104 Street Vibrant and electic block in Edmonton

It is said to be the "Vibrant and eclectic block in downtown Edmonton"  104th Street between Jasper and 102 Avenue is one of the most trendy and expanding areas in our city. The Street's have changed drastically from empty parking lots and random warehouses to the prime of all of Edmonton. You can find a variety of shops, cafes, and of course century old buildings like the Philips Lofts that go back all the way to the 70's. ( A little bit of Edmonton history for you ). 15 years ago you could say the street was the opposite of how we see it today; mainly because of the Cecil Hotel which was attracting a lot of negative attention. It was said to be a very unpleasant area of downtown with a lot of day drinking and fighting on the streets in broad day light. 

It's a good thing the city decided to invest in the old  buildings and re build it's reputation because this is definitely one of my favourite areas in our city ! On Saturday mornings you can wake up early and head down to the outdoor farmers market and enjoy the unique variety of  shops. I just discovered the boutique 29 Armstrong it features amazing interior design pieces, I was blown away at all the high end furniture. Another one of my favourites is the DeVines and Spirits you can find German and Portugese vintages that are very rare and quite difficult to get your hands on! When I went in the shop I could not seem to decide which wine to choose - lucky for me they have free tastings on Saturday's . I also recently learnt about a new favourite hang out of my daughter's is Mercer Tavern , which recently went through renovations and is now one of Edmonton's most popular hang outs in all of downtown. It's a pub, work space and coffee shop all in one. It's amazing to see how entrepreneurial the individuals are in our city and how much are lovely city is expanding!   What do you love most about Downtown Edmonton???

Hope everyone is having a lovely Tuesday- check out the blog tomorrow for some high rises on the rise =) 

- Kristina Bee