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It has been some two months since the alarm was sounded in the Edmonton Journal’s opinion page concerning the University of Alberta’s planned May demolition of the four remaining Ring Houses.
Since February, 2,455-plus members of the public have signed a petition urging the U of A to press pause on the demolition proposal for one year. And signatures keep coming in. What is the harm in asking for a year’s delay? None. This would allow these historic homes to be professionally assessed and evaluated for repurposing as was done in 1970 for Rutherford House, at the time up for demolition by the U of A.
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In a recent opinion piece in the Edmonton Journal, I was quoted regarding the University of Alberta’s proposal to demolish/sell the Ring Houses, and now I wish to speak for myself.
I view the stories embedded in the four remaining Ring House homes as the U of A’s DNA. And, as the first university in the province, the U of A belongs to the entire province, and to U of A graduates and their families. The U of A is imprinted on all of us.
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Members of the University of Alberta community are dismayed and saddened to learn that the four Ring Houses are to be demolished in the next months.
A highlight of the online walking tour of the university’s historical landmarks, it is astonishing that they are to be bulldozed. Originally there were 10 houses, forming a ring, built between 1911 and 1914 to house faculty at a time when there was a housing shortage in Strathcona. (Six were demolished in 1970 where the Windsor Parkade now stands.)
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