So, the Cromdale Hotel is gone.  If you only came to Edmonton in the last couple of decades, I can imagine what you thought of it.  You probably only heard the negative things from those who rightfully wanted it gone.  In doing some research, I came across a 2004 copy of the Real Estate Weekly.  A wonderful article by Lawrence Herzog entitled The Rise and Fall of the Cromdale Hotel.  Quoting in part from the Edmonton Journal, it sounded like the place to be in starting in the mid-1950s when it was new.  Herzog describes a smart, snappy, stylish building.  Well appointed beverage rooms and a coffee shop and a banquet area.  Business was so good they had to expand it.  Television was just new and they had it, along with a phone and carpet in every room.  Classy then, but who would know that 50 years later, as new establishments rose and the customer base changed, it would be deemed unfit to live in.  Lawrence Herzog concludes, “The sad downward spiral of the hotel is a case study in how the self-esteem of a neighborhood can be so negatively affected by an ailing landmark building.”  I guess it’s like the song says, Lawrence, you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.  Let me know what you think.

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