Heritage Issues

[UofC.engineer]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

Did you read the article? The problem doesn't really have anything to do with the stack, it's that it's a legally protected historic site, and if that can be stripped at will due to the item being inconvenient to the owner, that argument could easily be applied to every protected site in the city. It could destroy legal protection in Calgary.

I've got a stupid question.

How does one get a structure historically protected? And who decides?

I find it odd that the smokestack is historically protected but the sandstone buildings at the Inglewood Brewery are not.

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by UofC.engineer

I've got a stupid question.

How does one get a structure historically protected? And who decides?

I find it odd that the smokestack is historically protected but the sandstone buildings at the Inglewood Brewery are not.

In general in Alberta, a site is not legally protected unless the owner volunteers to do so.

Both the Province, and the City have the option to do so against the owners wishes.

The Province does not need to compensate if they do, although they rarely go this route, mainly for political reasons in my opinion. I believe they have only done this twice in the history of the Heritage Act, the Rossdale Power Plant in Edmonton, and the St Patrick's Roman Catholic church in Midnapore in Calgary.

The City does need to compensate if they do, so they rarely if ever do, both for political and also financial reasons.

As for the brewery, the Alberta Culture people did order the owner to hire someone to do a historic evaluation of the site, and from the data I have read in the resulting report (which is *not* public, which is a huge problem), the report was far more concerned with "marketability" of the buildings than historic value, in my personal opinion. The Alberta Culture people would have given a recommendation to the minister, but that also is not public, which is also a problem.

It is also my personal opinion that the PC government probably would have looked at forced designation as contrary to conservative ideals of property rights and support of business, therefore ministerial approval for it would be rare.

So the tools are imperfect, and the political will is typically lacking to use the tools we do have.

That said, I think designation over an owners wishes is a last resort and a bit of a failure.

I should add, for the city to designate the site needs to be on the city's inventory of historic resources, so you can't just ask the city to designate your 100 yr old house, it has to be evaluated for historic value first to get on the inventory.

Lastly, in other provinces typically compensation is not required, and forced designation is not so rare.

[Trans Canada]

How is it that an 1886 structure does not have historical protection, but a 1947 one does?

I hate to be "that guy", but I don't see much historical value in the 1947 smokestack. It does not date from the pioneering lumber town days of Eau Claire lumber barons and the 1886 Cafe.

The argument that it lacks its original context is funny. Here is the original context, in 1948:


Crop from http://contentdm.ucalgary.ca/cdm/ref...otos2/id/37466
Full set of 1948 aerials: http://airphotos.ucalgary.ca/map.php?m=82_O_10_1949.kml

Unfortunately the historic 1947 white warehouse-looking structure was later tarnished with a white warehouse-looking addition. Here it is, photo 1982:


Crop from https://flic.kr/p/e6wnqe by photos by Bob V on Flickr

SurrealPlaces clearly understood the historic significance and captured this photo in 1986:


Crop from Calgary 1986 by Surrealplaces, on Flickr

Strangely, when the Eau Claire Market was developed, only the nice Stampitecture-red smokestack was saved. I bet preserving the historic smokestack had more to do with the marketing of Eau Claire Market than anything else.


That said, the idea of removing historical designation, on principle, is a serious concern:

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

The problem doesn't really have anything to do with the stack, it's that it's a legally protected historic site, and if that can be stripped at will due to the item being inconvenient to the owner, that argument could easily be applied to every protected site in the city. It could destroy legal protection in Calgary.

[UofC.engineer]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

Here is the latest on the Calgary (Inglewood) Brewery site

(1972 photo is an inset of photos NA-4476-1017 & NA-4476-1025 from the Glenbow Museum)

Color coded as follows: (Yellow and green 'footprints' are 1980s buildings not shown in this 1972 aerial)

GREEN - Concrete plans to retain
YELLOW - Has verbally indicated plans to retain, but no current plans
ORANGE - No plans verbally or otherwise to retain
RED - Plans to demolish, includes most of the 1890s-19-teens portions of the brewery, and most of the sandstone portions of the brewery. The province ordered an assessment for most of the red area, but has decided to not proceed with any protection, except..
PURPLE - Province has asked the owner for more info on this portion, may still allow demolition

1972 aerials used because since then some buildings have been obscured with newer ones or with metal siding.

Current plans for the red zone south of the green zone (2 1905 sandstone buildings) is a parking lot.

Does anyone know what the status of the Inglewood Brewery is? Is Zyn still going ahead with demolition?

[DizzyEdge]

Zyn is or has moved into the Torode project further west on 9th is what I heard. The signage at the brewery has been modified to remove Zyn's name. No signs of actual movement though.

[UofC.engineer]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

Zyn is or has moved into the Torode project further west on 9th is what I heard. The signage at the brewery has been modified to remove Zyn's name. No signs of actual movement though.

Thanks for the info! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this one. The site has great potential to be something incredible for Inglewood and Calgary as a whole.

