The Pulse
July 15, 2021

The familiar Roxy sign — or a shiny new version of it — was installed on July 12 atop its iconic haunt at the corner of 107 Avenue and 124 Street.

Since its memorable fall during a devastating fire in 2015, which destroyed the original 1938 movie house almost in its entirety, Theatre Network Society has been raising funds to ensure its new $12 million project is completed in time for performances to commence in early 2022. And it is just shy of that goal, with more than $11.3 million raised so far.

"Theatre Network is humbled to return this piece of Edmonton history with help from our friends at Group2 Architecture and Interior Design, Chandos Construction, and City Image Signs," said artistic and executive director Bradley Moss. "We look forward to our, and Edmonton's, future in The New Roxy."

• The plan to indefinitely move the Addiction Recovery Centre (ARC) out of downtown is is drawing criticism. Alberta Health Services is planning to move the detox centre to Alberta Hospital Edmonton in the northeast due to nearby LRT construction.
• Edmonton cracked the CBRE's top 50 tech labour markets for the first time and was ranked the fastest-growing tech sector in North America — growing by more than 50% over five years.
• A plaque honouring Frank Oliver outside the Hotel Macdonald has been doused with red paint for a second time this year. A former MP, Oliver led the removal of Indigenous people from their land. A neighbourhood named after him is in the process of being renamed.
• A new encampment has been set up in the Indigenous Art Park in the river valley to provide shelter and supports for vulnerable Edmontonians.
• A pilot project is turning fire hydrants into water stations to provide better access to free drinking water for vulnerable Edmontonians throughout the summer.
• Large signs telling people they cannot drink alcohol within certain public parks draw complaints. The signs were erected to bring clarity to the city's alcohol consumption pilot project.
• A new children's book by Edmonton author Samira Hamana was inspired by the recent attacks against Muslim women. Titled Where Are You Really From?, it tackles issues of diversity and acceptance.
• The neighbourhood of Laurel, located in southeast Edmonton, now has a community league. The Laurel Community League officially became a member of the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues on June 2.

Every week in the lead up to Edmonton's municipal election on Oct. 18, we're rounding up the news and announcements you need to know to stay informed.

• Mayoral candidate Michael Oshry has released some of his plans for downtown Edmonton. He wants to see a business friendly city hall which would create an expedited permit process for downtown, and stronger ties with the local business community.
• Cheryll Watson expressed her support for the Calgary-Edmonton hyperloop, calling the development a "game changer" on Twitter. Watson highlighted the project in her platform.
• July 10 marked 100 days until the municipal election. Amarjeet Sohi used the opportunity to offer his thoughts on the milestone and his campaign efforts up to that point.
• With rumours a federal election may take place this fall, Keith Gerein discussed the possible implications of back-to-back voting for Edmontonians. University of Calgary political scientist Jack Lucas told Gerein that in the instance of back-to-back elections, voters tend to pay more attention to campaigns with more media coverage.

A list of all of the candidates who have announced they are running in the Edmonton municipal election is available here.

Learn more about Taproot's effort to ground our election coverage in what is important to Edmontonians on our People's Agenda page.

Photo: TransPod

On this day in 1919, the city commissioner suggested turning part of the Rice Street Fish Market into public gardens.

Commissioner Arthur Ormsby became enamoured with the idea after travelling to other cities. He returned "fully convinced of one thing, and that is, as a city, Edmonton is singularly lacking in attractiveness." Edmonton was built of brick and stone, with little in the way of beauty "where the eye can rest with pleasure" according to newspaper accounts.

Ormsby wanted to see a public garden in the middle of the city that would stretch from around the current Churchill Square west to the edge of McDougall. The plan would mean taking some room from the Rice Street Market — at the time, Market Square stood where Stanley Milner is now, but it was in the process of expanding westward.

Ormsby's garden plan wasn't approved, potentially because the market was an important part of early Edmonton. The town's council established the market in 1903, at a time when Edmonton's population was around 8,000. Every Saturday, the market would draw crowds, both local and from outlying farms, to the square to shop and socialize. It served as an important civic glue to bind together the people of the fledgling city.

Later, it would be given a new name — City Market (Rice Street itself would eventually merge with Howard Avenue to become Rice Howard Way.) The market continued to be a weekend tradition in that spot for Edmontonians through the Great Depression and two world wars. In the 1960s, the market moved to a building on 97th Street so that the downtown library could be built. In 2004, it moved again to 104th Street, becoming known as the Edmonton Downtown Farmers' Market.

In keeping with its pattern of relocating, the market moved again due to LRT construction along 102nd Ave. The latest move saw it return to 97th Street in 2019, with space for around 100 vendors in the historic GWG Building.

The celebration of the market's reopening was short-lived, however. A few months later, the COVID-19 pandemic caused it, and other markets around the city, to shut down. Most of the markets were able to reopen during the spring of 2020, but restrictions took away some of the unique aspects that have drawn Edmontonians for more than a century — like smaller crowds, no pets and no samples.

Now that vaccinations rates are up and COVID-19 cases are down, markets in the area are looking a lot more like they did in the past. Still, the pandemic has taken a toll on both the markets and the individual vendors who participate. In response to these difficulties, the provincial government recently announced a new food labelling program to bring greater awareness to Alberta-made goods and produce.

This is based on a clipping found on Vintage Edmonton, a daily look at Edmonton's history from armchair archivist @revRecluse — follow @VintageEdmonton for daily ephemera via Twitter.

• Jubefest runs Thursdays in July outside the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. This week's concert features 100 mile house, and the weeks to come offer music from Ann Vriend, and Krissy Feniak. Tickets are $20 per person; patrons are encouraged to bring their own lawn chair.
• SNAP Gallery is showing Andrew Testa's over and over, again and again, and Thirst Trap by Haylee Fortin until July 17. It's your last couple days to catch these shows!
• Alberta Council for the Ukrainian Arts (ACUA) is exhibiting Threads of Hope, co-hosted by Fibre Art Network until July 21.
• There are a few weekends left for this year's Whyte Avenue Art Walk, which runs every Friday to Sunday until Aug. 1.

Photo: 100 mile house/Facebook