Video driving through Edmonton 58 years ago will blow your mind
If you had a time machine, is there a spot in Edmonton’s history you’d visit? Where and when would it be?
While time travel may be the stuff of sci-fi novels, YouTube serves as a decent substitute, letting billions of us view footage from the moment video recording became a thing.
In 1966, one wise Edmontonian thought to film out the car window while driving through the city’s downtown core, and we’re sure glad they did because it’s fascinating to see how the landscape has changed over the nearly 60 years since.
Uploaded to YouTube by user C. Geissler, the video begins with a clip of people swimming in an outdoor pool, believed to be the former pool at The Derrick Golf and Winter Club.
C. Geissler/YouTube
The next clip leads us down 109th Street and onto the High Level Bridge (back when the bridge allowed two-way traffic), where we get a glimpse of the downtown Edmonton skyline in 1966.
C. Geissler/YouTube
Next was a shot of the Alberta Legislature, which looks exactly the same as today except for its backdrop.
Then we get a couple of shots driving through downtown, including of the CN Tower, which may seem small today but looked gargantuan in comparison then.
C. Geissler/YouTube
C. Geissler/YouTube
We even get a shot of Edmonton’s iconic Chateau Lacombe, which appears to still be under construction in this video.
C. Geissler/YouTube
Finally, the 1:17-long video wraps up as we pull into the driveway of this apartment building.
C. Geissler/YouTube