[artvandelay]

Is the building that once housed the aquarium still standing?

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by artvandelay

Is the building that once housed the aquarium still standing?

Yes that's where Zyn is/was, housed the aquarium/horseman's hall of fame

https://www.google.ca/maps/@51.03791...7i13312!8i6656

[DizzyEdge]

Peter Van Loan, Conservative MP for York-Simcoe has tabled Bill C-323, which looks to amend the Income Tax Act to establish a tax credit for expenses related to the rehabilitation of a historic property. It also establishes a tax deduction for the capital cost of property used in the course of such a rehabilitation.

Mr Van Loan's comments:

This bill creates a tax credit for the rehabilitation of historic buildings in Canada. It is designed to help those who invest in our cultural heritage.

It is a meaningful measure to strengthen heritage infrastructure. By maintaining historic buildings and undertaking costly heritage renovations, citizens undertake a considerable private burden from which we all benefit through the preservation of our past and the places that have made our country. This bill seeks, in a small way, to provide some support for them for the considerable investment they make on behalf of all of us.

With the 150th anniversary of Confederation nearing, this bill is an opportunity for all members of the House to show their support for preserving Canada's built heritage. These changes will help save our most important historical structures for our children and grandchildren to enjoy for generations to come.

http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublicati...&DocId=8657960

[MalcolmTucker]

Personally I don't want money transferred from middle class people to pay for millionaires to upkeep their grand old houses.

[DizzyEdge]

I posted this in another thread,

Inner city, streetcar suburbs and early automobile suburbs
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=226171

and thought some might be interested here
----------------

This is very rough, but it shows you modern community boundaries of neighbourhoods which were all or partially filled out in a 1948 aerial map of Calgary, plus a 1945 street car map overlaid. The street car service ended in 1950.

Note: the line heading NW is heading to the separate villages of Montgomery and Bowness, and the line heading SE is heading to the housing development adjacent to the CPR Ogden Shops. Albert Park and Forest Lawn were separate municipalities from Calgary at this time as well.

Windsor Park to the south is probably one of the first '1950's style car suburbs'

[UofC.engineer]

Thanks for posting that map!

I wonder how differently Calgary's inner city would have developed if we kept the streetcars like Toronto did.

[outoftheice]

William Aberhart's former church demolished at Calgary Stampede grounds
Building on Olympic Way was full of mould and had no heritage designation

A church with ties to former Alberta premier William Aberhart has been removed from the Stampede grounds.

The Westbourne Baptist Church on Olympic Way southeast is where Aberhart began delivering Sunday sermons in the 1910s, which became so popular that he rented the Palace Theatre and had them broadcast on radio across the province.

Aberhart went on to found the Social Credit Party and became the seventh premier of the province, serving from 1935 until his death in 1943. 
Debris from the historic church was loaded up and hauled away Tuesday.
There had been a plan to move the circa-1910 building to the Stampede's new youth campus, a short distance away.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...lish-1.4149145

I know there was no heritage designation for this building but I was really disappointed to here that it had been torn down. I hadn't realized it was meant to be moved to the youth campus as personally I was hoping that it would be incorporated into the Stampede Trail development as a unique bar/pub space or something. Fingers crossed that the Enoch Sales House down the street doesn't meet a similar fate. CMLC has been so good at preserving heritage buildings in the East Village but they seem to have dropped the ball lately.

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by outoftheice

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...lish-1.4149145

I know there was no heritage designation for this building but I was really disappointed to here that it had been torn down. I hadn't realized it was meant to be moved to the youth campus as personally I was hoping that it would be incorporated into the Stampede Trail development as a unique bar/pub space or something.

While some emotional connections to buildings such as churches, this structure had very, very little architectural merit. Would have been a real shoe-horn for a pub (which would be ironic for a church I think, though not unheard of) and would have cost a tonne. In this instance, am happy with the decision.

[UofC.engineer]

Originally Posted by suburbia

While some emotional connections to buildings such as churches, this structure had very, very little architectural merit. Would have been a real shoe-horn for a pub (which would be ironic for a church I think, though not unheard of) and would have cost a tonne. In this instance, am happy with the decision.

How do you know?


Yeah, it would have made a great pub

[Corndogger]

Very interesting video on the last houses still standing in downtown Calgary. I didn't know where to post it so hopefully this is okay.

• Video Link

[DizzyEdge]

Very cool! I knew of all of those houses but not the history of them.

[DoubleK]

That's pretty darn cool. Thanks for sharing, Corn.

[DizzyEdge]

This was from about 6 weeks ago, but I'm curious what people think of this:

Southwest library renamed after $1.5M donation from Giuffre family
Zach LaingZACH LAING

More from Zach Laing
Published on: March 24, 2018 | Last Updated: March 25, 2018 6:18 PM MDT

The Calgary Public Library has renamed one of its branches in honour of a $1.5-million donation from a local family.

What was formerly the Alexander Calhoun Library in southwest Calgary is now the Giuffre Family Library, following the family’s generous gift, announced Saturday.

