The house was built in 1929 for William F. and Irene Stewart. William came to Edmonton as a young man and began working in 1911 with the A. Macdonald Company, a wholesale grocery distributor. In 1917, he became Edmonton manager of the company, which was renamed Western Grocers in 1918. William rose in the company, finishing his career as president of a British Columbia subsidiary. During the Second World War, George Weston Ltd. took a controlling interest in Western Grocers, which was later rebranded Westfair Foods. Weston’s retail chains, such as Real Canadian Superstore, Loblaws and No Frills, are now ubiquitous in the Canadian grocery landscape.
Ralph and Rose Samuels bought the house from the Stewarts in 1932, where they lived for the next 30 years. Ralph emigrated from Russia before the First World War and married Rose, an immigrant from Romania. Ralph and a brother owned the Christie Grant Department Store and operated additional stores in smaller Alberta towns. The Samuels were prominent members of Edmonton’s Jewish community. Ralph was a charter member of the Beth Shalom Congregation and president of the Talmud Torah. Rose was a member of several Jewish women’s organizations.
The Stewart Residence is an excellent example of the Dutch Colonial Revival style of architecture with its rectangular structure, gambrel roof with slopes on either side, central entry with pedimented (triangular gable) front porch and single and triple multi-light windows. The house was designed by Edmonton architect William George Blakey, who designed the Garneau Theatre, Christ Church Anglican Church and the Central Masonic Temple.
“From its original design by a skilled architect, to the Stewarts as first owners, and to the Samuels, who managed to survive and thrive through the Great Depression, the home has connections with people who helped pave the way for Edmonton’s later growth,” said David Johnston, Principal Heritage Planner.
The current owners of the Stewart Residence are eligible to receive $100,000 from the City’s Heritage Resources Reserve fund to match the amount they will spend to renovate and refurbish the home. The Stewart Residence is the 192nd property to be designated as a Municipal Historic Resource in Edmonton since 1985.
While continuing to work on heritage designations like the Stewart Residence, the City’s heritage planning team is working on a new city-wide heritage initiative called the Heritage Places Strategy. The strategy will replace the existing Historic Resource Management Plan, reflect a wider lens of Edmonton’s history and address important issues like climate adaptation and how best to preserve heritage in a densifying city.
