A strange but interesting place in Edmonton

[LeeLee 1]

I recently moved into a lovely new condo in the far North East of Edmonton - it's a really beautiful spot, over looking the river valley (Hermitage Park and Rundle Park in particular), with lots of bike and walking trails, tennis courts, golf course, etc.

I've been doing a lot of exploring around the trail system and I came across a very unusual place - kind of strange and creepy but interesting at the same time. I'm a big fan of finding places that have been abandoned and are being reclaimed by nature. This is one such area I found.

The area is called the Strathcona Science Park, and it is quite out of the way - you would get there by travelling Northeast on the Yellowhead highway towards Sherwood Park. The Sunridge ski hill is also located near here.

Apparently it was originally an archaeology site, which was used to dig up the remains of an ancient aboriginal settlement. It was also an interpretative centre with various educational activities and exhibits.

Pedestrian bridge which eventually leads to the park.

The welcome sign for the park.

Entrance to the park.

There are four of these pod-like buildings in the park. The whole vibe was kind of creepy - like something out of a horror or sci-fi movie. This building looks to be the only one that is still usable, as the roof has been recently repaired, it has a working entrance, I could see signage inside, and hear the beep of an alarm. Apparently, these buildings acted as interpretative centres - small museums with activities and exhibits relating to the archaeological findings, the oil sands, aboriginal history, etc...

The other buildings. These all had signs on them saying "Roof Collapsing - Building Condemned". They look as if they are being reclaimed by nature!

This is the area in the middle of the 4 buildings - according to people online it's supposed to act as a giant sun-dial?

The trails give some nice views of the river valley and Rundle Park. At this point, I had to switch to taking pics on my blackberry, because I forgot to put a memory card in my camera, oops.

This looks to have been an area used for braai's and picnics.

This is the old archaeology lab. It had a piece of paper with an Alberta government logo and phone number for people wanting access to the building. I would love to see what's inside.

This bridge continues the walking trail; apparently when they were doing digs here you could watch the archaeologists at work.

After doing some online research for this place, it seems that nobody can actually say when the park was closed - I read something about it being closed after a tornado in the late 80s; some say early 90s and 2000s. It's now apparently used for motorcycle and ATV training. Another website shows that it's a popular after-dark place for gay men to hang out.

The first time I went there, there was nobody there, which contributed to the eeriness. The second and third time, however, I saw a family having a picnic, some bikers, some guys doing a photoshoot, and an old man tanning in a speedo.

[Trevor&Anelle 83]

I would LOVE to do a photoshoot there!

[Ingrid Brunkhorst Hurrell 990]

I would LOVE to do a photoshoot there!

Ditto!

Very interesting place.

Thanks for sharing the photo essay with us LeeLee.