This tree in a downtown Edmonton alley was planted before TV was invented
Have you ever walked through downtown Edmonton and noticed a tree growing in the middle of an alleyway, fenced in with wrought iron and marked by a bench, and wondered how it came to be?
The Holowach Tree is a horse chestnut planted around 1920 by Ukrainian pioneer and entrepreneur Sam Holowach, behind the site of his former shop and home.
It remains one of downtown’s quiet hidden treasures, tucked away off Jasper Avenue between 105th and 106th streets.
Who were the Holowach family?
Sam Holowach was a Ukrainian immigrant who promptly abandoned homesteading east of Edmonton for a new life in the city.
He worked as a tailor after arriving in Edmonton, then became the operator of his own dyeing and dry cleaning business. He has been described as one of Edmonton’s pioneer Ukrainian entrepreneurs.
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The Holowach family had a lasting impact on the Edmonton community overall. Sam’s son, Ambrose, represented Edmonton for the Social Credit Party in both the House of Commons and the Alberta Legislature. In 1962, Ambrose became Alberta’s first cabinet member of Ukrainian origin.
An unusual tree species for Edmonton
Horse chestnut trees aren’t native to Edmonton. This one grew from a seed brought all the way from Vienna, where Holowach’s son studied violin before becoming concertmaster of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.
“Bare-branched and defiant during the long and bitter prairie winter, it is glorious in full bloom in the late spring and is a leafy green canopy amidst skyscrapers and concrete in the city’s short summer,” the Edmonton Maps Heritage site describes.
The tree nearly disappeared in 1998, when it was slated to be cut down, but citizens and local businesses rallied to save it. The City of Edmonton stepped in, ensuring its survival as a landmark.
So the next time you find yourself downtown, take a moment to visit this leafy piece of Edmonton’s history!