UCAMA MUSEUM Edmonton
In February 2003, the Ukrainian Canadian Archives and Museum of Alberta (UCAMA) purchased two downtown historic properties, the Ernest Brown Block (also known as the Brighton Block) and the Lodge Hotel (formerly the Pendennis Hotel) in the Jasper East Block between 96 and 97 Streets. These prestigiously-located properties have a commanding view over the North Saskatchewan River. They were eventually used as rooming houses with commercial premises on the main floor. The Lodge Hotel is being adaptively reused for the new museum. The Ernest Brown Block will remain undeveloped for the foreseeable future.
The new museum will be a cooperative association of 3 Edmonton Ukrainian museums, spearheaded by UCAMA. It will tell the story of the urban Ukrainian immigrant experience and house an extensive collection of artifacts and a comprehensive archives for scholarly research.
The two buildings have been designated as Municipal Historic Resources by the City of Edmonton. The architectural solution for the Lodge Hotel is to preserve the historically significant parts of the building, namely the Jasper Avenue façade and all the original brick components that compromise much of the remaining facades and some interior walls. The remainder of the building will be carefully dismantled to allow for the insertion of a below-ground parkade and new structure suitable for a museum. A 4th floor will be added and the new elements carefully inserted into the historic context.
The facades of the Brighton Block and the Lodge Hotel were previously designated and restored under the East Jasper Village Main Street Program under the direction of David Murray
This planning for UCAMA was an association between Allan Partridge of Group 2 Architects and David Murray.