Fire destroys a local landmark
Ice and ash cover Alberta Avenue Trading Post early Sunday morning
Edmonton firefighters faced both extreme cold and heat as they raced to control a blaze that struck the Avenue Trading Post (9544 118 Ave) early Sunday morning. The commercial structure fire was reported at 4:45 am, with crews responding to the scene just four minutes later. The two-alarm fire had a total of 11 crews and nine trucks working, encasing the burning structure in water and ice. As of yet, no casualties or injuries have been reported.
Footage from security cameras at the Alberta Avenue Community League over three blocks away show flames and smoke billowing over the alley around 7 am. The fire engulfed the top floor on the east section of the building. It took firefighters several hours to get the blaze under control. Water flooded 118 Avenue and adjacent sidewalks as far as 91 Street, leaving an icy mess in frigid temperatures. Water infiltration was reported by some nearby businesses as well.
Owners Rico and Mario Potestio had recently listed the 1959 building for sale along with all inventory and the business name, although the listing was no longer active. According to the listing, the property included four commercial units, four apartments, and a single family home directly behind it. The pawn shop occupied two commercial spaces, a vape shop and beauty salon the other two.
The Potestio business changed significantly over the years, but with community consistently at its heart. From operating as a trading post that supplied mining camps, to a family grocery through the 60s and 70s, this latest incarnation as a pawn shop tells the story of a neighbourhood forced to adapt to changing economic conditions.
“Pawn shops arise to fill a need,” says historical writer Jon Weller as he discusses the history of Alberta Avenue. “A need for a group of people who are often neglected by traditional retail and financial systems. For better or worse, they provide a much needed service to a marginalized population and to a great extent this population is a significant and important part of the community.”
Between the structural damage to the building and the ice caking it, the area around the structure is unsafe. The site is taped off, 118 Avenue between 95 and 97 Streets is closed, and police and fire are monitoring and securing the area. On Monday morning, an excavator started to tear the building down but then broke down itself. The two block section of 118 Avenue will likely be closed for a few days until the building can be pulled down.
We are encouraged by Weller’s words in the 2012 edition of Rat Creek Press and his description of inevitable change. While the trading post will be demolished, the symbol of commerce and communal spirit will continue in the memory of long-time residents.
"Even the hard times have a role to play, because out of the ashes has arisen an area with a new, more diverse and wildly enthusiastic face, a face likely unimaginable to early residents, but one fit to face the new world.”
We await the new face and vision that in time someone will bring to this space.
The Potestio family in Italy (left) and current owner Rico Potestio (right) | Photo courtesy of The Avenue Oral History Project
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*Note* The Alberta Ave Trading Post is also a historical business; as it was one of the very first Italian immigrant owned businesses west of Toronto. Much like the recently closed Venetian Barber Shop (the very first Italian owned business this side of central Canada), these also signify an opportunity to transmute our community place & spaces into something even more useful, interesting & accessible.
i can assure you that that is a long time rumor in the italian community which is entirely false, and only serves to perpetuate stereotypes against italians and fails to recognize that pawn shops are heavily monitored by government and police. as well the photo in the article is not the potestio family, we are much more attractive.