“The Giuffre family has deep roots in the community and we are delighted to honour them with this library naming,” said Janet Hutchinson, chair of the Calgary Public Library Board.

“Their investment will support free access to collections, programming and services across the city that will transform the lives of generations of Calgarians.”

The library, at 3223 14th Street S.W., was originally named after Alexander Calhoun, Calgary’s first chief librarian and the library’s longest-serving CEO.

more at... http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-...llion-donation

--------------

How Calgary's 'revolutionary' first librarian shaped the city
Alexander Calhoun's namesake library was renamed last weekend after family's donation
Rachel Ward · CBC News · Posted: Mar 30, 2018 6:00 AM MT | Last Updated: March 31

It's not often that librarians get called "revolutionaries," but Alexander Calhoun is one.

He was Calgary's first librarian, and his work shaped the civil society of our city. That's one of the reasons a library was named in his honour.

Last weekend, that library — the Alexander Calhoun Library at 3223 14th St. S.W. — was renamed the Giuffre Family Library, after a local family who donated $1.5 million to refresh the aging site.

The Calgary Public Library says it wants to continue to honour Calhoun, but it's not yet sure what it will do.

And that's a good excuse to look at the life of Alexander Calhoun, who in 1911 put his mark on the city.

"All the stuff he was doing are the kinds of things we're doing right now," says Calgary Public Library CEO Bill Ptacek.

Opening up libraries

It was 1911, and Calgary didn't even have a proper library yet. The city was still a rough and tumble place in those days, a prairie town with dusty roads and horse carriages. But some had hopes for adding culture.

But first, they needed to secure a librarian. The library board posted the job.

Calhoun, who was born in 1879 in Fenelon Falls, Ont., to Irish immigrant parents, saw the posting. He had graduated from Queen's University, and was looking for work.

He applied. And then was met with silence.

And so, he wrote again — again applying for the job, and this time asking to see the plans for the yet-to-be-built library.

Still silence from the library board. And so Calhoun increased the pressure. He wrote a third time basically saying, never mind, he was moving to Vancouver instead.

This time the library board responded — offering him the job. That persistence and bluntness earned Calhoun a reputation.

Read more in Calgary's Road Ahead series
When Calgary's first public library, Memorial Park, opened in 1912, he was unimpressed with the neighbourhood. He called the adjacent green space "an unsightly wilderness of sand and scrub."

So Calhoun decided to join the city's planning commission, and helped get the park formally landscaped in the late Victorian tradition.

"He was really responsible for a lot of the open spaces in Calgary," Ptacek said. "We're really proud to have Alexander Calhoun as kind of the patriarch, if you will, of the Calgary Public Library."

And it was within the library that Calhoun really began to help shape the community, and its people.

At that time, libraries were intended for adults, and had shelves stocked with classic works of literature. Calhoun had a different vision for what a library should be, and brought in a variety of books, including textbooks and technical manuals. He also used the library to start adult education programs in humanities and social sciences. Key to opening libraries to all, he made sure it was free.

CEO of the Calgary Public Library Bill Ptacek tells us about the city's first librarian and why the Alexander Calhoun Library is renamed the Giuffre Family Library. 5:36
Calhoun took a leave to serve in the First World War, but was soon back in town, and again wanted to make changes.

"At the time, it was revolutionary but he opened the library to kids. I mean, kids were not really welcome in libraries," Ptacek said. "He not only started children's services but he hired and trained children's librarians."

As well, this free library took on an important role during the Great Depression — when it served as a hub for the community, and allowed Calgary's early citizens a path to better their opportunities through education.

more at.. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...houn-1.4594903

And lastly

https://www.pressreader.com/canada/c...81479276971746

PUTTING A PRICE ON OUR PAST
City may allow facilities to be renamed
Calgary Herald31 Mar 2018MEGHAN POTKINS

Some familiar names attached to Calgary pools, arenas and recreation centres could be dropped and swapped for new ones as city hall explores ways of offsetting the cost of recreation facilities with the sale of naming rights and sponsorships.

The city is considering hiring consultants to assess the value of naming rights and sponsorship opportunities associated with a host of recreation properties, from aquatics and fitness centres to golf courses and arenas, according to municipal bid documents.

Coun. Sean Chu said the sale of naming rights is about “going forward” as a city, adding that historical figures can still be honoured with on-site plaques and other tributes. He said he believes the city should allow more private donors and corporations to contribute to local projects.

“Why not name everything?” Chu asked. “You want to put your name on the street? Well, if you pay enough you should be able to do it.

more at
https://www.pressreader.com/canada/c...81479276971746

Thoughts?

Note, I noticed that the $1.5 million donation, while very generous, is about 3% of the CPL annual revenue, so about 1.5 weeks worth.

[Corndogger]

This is some amazing footage of Calgary from between 1976 to 1981. Just about everything is different now. When you've lived here your entire live you tend to forgot just how different.

• Video Link