An Edmonton architect is working to preserve hundreds of everyday artifacts unearthed from inside an iconic downtown building, with some of the treasure dating as far back as the 1890s.

The discoveries happened as the historic Pendennis Building on Jasper Avenue was being renovated over the past 17 years.

The items shed light on what life was like in Edmonton at the turn of the 20th century.

“This is dated 1903, so this is prior to Alberta becoming a province,” said architect David Murray while holding up a booklet titled: Where How and All About It.

Murray is used to finding unique odds and ends in the historic buildings he helps refurbish, but what he found in the Pendennis Building, he believes, is truly remarkable.

“More artifacts than I’ve ever found at any building that I’ve ever been working on,” he said.

Part of the team that started renovating the old hotel in 2005, Murray left the project for a time. But when he rejoined in 2019, he started cataloguing what workers found during demolition.

“You learn so much about the role of the hotel, and the development of the city, and the people who came here,” he said.

Built in the 1890s, the Pendennis Building housed the Lodge Hotel for decades. It expanded around 1911 to absorb a neighbouring drug store.

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