Landmark Building
BOWKER BUILDING
9835 – 109 Street, Edmonton
Built in 1931
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Though it matches the Legislature Building in style, the Bowker Building was actually constructed in 1931, almost twenty years later, and just one year after the Art Deco Federal Public Building was designed. For Cecil Burgess, the University of Alberta architecture professor who drew up the plans for this dignified and sophisticated Beaux-Arts Style office block, historical allusions and not modernity were the main concern. Manitoba limestone, which is harder and can be more finely sculpted than sandstone, was chosen for the exterior of the Bowker Building. Especially fine are the Corinthian columns which circle the building, and the Alberta coat of arms and carved head of a Native man located in the open-bed pediment above the main entry. Originally costing almost $ 1 million to build, the Bowker Building underwent renovations and refitting in 1980 which totaled seven times that sum. A sixth floor was added to the top of the structure; clad in a copper mansard roof, this expansion is almost undetectable from the ground level.
The Landmark Buildings and Places Database draws on the series of walking and/or driving tour booklets produced by Alberta Culture (now Alberta Culture and Community Spirit). The Heritage Community Foundation gratefully acknowledges the support of the Ministry through permission to reprint these materials online. Extracted from Edmonton Walking Tours: Downtown, East, West, University of Alberta and Strathcona. City of Edmonton and Alberta Culture and Multiculturalism, n.d., with permission from Alberta Culture and Community Spirit. Visit the Alberta Culture and Community Spirit for more information.