Downtown Edmonton’s C.I.B.C. stands as the city’s last pre-Second World War banking hall still used for its original purpose.

In the words of Todd Babiak, our old central library “is one of the icons of a lost Edmonton, a phantom Edmonton, a victim of the boom-and-bust psychology that has defined the city since its earliest days.”

Edmonton’s “stone frigate” lived up to its motto, A Campis ad Maria — “from the prairies to the sea” — during the Second World War. Over its course this inland ship trained 3,582 sailors.

If you drive out to the site today, you’d be hard pressed to find the signs of cultural genocide. Where it happened doesn’t look special; it could be ‘Anywhere, Alberta.’ But long ago it was once home to the Edmonton Indian Residential School.

This Catholic school stands as the last of four similarly styled buildings erected by the Separate System during the “Roaring ‘20s.”

Despite their best efforts, an impassioned community couldn’t save this important piece of Edmonton’s German history.

This ‘blink-and-you’ll-miss-it’ piece of history clings to the monolithic walls of Commerce Place.

Out of Town Distractions

Hiding away in Holden — the tiny Albertan village time forgot — lies one of the province’s most striking war memorials.

St. Joachim and Edmonton Municipal Cemeteries are the resting place of many of Edmonton’s founding figures.