Description of Historic Place

The Westminster Apartments is a three-storey L-shaped brick Edwardian apartment building. It is located on a double corner lot in Edmonton's Oliver neighbourhood.

Heritage Value

Historical: The construction of the Westminster Apartments in 1912 by Western Canada Properties Ltd., is associated with speculative investment of eastern Canadian capital during the economic boom in Edmonton before World War One. The historic significance of the Westminster Apartments lies equally in the provision of alternative housing in an area of predominantly single-family residences, and its patterns of occupancy have been an economic and social barometer for the neighbourhood for over eighty years. The Westminster Apartments has an historical association with C.A Brine, builder and property manager (1912-1948) for the Westminster Apartments Ltd., whose fortune allowed his wife Margaret Hazelwood Gold Brine to be a generous benefactor of the arts in Edmonton after his death in 1963. The Westminster Apartments also has a long association with the Spillios family beginning in 1948 when George Spillios, a leader in Edmonton's Greek community and proprietor of the city's well-known American Dairy Lunch, purchased the building.

Architectural: The architectural significance of the Westminster Apartments building lies in the distinctive detailing of its brown/red wire cut brick cladding, the decorative use of brick patterns, and glazed surface porcelain tiles on its two street elevations. It is a representative example of an elegant pre-World War One apartment building, which has maintained the full integrity of its historic design and fabric.

Environment: Westminster Apartments is a landmark conspicuous for its massing, finishes, and location on a major route into downtown Edmonton from the river valley. It has sentimental associations for the Oliver community, and historical association with other apartment blocks in the neighborhood, most notably the LeMarchand Mansion, the Annamoe Mansion, the Buena Vista Apartments, and the Derwas Court, and symbolizes an attachment to historic housing in the area.

Source: City of Edmonton Planning and Development Department (Bylaw: 11287)

Character-Defining Elements

Character-defining elements of the Westminster Apartments include:
- form and massing expressed through its corner location and in the rhythm and patterns of fenestration, finishes, and decorative detailing, such as:
- corbelling that encircles the building;
- quoins engaging the principle facades with off street facades;
- corbelled belt course on three facades;
- horizontal banding that wraps the building;
- glazed porcelain pendants, diamond and square tiles;
- metal cornice, decorative rosettes, and stone capped brick parapet;
- all original features of the main entrance, including Tudor arch transom light, two globe lights, ceramic tile floor, double oak doors.