Since the only post ever dedicated to Edmonton’s churches is over three years old, I thought I’d revive this thread with an in-depth look at some of the city’s more notable places of worship. Perhaps in large part due to Edmonton’s various boom periods, and a heavy immigrant population we’ve been blessed with an amazing collection of churches for a city of our size.
St. Joseph’s Catholic Basilica
Constructed; 1924/1963
Architects; Edward Underwood (1924), Henri LaBelle of Montreal w/ Eugene Olesky (1963)
St. Joseph’s Cathedral spent 39 years of its existence as a crypt, as the congregation was unable to come up with the funds to complete the upper sanctuary. Coupled with the Great Depression and Second World War, the “basement church” wouldn't be fully completed until 1963.
Holy Trinity Anglican
Constructed; 1906/1914
Architects; Arthur & Henry Whiddington
Designation; Provincial Historic Resource
Holy Trinity stands as perhaps one of Edmonton’s most unique looking churches due to its heavy use of clinker brick. Clinkers are irregular and imperfect bricks caused by overheating during the baking process. They often come out lumpy, but display brilliant hues of red, purple and yellow. They gained a lot of popularity in Edmonton for their rustic Arts and Crafts-esque appearance.
First Presbyterian
Constructed; 1911
Architects; Wilson & Harold
Designation; Provincial & Municipal Historic Resource
First Presbyterian is Edmonton’s grandest pre-war church. With a seating capacity of 1,200, it proved to be the city’s largest place of worship upon its completion. This came at a cost however. The congregation initially expected to spend $85,000; instead its total cost ballooned to over $172,000
McDougall United
Constructed; 1909
Architects; Herbert Alton Magoon
Designation; Provincial & Municipal Historic Resource
McDougall United, originally a Methodist church, is one of Edmonton’s and Alberta's oldest congregations, having been founded in 1871. Their modest home nearly fell to the wreckers ball three years ago; fortunately government intervention saved it.
St. Joachim French Catholic
Constructed; 1899
Architect; Francis X. Deggendorfer
Designation; Provincial & Municipal Historic Resource
St. Joachim’s, having been built for the Quebec-based Oblates of Mary Immaculate, takes heavy inspiration from Quebecois churches for its design. The congregation is believed to be the oldest Roman Catholic group in Alberta, having been founded in the mid-1850’s at Fort Edmonton.
Knox Presbyterian Church
Constructed; 1907
Architects; Magoon, James & Hopkins
Designation Provincial & Municipal Historic Resource
This church was built upon a plot of land graciously donated by the Calgary & Edmonton Railway. Unfortunately this meant that its masses were frequently interrupted by the rumbling of passing trains, and the whistles of steam locomotives.
Robertson-Wesley United
Constructed; 1912
Architect; David Suttie McIlroy of Calgary
Designation; Municipal Historic Resource
The history of this church’s design is particularly interesting. The congregation, unable to meet the financing goal for their own preferred design, had to end up purchasing McIlroy's design for Calgary's First Baptist Church.
St. Josaphat’s Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral
Constructed; 1939-1948
Architect; Philip Ruh
Designation; Municipal Historic Resource
This particular church has an interior decorated wall to wall with beautiful frescos. Somewhat infamously, one of them depicted Hitler, Lenin and Stalin burning in the fires of Hell.
Sacred Heart Catholic
Constructed; 1914
Architects; Hardie & Martland
Designation; None
Sacred Heart, among Edmonton’s most opulent pre-war churches, stood as one of the city’s tallest buildings for a number of decades. Its tower and spire, seemingly reaching to the heavens itself, stands at 40 meters.
Ansgar Danish Lutheran
Constructed; 1943
Architects; Holm Moller of Copenhagen w/ William Blakey
Designation; None
The Ansgar Church was designed by Copenhagen architect Holm Miller. Despite being based out of Nazi-occupied Denmark, his architectural plans still somehow made it to Edmonton.