Just tap the app to learn more about the city’s history
On This Spot takes residents and tourists on trip through time at local landmarks
When you’re walking through downtown Edmonton or in Old Strathcona, you may not think about the long history of the city’s storefronts and street corners. Andrew Farris wants to change that.
Farris is the founder of On This Spot, an app that lets users view historical photographs of city landmarks and read about the town’s origins with most selections dating before the city’s official incorporation in 1904.
Tapping on a button next to the photos changes the picture to a modern-day one taken from the same spot.
“I’ve tried a bunch of different ways to get people engaged with history. Then-and-now photos are definitely the best way,” said Farris, who originally created the app to highlight the history of Vancouver, where he lives.
“It makes history immediate to people. It takes it out of books and makes me real. It ties history to a place.”
Among the 200 photos on the app are the 1905 completion of the Canadian National Railway station, where the city’s CN Tower now sits, and the King Edward Hotel, a nightlife hub destroyed by a 1978 fire, at the current location of Manulife Place.
The app also features two interactive walking tours: one takes users through the history of Strathcona before the city amalgamated with Edmonton in 1912, while the other is a River Valley tour focusing on the life of Edmonton settler John Walker.
The city hopes the app can make local history more accessible to young people.
“The youngest demographic likes visuals and likes more interactive things,” said senior city heritage planner Robert Geldart. “It’s a learning opportunity to find out what the community looked like before these changes took place.”
Since launching its Edmonton programming July 26, the app has received about 3,300 downloads, a number Geldart is pleased with.
The addition of Edmonton history to the On This Spot app started when Farris pitched the idea to the city. Edmonton gave Farris and the developers a contract of just under $12,000 to incorporate the city’s history into the app. Farris himself came to Edmonton to take some of the present-day photographs, while Elyse Abma, a University of Victoria masters student originally from Lacombe, wrote most of the accompanying text.
Geldart said he’s open to working with On This Spot again to add more tours and photos to the app.
The On This Spot app already has photos and tours for cities like Ottawa and Calgary and its expansion isn’t slowing down. Soon, people in Saskatoon or Halifax will also be able to use the app.
The app is available for download on IOS and Android.