Lee Family archives
David Murray
The future of Lee’s Food Market, as unlikely as it might seem, is now on the path to long-term conservation. The owner will be submitting an application to designate the property as a municipal historic resource, under Edmonton’s progressive heritage conservation program. Progress will not destroy this memorable iconic building and business, but progress will play a part in its survival. Under the municipal designation program, the City will consider rezoning the property to allow substantial residential densification, as per City policy, to allow multi-storey residential development on the back portion of the property while preserving the 1965 building at the front. Lee’s Food Market is a story of good fortune – fortuitous development decisions, fortuitous ownership, supportive City policies including Edmonton’s Corner Store Program with generous grants for rehabilitation and streetscape improvements, and a wonderful location where this unlikely longevity has been cultivated for over 70 years and will continue to flourish. Tony and Cindy Lee, in 1964. The first Canadian-born generation in a story that started with their great-grandfather’s arrival in Canada in 1925, and their parents’ emigration from Hong Kong in 1954 and 1958.
Joe Clare, the current owner of the Lee’s Food Market building, and Tony Lee, a prominent Edmonton businessman, in 2022.
A plaque at Commonwealth Stadium, honouring the earliest of Edmonton’s CFL supporters. The Edmonton Eskimos, formed in 1949, had won the Grey Cup in 1954, 1955 and 1956, when Stanley Lee got his first season’s tickets.
Good fortune all around.
Tony Lee
Research assistance: Erik Backstrom
DAVID MURRAY is an architect in Edmonton, Alberta, who specialises in the evaluation, protection and conservation of historic building resources. He has a keen interest in the human stories that are embedded in his projects.
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on site review 43: architecture and t ime
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