Bricks considered garbage elsewhere are super popular in Edmonton
They say that one man’s trash is another person’s treasure, and that apparently goes for cities, too.
Have you ever been out walking in Edmonton and noticed old brick buildings that looked to be covered in warts? Or bricks of all different shapes, sizes, and colours? They’re called clinker bricks, a building material that became popular in the city despite being labelled as garbage elsewhere.
Clinker bricks were bricks that were overfired while being processed. The high temperatures caused minerals in the bricks to form a natural glaze with shades of red, green, yellow, and purple.
Some of these bricks also fused in clumps during firing, making them look even more unpredictable. Many of these clumped-together bricks are at the Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Old Strathcona.
Allison Stephen/Daily Hive
The bricks are most commonly found in buildings constructed before World War II and are a building tradition unique to Edmonton.
“Clinker bricks were valued for their unique appearance and used extensively in Edmonton, unlike most other places where they were considered garbage,” writes the Edmonton Historial Board on its website.
“Unlike elsewhere in Alberta, builders in Edmonton came to value these unique bricks for the aesthetic quality they provided.”
Some other places you can find clinker bricks in Edmonton include the Trudel Residence, William Brown Residence, and Fredrick S. Jones Residence, located in neighbourhoods northwest of downtown.
With Edmonton’s love for all things offbeat, it’s no surprise that these garbage bricks became a hit in the city. We love to see the character it brings to buildings!
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