Then real estate appraiser Frank Bowen bought the property one of Edmontons most significant residential buildings from the citys first boom of the 20th century and began a bold resuscitation. Today it contains 14 condominium apartments and has helped propel a revitalization of the community it has called home since 1914.

The Hecla is a story not only of an early 20th century Edmonton apartment block, but also the man who constructed it. John Johnson was an immigrant from Skagafirde, Iceland and when he built his block, he named it with his homeland in mind. Mount Hecla is Icelands largest and best-known volcano and in Icelandic, Hecla means cape.

Johnson and hundreds of other Icelanders emigrated to Canada in the last three decades of the 19th century, fleeing political upheaval, catastrophic weather and volcanic eruptions. Johnson arrived in Canada with his family in 1876, and settled in Gimli, Manitoba, which was Canada's largest Icelandic community and part of what was then the Republic of New Iceland. He drifted west to Markerville, Alberta and arrived in Edmonton in 1902, establishing himself as a builder in the rapidly expanding town.

Information from the Edmonton Planning and Development department reveals Johnson acquired two lots from labourer Stefan Nivezez in October 1906 for $2,025. The lots -- subdivided as five and six of the former River Lot 16 -- were located at the northeast corner of 95 Street, which was surveyed as Boundary Avenue, but first known as Syndicate Avenue, and 101A Avenue, originally called Stewart Street.

Back in those days, the heart of downtown was 97th Street and Jasper and so the neighbourhood just east was prime residential real estate. Johnson erected a house on each lot but, with Edmontons population surging ever upward and prices heading skyward, he decided to replace them with an apartment building. The local firm of Hardie and Martland - Building Designers and Structural Engineers - were commissioned to design the building. The partners had just finished work on the Sacred Heart Church (1913), which still stands at 96th Street and 108th Avenue.

David Hardie had previously designed the John C. McDougall Residence (1912), the Tyrone Apartments and The Armstrong Block (1912). John Martland was to go on to become the municipal architect for the City of Edmonton in 1919, a position he held for 18 years, and president of the Alberta Association of Architects.

Hardie and Martland's working drawings of the Hecla Block -- copies of which survive in the City of Edmonton Archives -- are dated April 1914. The blueprints provide evidence that the structures origins, bearing an Icelandic flag and the name Hecla. Application for a building permit at what is now 10141 95th Street was made on May 29, 1914, and the permit for work valued at $40,000 was issued the same day.

Their design, which tends towards Edwardian Classicism or classic revival, called for reinforced concrete foundation topped by brick walls and a wood frame structure supported by steel columns and beams. Even today, after standing 90 years and surviving a fire, the Block exudes character. Its double facades are topped with a parapet that contains the inscription Hecla Block and it boasts rounded pediments, tapestry brick facing, ornamental keystones over windows and stone accents.

The Hecla was constructed to house working class residents, but that doesnt mean the place didnt have its own elegance. Tile work in the foyer under the arched front entrance contained the name Hecla inlaid and there were brass and glass vestibule doors, a skylight over the stairwell and brass door plates.

Behind the facades were 21 suites on three storeys, most of them containing a living room, a bedroom, a kitchen, a small closet, and a lavatory with a toilet and sink. Two common bathtubs and one shower were accessed from the corridor on each floor. A series of light and ventilation shafts served the washrooms and bathrooms. To accommodate the oblique angle between the two streets, the building was shaped somewhat like a slanted letter J and many rooms were trapezoidal in shape.

Construction proceeded quickly and by 1915 tenants had moved into the new tenement. A report prepared by Edmonton Planning and Development notes that the Hecla Block belongs to Edmonton's first generation of apartment buildings. A number of apartment blocks were built in the period prior to World War I; the best known of these, the LeMarchand Mansion (1911) and the Arlington (1909), had relatively large rooms and catered to the city's middle and upper-middle classes. At the same time, apartment blocks such as the Hecla were being erected for working-class residents in the east-central portion of the City.

They included The Tremont, built a year before the Hecla just across the street, and Johnson's Riverview Apartments, adjacent to The Tremont. As the report notes, the Hecla Block is significant for being one of relatively few purpose-built blue-collar apartment buildings still standing adjacent to the city core.

A report compiled by Alberta Culture reflected that, The red textured low-fired brick exterior material gives a sense of warmth and solidity. The brick is highlighted by buff stone trim in the flat arches over the window heads, at the corners as quoins, in string courses above the second and third storeys, and in diamond-shaped panels between the second-floor windows.

But the good times were not to last. In 1924 the bank foreclosed and Johnson lost control of the Hecla Block. Two years later, Edmonton Lands Company Ltd., owned by Realtor brothers Lewis and Roy Weber, purchased the building for $55,000. The building subsequently changed hands many times. John Johnson, the Norseman who made the building a reality, died in 1949 at the ripe old age of 89.

The 1994 fire caused damage estimated at $200,000, virtually gutting the interior. When work began in 1999 to convert the building to condos, the construction team hired by Frank Bowen needed to repair many of the bricks damaged by the tremendous heat of the fire, fuelled by the tar roof.

The upscale condos include a trio of third floor units with rooftop decks, accessed by spiral staircases, and three on the main floor that include basement levels. I wanted to build something that moved the community up and do something great for a great old building, he explains.

The citys heritage program provided $135,000 to help restore the facade. In recognition of its historical significance, the Hecla Block was declared a Municipal Historic Resource in 1999.

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