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Fiji Sanatan Society of Alberta

Fijian diaspora in CanadaHindu temples in CanadaIndo-Fijian diasporaReligious buildings and structures completed in 1984Religious buildings and structures in Edmonton
Fiji Sanatan Society of Alberta, Vishnu Mandir
Fiji Sanatan Society of Alberta, Vishnu Mandir

The Fiji Sanatan Society of Alberta, also known as Vishnu Mandir (Devanagari: विष्णु मन्दिर) in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada is a modern-style Hindu temple that was built by some of the first Fijian Hindu immigrants in Edmonton in 1984. Hindus have been living in Canada for over a century, especially in Edmonton. Fijian Hindus began to settle in Edmonton in larger proportions starting in the 1960s and 1970s. They conducted prayers and meditated in individual households via groups they formed in the community. Talks of the need of a temple started in 1983 by four major Hindu Bhakti groups in Edmonton at the time, Shree Sanatan Dharam Ramayan Society, Edmonton Geeta Ramayan Congregation, Edmonton Vedic Congregation and later joined by Edmonton Prem Society, the group founded the Sanatan Board and raised funds to buy a property for the temple. It became the first Fijian Hindu cultural society in all of Canada, and till date is the largest. It started as a small place of worship in the Balwin residential area, constructed out of an old Church building. Since then it has been renovated 2 times, first adding a basement, then in 2006 expanded further making it the second largest Hindu temple in Edmonton.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Fiji Sanatan Society of Alberta (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Fiji Sanatan Society of Alberta
127 Avenue NW, Edmonton Northern Mature Area

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Latitude Longitude
N 53.5847 ° E -113.447 °
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127 Avenue NW 6817
T5B 0J5 Edmonton, Northern Mature Area
Alberta, Canada
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Fiji Sanatan Society of Alberta, Vishnu Mandir
Fiji Sanatan Society of Alberta, Vishnu Mandir
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Transit Hotel (Edmonton)

The Transit Hotel, also known as The Transit, was a hotel and tavern in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was located at the intersection of 66th street and Fort Road, in the northeast part of the city. Opened on September 11, 1908, the Transit was strategically placed as the first or last stop for travellers between Edmonton and Fort Saskatchewan, and for its proximity to the recently built J.Y. Griffin slaughterhouse (later Swift's Packing Plant). The hotel included many modern conveniences, including hot and cold water, bathrooms on the top floor, and electric lighting. From the Edmonton Journal: "The hotel and the land that surrounds it have undergone many changes over the years. The hitching posts that surrounded the hotel are long gone, as are the packing plants and stockyards. Asphalt has replaced the dirt roads farmers once brought their pigs, sheep and cattle in on for slaughter. The Belvedere LRT station now sits on land where once there was a hatchery. Even the community known as Packingtown no longer exists. The area was incorporated as the Village of North Edmonton in 1910 and annexed by the city in 1912. Little remains of the hotel's original interior and exterior, although the current owners, Bob and Pauline Ruzycki, have spent a lot of time and money restoring the front facade to its original boom-town architecture, complete with a second-floor veranda, elaborate parapet and finialed roof line. The hotel was run down when they purchased it in December 1986."It closed permanently in June 2017. It was announced in early July 2020 that the new owners of the Transit Hotel, David Egan and Ray Pritlove would be reopening it as the Transit Smokehouse & BBQ.

Edmonton Gardens

The Edmonton Gardens was the first indoor hockey arena built in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was originally built as Edmonton Stock Pavilion in 1913, and held 5,200 spectators after its 1966 renovations. It was home to the World Hockey Association's Edmonton Oilers from 1972 to 1974. The Oilers moved to the brand new Northlands Coliseum after the 1973–74 season. In addition to the Oilers, the Edmonton Oil Kings, Edmonton Eskimos hockey team, and Edmonton Flyers played their home games at Edmonton Gardens. It held a wide variety of events, including hockey, curling, basketball, boxing, figure skating, circuses, rodeos, bingo nights, car shows, conventions, horse shows, and bull sales.The arena was built at the fairgrounds in order to be away from the city, thus allowing it to also be used as a livestock pavilion, alongside the stables and horse race track. The opening ceremonies were held on Christmas Day 1913, exactly 19 years after Edmonton's first hockey game, featuring a hockey game between two Stanley Cup finalists, the Edmonton Eskimos and the Edmonton Dominions, which over 2,000 fans attended. Their previous arena, Thistle Rink, had just burnt down that year. The Dominion's forward Russell "Barney" Stanley would become a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and the arena would be home to other Stanley Cup finalist teams, Memorial Cup teams, and three Memorial Cups. It was the only home of the Edmonton Flyers (1939–51). The Gardens got the nickname "The Cow Barn" from attendants emphasizing its use for agriculture exhibitions, in particular for livestock shows. It also was notorious for bad sight lines and uncomfortable seats. The girders, that were also in the way of spectators, dripped water onto the ice/play surface creating mounds during play. By the 1960s, it was often criticized as being a fire hazard. A $60,000 improvement in 1963 did little to improve its safety, leading to having seven Edmonton Fire Department firefighters stationed at each event. Media increasingly called it a dirty, obsolete, and rickety building, and an April 15, 1966 Edmonton Journal article called Edmonton Gardens "a disaster waiting to happen. The old house, with its obsolete lighting fixtures, oily wooden floors, and sordid washrooms, is an eyesore to hockey fans." The following month, the city fire chief condemned it, and ordered it closed as a fire hazard. That summer saw a $670,000 renovation that gutted the interior, and replaced the steel girders with 8-inch (200 mm) columns at 45°. The wooden bleachers were replaced with a fireproof concrete grandstand, and reduced the seating capacity to 5,200.The Oilers and Oil Kings moved across 118 Avenue to Northlands Coliseum, in 1974. Demolition of the Gardens began January 20, 1982, but quickly disproved the moniker "accident waiting to happen." "Firstly, they stuffed it with 50 kilograms of dynamite, then, they used a bulldozer, but still the grand old lady of Edmonton sports wouldn't budge," one story reported. "Gardens won't go boom," the headline read, recounting two days of the crew drilling holes into the walls and supports, and then cramming in 320 sticks of dynamite. An Edmonton Journal article on February 25, 1982, read "Gardens 2 TNT 0. A second try at demolishing what's left of the Edmonton Gardens ended with a wham, a puff of dust and peals of laughter. The building stood in mock defiance amid hoots of glee from the gallery (of onlookers)." Northlands Park elected to finish the demolition with a wrecking ball. Another arena, Hall D of the Edmonton Expo Centre, currently occupies the site.