and across Canada by the Canada Mausoleum Co. Ltd.
The Mausoleum started to undergo some rehabilitation in 2021. It is owned by the City of Edmonton and is currently listed on the City of Edmonton Historic Resource Inventory, but it is not yet protected through designation as a municipal historic resource (as of 2021).
This project was initiated to undertake the following tasks:
- Conduct readily available research in order to prepare the heritage value.
- Conduct a detailed site inspection in order to assess the integrity of the resource.
- Prepare a preliminary Statement of Significance.
- Prepare a summary of the condition of the character-defining elements.
- Prepare a Conservation Work Plan with order-of magnitude costs for repairs and restoration.
THE ARCHITECT
The architect was William Ralston and the following history has been extracted from the “Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada 1800-1950”. http://dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/node/537
RALSTON, William (1886- ), a native of Dunbarton, Scotland, was born on 23 February 1886 and educated at the Glasgow & West of Scotland Technical College. He articled with James Miller of Glasgow and emigrated to Canada in 1910 or 1911. In Toronto he took a position as assistant in the office of Wickson & Gregg (in 1912) and with John M. Lyle (in 1913). After WWI he joined Darling & Pearson and assisted them in 1921 with the final scheme for Trinity College, Hoskin Avenue (built 1922-25). Several of his signed drawings for the College are now held at the Trinity College Archives. In 1922 he moved to Windsor, Ont. and formed a partnership with fellow Scotsman David J. Cameron, who had also worked in the office of Darling & Pearson before WWI (see list of works under Cameron & Ralston). Much of their reputation came from Ralston’s successful collaboration with the Canada Mausoleum Co. Ltd., who commissioned the firm to design more than a dozen structures in public cemeteries across Ontario. After the dissolution of their firm in 1929 Ralston returned to Toronto and continued to design mausoleum facilities in Alberta and Ontario.
Heritage Value
- The building is almost 90 years old.
- The building has very high integrity (originality).
- The design is a good example of the Art Deco Stripped Classical Style.
- The building materials are rare in the context of Edmonton.
- The architect is noteworthy with a national reputation.
- There are many important deceased Edmonton residents interred in the building.
Consultants for the Project
Client: City of Edmonton
Heritage Consultant: David Murray Architect
Prime Consultant: Spectacle Bureau for Architecture and Urbanism, Calgary