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Little more than a frontier town at the turn of the last century, Calgary has grown from a North-West Mounted Police outpost of 4,000 pioneers, traders, and prospectors, into a modern-day metropolis more than 1,000,000 strong, today having become Canada's third-largest city after Toronto and Montreal. Though it is not a particularly historic city, at least by European or even Canadian standards, what was once known as the Sandstone City does retain its fair share of heritage structures, tucked amid the present day streetscapes of Calgary's modern urban centre. This edition of Cityscape will take readers on a stroll through the city's living history, exploring the hidden heritage gems which await the curious urban explorer, defying the shopworn notion of Calgary as a city lacking a past.
Founded in 1875, seven years after Confederation, in what was then the Northwest Territories, Fort Calgary was created as a North-West Mounted Police outpost whose officers were largely responsible for protecting against American rum-runners and policing the local fur trade. Following the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1883, what was by then known simply as Calgary began to grow exponentially. The availability of cheap land (up to 100,000 acres leased from the Dominion for just 1 cent per year), followed by the 1902 discovery of oil, led to a period of mass immigration between the 1880s and 1910s.
Before long, Calgary had become a bustling Prairie boomtown, with a population that had grown to roughly 50,000 by the time of the First World War. Following the Calgary Fire of 1886, in which a grand total of 14 buildings in the tiny frontier town were destroyed, the City of Calgary began to build with stone and masonry (by order of a city building code by-law), which would not burn as readily as their wooden predecessors had. It was not long before Calgary had become an established city in its own right, with its grand Victorian- and Edwardian-Era public buildings, banks, churches, schools, and department stores, made of locally sources Paskapoo sandstone and endowing Calgary with its well-deserved moniker of Sandstone City.
Among the best examples of Calgary's historic sandstone architecture from this period is Calgary City Hall, constructed between 1907-11 and designed in the Romanesque Revival style by Regina architect William M. Dodd. It was built almost entirely of sandstone, and remains to this day as one of the city's most high profile heritage structures. Built for $300,000 CAD, Calgary City Hall was criticized at the time for its extravagance, and threatened with demolition for the bulk of its early existence through to the 1950s.
Another pivotal structure in Calgary's early history, the Calgary Grain Exchange was built in 1909 for $164,000 by businessman brothers William Roper Hull and John Roper Hull. It was also constructed of sandstone, and the imposing six-storey building takes up an entire city block in the heart of downtown Calgary. Featuring fine craftsmanship inside and out, the well-designed building has remained a prime example of Calgary's Sandstone City heritage, its handsome street presence having served the city well for more than a century. Today among the few examples of the Hull Brothers' architectural impact on the city, since their Opera House and other buildings of importance are long gone, the Calgary Grain Exchange's survival marks a rare triumph within a city, like so many across Canada, that has been no stranger to the impact of urban renewal.
Of course, the history of Calgary would not be complete without mentioning its downtown Hudson's Bay flagship store, which along with Eaton's was the gold standard in Canadian retail for the majority of the 20th century.
Calgary's downtown Hudson's Bay Store, completed in 1913, is truly a sight to behold. The building is clad almost entirely in cream-glazed terracotta, and brought down to street level via the elegant 1929 addition of a pedestrian colonnade built of imported Quebec granite, which runs the entire length of the building, shielding shoppers and passersby from the elements.
A wealthy city in its heyday, Calgary has long captured the imaginations of immigrants and Canadian ex-pats from the East and West, of businessmen and oil tycoons, of land owners and traders, who have been an integral part of the city's rise right from the very beginning. Moving outwards from the city centre to the original streetcar suburbs of early 20th century Calgary, many of the homes and neighbourhoods of the city's first generations of wealthy residents can be found.
Known originally as "American Hill," in reference to the neighbourhood's large contingent of wealthy American industrialists, what is today known as Mount Royal (split locally into Upper and Lower Mount Royal), is home to some of Calgary's most expensive real estate. The area's many grand historic homes, dating to the turn of the last century, are a major draw for those in the market for a multi-million dollar home within an easy commute to downtown. Located just south of the downtown core along a corridor which would have at one time been well-served by Calgary's long-gone streetcar network, Mount Royal, along with the adjacent Britannia district, are among the toniest addresses within the core.
Several commentators have lamented the hastened pace of demolitions in the area, which often lead to the creation of what are typically derided as "monstrosities." But recent stricter heritage regulations along with an overall heightened awareness of the importance of architectural heritage have culminated in the revival and restoration, rather than the matter-of-course replacement, of many of Mount Royal and other similar heritage district's historic homes.
Not exclusively an enclave for stately single-family estates, Mount Royal is also home to the Anderson Estates apartment block, a meticulously restored Edwardian-Era building which has been converted into condos. Featuring exquisite original period details and hardware, right down to the claw-foot tubs and built-ins, Anderson Estates offers residents a beautiful home in a beautiful neighbourhood, just steps to the shopping, dining, and nightlife of nearby Seventeenth Avenue, which itself has become a prime entertainment district just outside of the core.
Largely hidden from view, at least to the casual observer or short-term visitor to the city, Calgary's built heritage offers not only a glimpse into the past, but of the city's historic sense of ambition.
Tucked away beneath a canopy of modern skyscrapers, and outside of the core, lost amid a sea of unbridled urban sprawl, the historic gems to be found within Canada's third-largest city help set Calgary's urban tone and character, anchoring its sense of self and storied past, one building at a time.
Cityscape will return soon with a new installment, and in the meantime, SkyriseCities welcomes new suggestions for additional cities and styles to cover in the weeks to come. Got an idea for the next issue? Let us know!
