Then and Now....Retail Therapy

Back in 1912 after three years of construction Edmonton's new courthouse opened up. The sandstone and granite building cost $250,000 to build. The columns were 28 feet tall and 3 feet in diameter. The doors were solid oak.
In 1952 an addition was constructed at the cost of $700,000 which doubled the size of the courthouse from four courtrooms to nine.
By the late 1960's it became apparent that a newer and much larger courthouse was needed.
The new courthouse opened in 1972 a couple of blocks away. The old courthouse was sold to Woodwards who demolished the old courthouse to make room for their new department store.
This building today is home to the City Centre Mall

[Diana]

Such a beautiful old building and great architecture.

[Diane]

Sigh. Too bad they couldn't repurpose the old courthouse building, but that is often easier said than done. Nice to see old and new.

[Ingrid]

Oh what a pity the old building had to go...

[Valerie Chesney]

What a beautiful old building.... so sad to see the contrast.

[Issi Bannerman]

Oh, my, goodness. I can't believe that old building was allowed to be destroyed. What a travesty. Great documentary photography.

[JackieR]

What a shame to have lost that architectural beauty

[Wylie]

Oh definitely prefer the old one!

[Monique]

Ouch, such a shame it was demolished ...

[Babs]

How sad the old building was demolished and replaced with a bit of a monstrosity

[Mags]

How very sad. What an ugly monstrosity in its place too. That architect should've been jailed.

[Peter Dulis]

such a shame they lost that historical building to a company that declared bankruptcy eventually

[KV]

The original was beautiful.

[Lynn]

A beautiful old building - it is a shame that it could not be protected from demolition

[Harry J Benson]

The old courthouse had so much more style.

[Merrelyn]

What a shame that such a lovely old building was demolished and replaced by that ugly construction :(

[Ian George]

What a fabulous building that was. To be replaced by an anonymous rectangular box is diabolical .

[Yoland]

I have to agree with the other comments, what a shame the old one was torn down. The new building doesn’t have any personality.

[mittens (Marilyn)]

Wow, what a difference.

[Fisher Family]

Again I prefer the old to the new. The contrast between the two is enormous.

Ian

[Caroline]

What a shame of have lost such a beautiful piece of architecture. Nice job of documenting the change.

[Margaret Brown]

What a difference, I loved the original though

[Lesley]

It’s progress, I guess. Beautiful old building.

[Tunia McClure]

The City Market will probably be torn down and...who knows? A new courthouse?

[Jean]

I like the old one

[Pat Knowles]

Oh well I suppose it’s progress but not as keen on the new building as much as the old one but it’s the same in every town these days.

[Donna]

The old building was beautiful--what a loss!

[Rosie Kind]

It’s such a shame that the old courthouse was demolished as it had style

[Ann H. LeFevre]

Another beauty demolished by insensitive retailers! The facade would have been so impressive if it had been left in tact. The new building doesn't hold a candle to it in beauty. Nice collage though!

[Bill]

The old place has much more character. An imposing building. Unlike the new place!

[Ryan]

Wish they would have saved the building and converted it.

[Pyrrhula]

Great shots of the old and new.

[Lin]

Quite the change - the old building is beautiful

[bkb in the city]

@ludwigsdiana Diana glad you enjoyed this one

[bkb in the city]

@eudora Diane glad you liked this one

[bkb in the city]

@ingrid01 Ingrid it was very sad to see it torn down

[bkb in the city]

@happysnaps Valerie it is very sad

[bkb in the city]

@jamibann Thanks Issi. It was very sad to see the courthouse destroyed

[bkb in the city]

@30pics4jackiesdiamond Jackie it certainly was

[bkb in the city]

@pusspup Wylie l do too

[bkb in the city]

@momamo Monique it certainly was

[bkb in the city]

@onewing Babs it was very sad

[bkb in the city]

@marlboromaam Mags it was very sad

[bkb in the city]

@pdulis Peter it certainly was

[bkb in the city]

@kvphoto It certainly was

[bkb in the city]

@rumpelstiltskin Lynn that would have been nice if it could have been saved

[bkb in the city]

@hjbenson Harry it certainly does

[bkb in the city]

@merrelyn Merrelyn it certainly was

[bkb in the city]

@nodrognai Ian that certainly is one way to look at it

[bkb in the city]

@yoland Yoland it is very boring

[bkb in the city]

@mittens Marilyn there really is no comparison

[bkb in the city]

@fishers Ian there really is no comparison

[bkb in the city]

@chejja Thanks Caroline

[bkb in the city]

@craftymeg Margaret the courthouse was a beautiful building

[bkb in the city]

@tinley23 Lesley that is what developers call it

[bkb in the city]

@tunia Tunia wouldn't that be a bit ironic

[bkb in the city]

@jernst1779 Jean l do too

[bkb in the city]

@happypat Sadly Pat that is so true

[bkb in the city]

@djclow Donna it was a huge loss

[bkb in the city]

@rosiekind Rosie it had so much style

[bkb in the city]

@bill_gk Bill the new building has no character

[bkb in the city]

@ryan161 Ryan that would have been nice

[bkb in the city]

@pyrrhula Thanks Ferry

[bkb in the city]

@linnypinny Lin it certainly was

[Kathy]

And a building of beauty was lost forever.

[Sally Ings]

So sad that the old building was demolished, it was such a grand looking building.

[haskar]

Beautiful old building. The modern version is terrible.

[william wooderson]

It certainly looked grander back in the day!

[bkb in the city]

@randystreat Yes Kathy unfortunately it was

[bkb in the city]

@salza Sally it was very sad to lose it

[bkb in the city]

@haskar Haskar there certainly is no comparison

[bkb in the city]

@will_wooderson William it was a beautiful building