Description of Historic Place

The McIntosh Residence is a two and one half-storey building situated on a portion of two lots overlooking Groat Ravine in Edmonton's Westmount neighbourhood. Built in 1912, the red-brick home is an eclectic construction featuring robust square massing, a projecting entrance covered by a gable roof, and an irregular roofline with cross gables, dormers, and chimneys.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the McIntosh Residence lies in its association with Edmonton's pre-World War One building boom and in its eclectic architecture.

Born in Ontario in 1880, John R. McIntosh travelled west as a young man to seek his fortune. After working in the United States for a couple of years, McIntosh crossed the border and arrived in Edmonton in 1902. He held a number of positions in his adopted home before establishing in 1907 a general real estate and brokerage firm. Between the foundation of his firm and the onset of World War One, Edmonton experienced a massive housing boom, as an expanding economy attracted a crush of new citizens to the city. McIntosh was among the most successful real estate entrepreneurs in Edmonton and was a vital force in shaping the development of many of the city's new residential areas.

In 1911, McIntosh purchased a parcel of land situated within the Groat Estates area of Edmonton. The neighbourhood was among the most prestigious in the city at the time, home to several of the city's pre-eminent citizens. It was only natural that McIntosh commissioned prolific and well-respected Edmonton architect A. M. Calderon to design a stately residence suitable for such a distinguished environment. Calderon's design of the red-brick building is architecturally eclectic, with a rich variety of forms and details adorning its exterior, including a projecting front entrance covered by a gable roof, a half-round window on the front facade, and masonry corbelling, pilasters, and stringcourses. Perhaps the most conspicuous feature of the home is its irregular roofline composed of a hipped roof with dormers and cross gables. Situated in an exclusive neighbourhood overlooking the Groat Ravine and embodying a lively architectural vision, the McIntosh Residence served to both luxuriously house its owner and his family as well as project the social prominence and aesthetic sensibility of Mr. McIntosh.

Source: Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, Historic Resources Management Branch (File: Des. 922)

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the McIntosh Residence include such features as:
- location and sightlines to Groat Ravine;
- mass, form, and scale;
- red-brick construction, including masonry details like corbelling, arches, stringcourses, pilasters, and other decorative elements;
- cast concrete sills;
- hipped roof with mansard and gable dormers and corbelled chimneys;
- splayed eaves in cross gables and side elevation bay;
- cedar-shingling in dormers;
- back porch and enclosed second storey balcony covered by gable roof;
- projecting, gabled entrance supported by simple square columns and featuring a visible barrel ceiling;
- fenestration pattern and style, including half-round window on front facade;
- original interior features, including flooring, trim, mouldings, wainscot, doors, staircases, brick fireplaces, brass light fixtures, fittings, and skylight.