Series 2 - G. W. Golden Construction Ltd.

• Textual record
• Architectural drawing
• Graphic material - photograph

121 architectural drawings. – 10 cm of textual material. – 52 photographs

This series reflects the long career James M. Stephens had with G.W. Golden Construction Ltd. The years that Stephens was with Golden Construction were a time of boom and growth for Edmonton; oil had been discovered, the second world war ended seeing the return of many soldiers to Canadian cities, and home and commercial construction was in demand. It was in this era that James Stephens was employed to draft and design “Golden Homes”, and the Company built homes all around the City of Edmonton.

Included in this series are files detailing advertising, costs, and plot plans of neighborhoods Golden Construction developed. The photographs in this series are primarily of homes designed and built by the Company, and used for promotion and advertising. A female model was hired to pose at one of the homes, and the interior pictures show homes fully furnished and decorated. There is a photograph of G.W. Golden executive, including James Stephens, sitting together at a restaurant table in Phoenix, Arizona.

Oversize architectural drawings comprise the largest component of this series. To establish order, the plans were separated into plot plans, residential plans, and commercial plans. Within the proposed residential plans, further division was based on chronology. Where possible information on client name and location was noted. However, most of these plans were in the tract housing style, where similar designs were made and the client could pick their design and their lot, and plans were not drawn for each house developed. As such, details about the type of house design – one story, two story, split or bi-level, rectangular, l-, h-, or u-shape was noted to distinguish the plans one from the other.