Strathcona was originally a separate city, established on a different railway from the one which ran to Edmonton. Eventually Edmonton absorbed its rival, and Strathcona declined into a dodgy place that was literally the wrong side of the tracks.
However, in recent years Strathcona has had a revival, becoming a lively nightlife and theatrical centre. This renaissance has been greatly assisted by its wealth of old buildings.
Thus the old fire station...
... stands near a cluster of theatre buildings which are the hub of the annual Fringe Festival:
There's a certain amount of street art scattered about Strathcona's alleyways...
... but personally, I was more taken with the commercial buildings along the main drag, Whyte Avenue.
There's something very boxy and utilitarian about the North American commercial buildings of a century ago, quite different from the more decorative buildings of the same period in my home city, Melbourne. So I find them fascinating to look at:
Saving the best for last, however, I ended up at MKT, a tavern within the former Strathcona train station. This combined two things I greatly admire - railways and craft beer - in the one convenient location:
So I drank a beer from Alberta at slightly too early an hour on a warm day, and enjoyed the architecture of the railway which had created the neighbourhood in the first place.
Disclosure: On this trip, I travelled courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission.
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