THE SHORT LIFE OF TWO TINY BUILDINGS Edmonton Alberta
david murray
‘The Mite Block, billed as the world’s smallest two-storey building, has been sold for $3,000 and will be torn down’ as published in the Edmonton Journal on July 30, 1960. “Asked about the historical value of the building, (the new owner) said Edmontonians should be glad to see it go because ‘it isn’t good for anything, and it doesn’t look good on Jasper Avenue’. A Tiny Building on a Tiny Lot: 1914 - 1960 In 1913, Arthur Bloomer, a real estate and insurance agent, constructed the wedge-shaped Mite Block on Edmonton’s Jasper Avenue with just 2.7m of street frontage. It was a substantial terracotta brick building, that over the years served numerous occupants including the last owner, George Andrew Collins’ Imperial taxi business.
Henderson’s Directory : 9701 Jasper Avenue 1920 – F.H. Clark, Jeweller 1930 – Pete’s Dollar Taxi 1940 – Diamond Taxi Limited 1950 – Blue Diamond Taxi 1960 - Imperial Taxi
Edmonton Archives B.4388
Progress is the excuse given for the demise of this tiny building. The acceptable durée is simply as long as the building doesn’t impede progress. Is this not the excuse that we hear time and time again? An ever-expanding Alberta economy demands that urban properties be constantly redeveloped. 1960 was in an era before there were any incentives to retain historical buildings in Edmonton. Had this tiny building miraculously survived another 35 years, this delightful and unlikely structure might have benefited from the City’s initiative to designate and conserve significant historical resources, which was formalised in 1993.
In 1947, Ripley’s Believe It or Not , in a newspaper cartoon feature, declared The Mite to be ‘the smallest two-storey building on this earth containing all facilities.’ The Edmonton Journal in 1956 reported that the Mite Block was a ‘surprisingly solid’ building with a full-size concrete foundation, modern plumbing and an electronically-operated door between the front waiting room and the general office on the ground floor, which could be controlled from upstairs by pushing a button. ‘In this way, it is possible for one man to be upstairs on dispatching duties while keeping the general office safely locked. At the same time he can admit persons who have business upstairs. This arrangement is necessary because there is only one outside door in the building and therefore only one way to get to the slightly cramped staircase.’ When George Collins sold the building in 1960, he had immediate regrets and tried to reverse the sales agreement but to no avail. The City Archives and Landmarks Committee publicly expressed regret. ‘It’s disappointing to hear that the building will disappear, but I guess we can’t stand in the way of progress’, and suggested that if it could be saved, ‘it would be a first-rate attraction for any store’.
The Edmonton Journal, Wednesday August 17, 1960
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on site review 43: architecture and t ime
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