Murals at Edmonton LRT station pay homage to former landmark hotel

A historical mural inside Edmonton's Corona LRT Station depicting the old Corona Hotel and activity along Jasper Avenue. (Credit: City of Edmonton)

A long-gone downtown hotel is being remembered in murals adorning the LRT station that bears its name.

The City of Edmonton heralded their installation at Corona Station on Monday. The 16 murals, which incorporate archival photographs and articles, depict the history and transformation of the area around the LRT stop beneath Jasper Avenue between 106 and 107 Streets.

On the south side of Jasper, where the First Edmonton Place office/retail complex today stands, once stood the Corona Hotel, which in its heyday rivalled the Hotel Macdonald in grandeur.

“These murals highlight the area’s importance to Edmonton’s history over the years,” Sarah Feldman, the city’s director of transit planning, ridership and revenue, said in a media release.

“The Corona Hotel was a gathering place for many early visitors to Edmonton, and was also known as a welcoming place for the city’s 2SLGBTQIA+ community. This installation provides Edmontonians with more information about this important piece of history and a deeper understanding of how the Corona LRT station got its name.”

The original building opened as the Wize Block in 1908, housing apartments, before becoming a hotel four years later. It was rebuilt after the building burned down in 1932. The hotel was razed in 1981 to make way for First Edmonton Place.

Both the underground station and the office building opened in 1983.