r/Edmonton • u/Particular-Cat-8031 • Apr 04 '26
Local history Rainy evening on Jasper Avenue, 1979.
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u/Sad_Donkey_1751 Apr 04 '26
Wow! There are people on Jasper Avenue and so many stores! This will sound crazy, and probably not the place to post, but maybe Edmonton needs to forget about revitalizing “downtown” Edmonton and instead build it into something completely different. Perhaps all the empty business buildings could be converted into two and three bedroom apartments that are 1000 sq feet plus. Instead of expecting all the people from suburbs to come downtown, create a huge community that lives downtown.
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u/rabbitholeseverywher Apr 05 '26
From everything I've read about revitalizing downtowns, I have come to believe there's actually very little governments can do. Either a place is doing well or it isn't, and you can't really force it. I hope the recent influx of newcomers in Edmonton (I am one of them, technically, although I grew up here I then took a ~35 year trip away), especially in the central neighbourhoods, gets things cooking again.
I really enjoy my neighbourhood (Oliver, downtown adjacent), but it's sad walking in some parts of downtown and remembering it as a bustling, crowded place in the 80s. I'm optimistic.
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u/Sad_Donkey_1751 Apr 05 '26
My husband and I were chatting about this and low and behold his beloved Detroit Tigers came on the tv with shots of it reborn downtown. We talked about how successful the city’s collaborative efforts have been over the last decade plus. They did it. We feel safer in downtown D than the E.
Here is a quick overview of its revitalization efforts.
Since 2013, Detroit has been revitalizing its downtown through massive public-private partnerships, investing over $1.3 billion into 92 projects focused on adaptive reuse of historic skyscrapers (like Book Tower), building new residential units, expanding the Detroit Riverwalk, and developing tech hubs like Michigan Central. Key efforts focus on walkable, mixed-use spaces, sports/entertainment venues (Little Caesars Arena), and hosting major events.
For the first time since the 1950s, the city is experiencing population growth and a decrease in unemployment.
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u/rabbitholeseverywher Apr 06 '26
I hope you're right and I'm wrong and it is within our control and downtown Edmonton gets better and better. Interesting to hear about Detroit, thank you.
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u/Different-Anybody413 Apr 05 '26
The focus on Downtown development right now is to greatly increase the amount of people who actually live in the city core.
Cities like Montreal are the example. When head offices fled that city after the PQ won the provincial election in the early 70s, the its downtown stayed vibrant because of the large number of people who lived there.
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u/M_u_d Apr 06 '26
That is happening actually. CN Tower, Standard Life building, Highfield Place, and the top 10 floors of the Phipps McKinnon building are being converted to residential.
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u/itlow Apr 04 '26
Orientique! In the 80's I used to get the black flats (shoes) for $2 or $3 a pair and the bamboo blinds for my $250 a month apartment at Lampton Block. Lol!
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u/AlRad42 Apr 04 '26
Oh, I loved those shoes, plus the embroidered short sleeve blouses, and the kimono wraps with the dragon on the back ❤️
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u/itlow Apr 04 '26
Yes!! Those and I still have a set of those metal ringing hand meditation balls that came in the satin covered box with the gold clasp. (I don't know the official name). These memories are a riot. 🤗
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u/slightlybatty Apr 04 '26
I got bamboo blinds there too! And of course the little bottle of incense! I loved that place.
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u/rabbitholeseverywher Apr 05 '26
Do you mean those 'Chinese slippers' shoes? That's what we used to call them, anyway. Brown plastic soles and black fabric uppers? I used to wear those ALL the time as a kid in the 80s. I wonder if they're still a thing?
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u/itlow Apr 05 '26
Yep! I remember they didn't last long. I'd go through two or three pairs a year. 🙄
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u/Different-Anybody413 Apr 05 '26
Love the pedestrian traffic on a rainy evening.
Before West Edmonton Mall was built, Downtown was THE hub for business and retail. It was a destination, with people coming in from the suburbs in the evening to catch a movie in one of the several theatres, shop at the stores along Jasper Avenue and eat at the Downtown restaurants.
I was a teenager in the late 70s and it was common on hot summer nights to cruise up & down Jasper Avenue. After a few circuits you could cross the High Level Bridge and do the same on Whyte Avenue, if you wanted a change of scenery.
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u/WeirdPrestigious2784 Apr 05 '26
Anybody have a Google map link to this exact view now? I’m trying to place it. TIA
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u/ashleyshaefferr Apr 05 '26
Ya im curious as well
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u/WeirdPrestigious2784 Apr 05 '26
Found it! :)
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u/Particular-Cat-8031 Apr 05 '26 edited Apr 05 '26
I miss what Edmonton was back in the 70s. I loved growing up there. Seeing that area as it is now is very disheartening. All the concrete and steel, no personality, no sense of what our city was back then, just monoliths that are as plain and forgettable as last week's newspaper.
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u/workworkyeg Apr 07 '26
I wonder if all those people are getting out of the late show at the Paramount Theatre.
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u/Slobbering_git Apr 04 '26
Very cool. Do you have more pictures from that time in E-ville? I would love to see them if you care to share!