Edmonton Attractions

thumbnail photos and notes

Government buildings and grounds:

The Province of Alberta Legislature building. (45 kb)

The sculptured pool comes complete with a live duck. (47 kb)

The pool in front of the Legislature building. (47 kb)

Edmonton city hall is the blue triangle in the background on the right. On the left, a statue takes a rest. City hall looks small on the outside. (48 kb)

But there's tons of space on the inside. The doors for the council chambers are at the top of the stairs on the right. The media is waiting for the politicians to emerge. (51 kb)

This is the view of the library and the city hall pool, taken from the entrance to city hall. (57 kb)

River Valley below the city core (2002):

The North Saskatchewan River and Edmonton city core are joined together by this riverfront park. When the shape of the hill and stairs compliment the design of the structures above, it becomes one huge, unique piece of art.
[In 2005, they began to make a series of improvements to this park and expanded the convention centre.] (52 kb)

A view of the Edmonton Queen paddlewheeler on the left, the river, and the city centre on the right. This part of the river is full of life when they hold annual events like the Dragon Boat races, and the Sourdough raft race. (42 kb).

When they developed this park, they had to coordinate the design of two huge buildings, a row of relatively small historical buildings, and the design of a park and other structures which have been added since I took the photographs.. (41 kb)
To more thumbnail
photos of this park.

Looking east at the riverfront park, footbridge, and Edmonton Queen. Photo taken in the fall, October 5, 2003. (78 kb).

Three boats heading down the North Saskatchewan River. This photo was taken from the footbridge which is pictured on the left. This is in the fall, October 4, 2003. The Edmonton Queen is in the distance. (59 kb).

The Edmonton Queen goes under the Low Level bridge in this summer photograph. (49 kb).

The river valley becomes quite busy on a warm fall day (October 5, 2003). The apartments above are located west of the city core. (78 kb).

Wood was used to build stairs in many places throughout the valley. This 150 meter long stairway has 135 steps. In the distance you see the Low Level bridge and above that, the Muttart Conservatory. (53 kb)

This is one of the displays inside the Muttart Conservatory show pyramid. Other pyramids contain plants from the desert, forrest and jungle areas of the world. (62 kb)

Buildings in the Downtown Core:

This is Jasper Avenue and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce building. Jasper Avenue lost a lot of business when the West Edmonton Mall was built, but it is currently experiencing a revival.
In the summer of 2003 a new Tim Horton's donut shop was added, and it was packed almost from the day it opened. (66 kb)

This flat iron building is one of the historical structures that are located just east of downtown Edmonton. (38 kb)

The newly renovated Mcleod Building is on the left and the downtown core is behind. (58 kb)

West Edmonton Mall:

There is magic at West Edmonton Mall. It's not all smoke and mirrors, it's just a lot of mirrors. This is an actual scene of two levels of shoppers with a panel of mirrors in between. (68 kb)

These people are trying to decide if they want to buy a swimming pool or a water slide. [The photograph only shows the bottom part of the huge water slides.] (69 kb)

This is the wave pool which is also in the mall. A lot of people are trying it out, to see if they want to buy it. (68 kb)

There are only four submarines left. Maybe you should buy one now, before they are all gone. (66 kb)

These people are trying out the skating rink, which is located in the middle of the mall. (66 kb)

You can also buy this loopty loop thing for your back yard. People are flying by at the top of the loop on the right. (64 kb)

Things to See and Do During Winter:

Enjoy this video at youtube.com:

Enjoy the sights and sounds of some of Edmonton's winter activities and Festivals by watching
a youtube video called:The Warmth of an Edmonton Winter. This, my latest video, is 3 minutes and 46 seconds.
It includes the scenes pictured above, and music by Edmonton's Trevor Tchir.

Things to See and Do (2002 - 2003):

A street performer performing in the square in front of the city hall building. Note how much help and attention this performer
gets. (44 kb)

The raft races held on the North Saskatchewan River are not a standard race; and they don't use normal rafts. (54 kb)
For action photos from the 2002 race,
see the K-Days file.

In July, Old Strathcona holds an art walk. Artists display their art on the busy sidewalks. (67 kb)
Also, view this 1 1/2 minute video at youtube on the 2010 Art Walk.

This is a landmark Hotel on Whyte Avenue in Old Strathcona, an area full of popular bars. This part of Edmonton is also where the Silly Summer parade, an Art walk, and the Fringe Festival take place. (69 kb)

A good crowd enjoys the Silly Summer parade that takes place on July 1st, Canada Day. These children react strongly to a king sized bug. (43 kb)

A happy group live it up while pulling a large grocery cart. They are part of the enthusiastic Canada Day parade. (63 kb).

This family is at the Dragon Boat races. Groups of bankers, lawyers, oil company workers, cancer survivors, etc., compete against each other. Some teams come from Calgary and Kelowna. They use names like Raging Dragons, Crew Yahoo, Dragoneers, Drag Queens, Dragon Divas, Water Bugs, and Holy Rowers. (69 kb)

The Dragon Boat races give workers a chance to compete as a team against other groups. Some teams know their limitations. One had a chant, "The middle of the pack." Although I don't know who came in first, I'm convinced that that group was a winner. (51 kb).

These people are racing carts down the ski hill. On the left is the peace dove, a large work of art which was put in place when the Pope visited in 1984. In the background, top centre, is the Hotel Mcdonald. (69 kb)

This is the inside of Fort Edmonton, a fur trading fort. The photo was taken from the second story of the main building at Fort Edmonton Park. (84 kb)

Not far from the fort is 1885 Street, where you can take a wagon ride through a small frontier town. (59 kb).

Explore 1905 Street at Fort Edmonton Park. Take a ride on a streetcar. The buildings on this street are from 1892 to 1914. (66 kb)

These planes are located in front of the Alberta Aviation Hall of Fame on the north side of Edmonton. You can see the south end of the City Center Airport on the left, and in the distance on the right are a few towers which
are part of the city core. (136 kb).

The Telus World of Science includes exhibits and interactive displays in a number of buildings. It also includes an IMAX and a planetarium theatre. (75 kb)

The Valley Zoo is located in a quiet part of the river valley. (78 kb).

This ski hill is located within Edmonton. In the winter the weather tends to be cool or cold. This is an asset because good skiing, outdoor skating, and tobogganing are consistantly available. (79 kb)

View video at youtube.

Click to view 1 1/2 minute video at youtube.

This video shows 14 diverse folk dances from the 2007 Heritage Festival. In 2006 over 350,000 people attended the three day event in which over 50 cultures were represented. Video is 1 minute and 35 seconds long.

Bridges and the LRT:

The Light Rail Transit (LRT) train crosses the bridge in the foreground while an old trolley takes tourists across the top of the high level bridge. (56 kb)

Another view of the LRT bridge which crosses the North Saskatchewan River. The bottom of the massive high level bridge, which was built in 1911, is on the right. (49 kb)

This walkway crosses the river under the LRT tracks. The high level bridge is on the right. Trains no longer cross on top of that bridge, but two lanes of vehicles still make use of the second level. (49 kb)

The LRT station is two levels below Jasper Avenue. The tracks are in the dark area at the bottom on the left. (90 kb)

Views of Edmonton's underground walkways which are one level
under ground. (161 kb)

To thumbnail photos of Edmonton river valley and pathway system.

First posted June 22, 2002.
Visitors since September 18, 2003