Beloved neighbourhood park and early Bellevue home designated historic resources |
May 19, 2026
A park in the heart of one of Edmonton's oldest neighbourhoods and a house dating back to 1916 have been declared Municipal Historic Resources by City Council. |
Windsor Park North Park
After the Second World War, Edmonton began designing neighbourhoods as “neighbourhood units” with curving streets and central park spaces. The city’s first comprehensively planned neighbourhood unit was Windsor Park, designed to focus on the Windsor Park North Park. |
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The 1.57 ha (3.88 acre) park features an ornamental landscaped area with a great sunken garden, which has served as an impromptu athletic field since 1956. The park benefited from the then Parks Superintendent Alexander “Sandy” Patterson’s dream of creating elm tree ladened roads throughout the city. As a result, Edmonton is home to one of the largest concentrations of mature elms in the world, with 40 circling the North Park. The park boasts at least 27 types of trees and ornamental shrubs.
The original design, created by then-City Architect Robert Falconer Duke, also envisioned a circular ornamental fountain at the northern end of the Sunken Garden and Great Lawn. In April 1956, Windsor Park residents opted out of having the fountain constructed. Several original features still remain in the park including: the Sunken Garden and Great Lawn, a low masonry retaining wall with steps, original iron drain and grate infrastructure, some original fencing, and original granular walking paths.
Windsor Park North Park is the city’s 200th historic designation. The facility will receive $75,000 as a matching grant for park refurbishment. |
Elizabeth Bell moved to Canada in 1889 with her husband, John and their daughter Eunice. When she purchased the lot in Bellevue in 1912, she was a widow, but by 1916, she was living in the house with her daughter and son-in-law. By 1917, the house was listed as vacant when she remarried and moved to the Grande Prairie area. The current owner of the residence has lived there since 2008, the longest tenancy.
The one-and-a-half story residence features a high gable roof with a small shed dormer on the north side. The house is clad with wooden clapboard siding on the main floor and wooden shakes on the upper floor. |
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The Elizabeth Bell residence is the 201st historic designation in Edmonton. The owner of the residence will receive a grant of about $59,000 to help with the refurbishment of the home. |
For more information:
Media contact:
Jennifer Renner
Senior Communications Advisor
Urban Planning and Economy
780-619-3254
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