Belgravia

Only a few homes still exist in Belgravia from its earliest days of development. William Fraser's 1912 farm house standing at 115 Street and 76 Avenue is one, built when the area was only bushland surrounding the neighbouring McKernan Lake. The 30-acre lake, located between 110 and 114 streets and south of 76 Avenue to 72 Avenue, was drained in 1948 to make way for residential development. The few homes that lay west of the lake, and the recreational possibilities that the lake offered year round – boating and picnics in the summer, and skating, skiing, and curling in the winter – was enough for the city to run a streetcar line beginning at Whyte Avenue, south along 104 street, west along 76 Avenue, and all the way past the lake to 118 Street. This single-line, single-car line was colloquially known as the Toonerville Trolley, and although never profitable, was fought hard for by locals and offered service from 1913 to 1948. The few residential homes that the trolley reached west of the lake were built when the University of Alberta was in its infancy; they primarily housed professors and their families until after the Second World War when development of the area began in earnest.

Belgravia was one of the neighbourhoods designed by Nöel Dant, Edmonton's first city planner, in 1951. Intended to be a modestly upscale residential district, the community was named after a fashionable residential section of nineteenth century London. The appeal to its longtime residents comes from its easy access to the river valley and to the University of Alberta. Bordered by the river valley and Belgravia Ravine (now paved over to be Belgravia Road), 114 Street, and University Avenue, the quiet tree-lined community is somewhat secluded with a variety of single family housing styles ranging from bungalows, semi-bungalows, and diverse two story homes.

When Keillor Road ran along the river bank and past the Keillor farm connecting Fox Drive to Saskatchewan Drive, Belgravia residents were faced with drivers short-cutting through their neighbourhood. Community opposition led to the permanent closure of Keillor Road in 1991. Similarly, Belgravia residents fought City plans to alter traffic patterns and bring the LRT along 114 Street, their campaign eventually forced the City to abandon plans to widen 114 Street to six lanes and assured the neighbourhood an LRT station. These engaged citizens have successfully maintained the character of their neighbourhood and assured its small town nature even when the closure of the Workers Compensation Board rehabilitation centre opened opportunities for new development in 2001.