Description of Historic Place

The restored Hudson's Bay Company Stables / Ortona Armoury is a two-storey, U-shaped building with load bearing brick walls and stone detailing. It is located in Edmonton's river valley and occupies the equivalent of two city lots in Rossdale, one of Edmonton's oldest neighbourhoods.

Heritage Value

The Hudson's Bay Company Stables / Ortona Armoury is significant for its association with the Hudson's Bay Company and for its use as a military training facility during and after World War Two. A utilitarian building, it is notable as an architectural expression of design sensibility and simplicity.

The Hudson's Bay Company, one of Canada's foremost founding organizations, built the stable in 1914 to provide shelter for their teams and wagons. It was used as a stable until 1924 when the company switched to motorized vehicles. Over time the building was adapted for new uses and was associated with a number of different individuals and businesses such as, the world famous Edmonton Pure Butter Company. Its most important use has been as a military training facility and administrative quarters during and after World War Two. In 1939 the Edmonton Half Company of the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve made the stables their permanent quarters. In 1941 the building was commissioned as a navy base and given the name Nonsuch. In 1965 the building was taken over by the Loyal Edmonton Regiment 3rd Battalion and was renamed the Ortona Armouries in commemoration of the regiments heroic battle of World War Two.

Although originally designed as a stable, the careful organization of the seven bay facade, the brick details, and the carved sandstone Hudson's Bay Crest and Coat of Arms give it an architectural elegance not often seen in such utilitarian buildings.

Source: City of Edmonton (Bylaw 13464)

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements as expressed in the form, massing, materials and style of the principal facades such as:
- the eight brick pilasters that divide the front facade into seven bays;
- the brick detailing, such as, the brick dental course above sandstone lintels on the upper floors, the round brick arches and flat arches over window openings, the brick band cornice at the parapet level;
- the stone details such as the lintels and sills;
- the hoist penthouse covered in pressed metal siding located on the southern rooftop;
- the recessed windows in the front facade;
- the stone capped parapet;
- the three carved sandstone cartouches, above the entrance bay, the centre bay and the northern bay;
- the pattern of recessed alternating double and triple windows on the front facade;
- the interior structural truss system and supporting elements;
- the interior decorative symbols in the terrazzo floor and tiles.