On Friday, I decided to avail myself of one of the free Historic Calgary events going on around town.  Historic Calgary Week is a Very Big Deal, or maybe it just seems that way because we live in a rather historical part of the city.  A week and a half ago, we noticed some interesting banners and informational signs going up in many of the yards around the neighborhood, and later found out that these homes were taking part in the historic walking tour. 

I’ve been reading about local history, and I’ve read a lot about the “Founding Four”, the “Famous Five”, the “Group of Seven” (I sense a theme).  These were the wealthy landowners, the oil barons, the wives of businessmen, politicians, and newspapermen.  Understandably, the voices of regular Calgarians are not well-represented.  The walking tour gives people a chance to see their homes, and read a little bit about them (our street had several Italian families living on it in the early 1900s, one of whom owned a butcher’s shop nearby).  A house in the street over was owned by a dentist, others owned by railway employees.  Some stayed their whole lives, and some moved on during the tough economic times of the 19-teens.  

To make a long story short (and here I notice that the auto-correct in my word processing program has observed I’ve used a cliche*, to which I would like to respond, “Phttt!”), I love history I can touch and Historic Calgary Week hits me where I live.  Also, the Chinook Historical Society may be perhaps the most terrifyingly efficient volunteer organization I have ever come across, as they successfully orchestrated more than sixty events over seven days, up and down the entire Bow River valley.  There was one volunteer (I think her name was Dolores?) who must have been using teleportation technology because I saw her everywhere.  

The second City Hall, front, used
while the sandstone hall was
being built (pre-1906).

The tour I went on was of the old City Hall.  Originally, when Calgary was still just Fort Calgary, and the population was quite small, the town council met in a pool hall, whenever there was the need.  As the town grew, the pool hall was replaced with a shed-like structure, and the council met in a room a floor above where the RCMP kept their prison cells.  The town kept growing, and finally in 1906 they began construction of a “proper” city hall.  A city hall, I discovered, that was of the same template used in prairie towns across Canada during the period.  

According to our guide, you
can clearly see the style of the
building by the shape of the
windows and angle of the roof.

“The hall was designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, and is constructed from local Paskapoo sandstone,” said the guide. The sentence tickled me, so I copied it onto the back of the historical society’s brochure.  I’ve accidentally memorized it now so I sincerely hope the topic comes up again.  I have other facts rattling around, too: William Dodd was the architect and was fired for being over budget, the hall remained unfinished for four years, the Calgary seal carved over the front door has the wrong date (1882 instead of 1884) for the establishment of the city, and that the building is weathering in that peculiar way sandstone does - in large flakes of stone, rather like the sloughing-off of skin.

The rest of the tour was mildly interesting, but in the 1990’s they gutted and renovated the inside.  They have administration offices and meeting rooms in it, so it’s understandable, but that doesn’t make for a riveting tour.  We did get to watch a video about the clock tower (which you can watch here, if you’re interested), featuring a very endearing fellow explaining how they fixed it and how it works.

On the SW side of Olympic Plaza.
Two of the 'Famous Five': Nellie
McClung (left), and Irene Parlby
with the headline, "Women Are
Persons!", a decision that made
women eligible to serve in elected
offices.

Across the street from City Hall is Olympic Plaza and the historic Stephen Avenue.  Stephen Avenue is fun because during the day it is a pedestrian-only street, which means I can walk and ogle old buildings without being hit by cars.  

Exterior Burns Building. The
wrought iron verandah used to
contain panes of glass.

The Burns Building is kitty-corner from where I was, so I went over to check it out.  Books I’d read about Calgary history had huge entries on Pat Burns, one of the “Founding Four”.  He’d started out as a rancher, and built one of the largest beef business in Alberta - ‘Pat Burns’ Shamrock Brand’.  The Burns building became his downtown store - massive marble counters lined either side of a wide aisle, set between tall Greek columns.  The walls featured huge glass windows to let daylight in, and elegant chandeliers for light during the winter months.  Fancy stuff for a butchers shop!  

Well, they still have the fancy-
pants marble stairs.  And
tiny floor tiles.

Time marches on, however, and the inside of the ground floor - what used to be the meat market - has been cordoned off into sad, cramped little sections.  The corner was a tiny coffee shop, with more baristas than customers, all of whom were having a spirited discussion about sci-fi tropes.  Next door was a fast-food falafel joint.  I think there's a high-class restaurant on the south side of the building, too.  

Watching the Olympics on Stephen Ave, at lunch.

The Olympics are a big deal, but in a different way than I’ve seen in the States or in Australia.  I haven’t picked up any feeling of pervasive self-confidence that Canada Is Going To Win All The Medals, for one thing.  As one Canadian comedian commented, the Summer Olympics aren’t really their thing.  That hasn’t slowed the interest, though.  In pubs, the TVs are all turned to Olympic coverage and all the patrons remained riveted to the screens.  Walking through Eau Clair Market (a kind of mini-mall) this weekend, the lounge area was filled to standing-room only as Calgarians trickled in to watch the Canada/US Women’s Soccer match.  On Stephen Avenue, they’ve set up a massive screen.  It was lunch time when I walked up the avenue, and it was remarkable to see people emerging from offices, shops, and restaurants to eat their meals standing in the street so they could watch.  I glanced up to the +15 (the level of above-ground walkways that connect many of the buildings downtown - particularly handy during -40 temps, I’ll bet), and saw more businesspeople looking down from there, sandwiches in hand.

Continuing south, I walked past the Canada Pacific Railway and under the tracks.  I'd heard that there was a Carnegie Library in town, still operational, and I wanted to check it out.  Eventually, I found it in Memorial Park. One interesting fact about the library: a ladies' literary society originally pushed the idea of Calgary having a public library, and petitioned for a Carnegie grant to build it.  They ran into opposition from many Calgarians, however.  They disliked taking money from a man who'd made it from "slave labor" (a quick Wiki search suggests they may have been referring to the Homestead Strike in 1892, and the practice of hiring non-union immigrants?  Maybe?).  Eventually the library was built and dedicated in 1911.  I loved the architectural details, particularly along the roof.  

Was this a neo-classical style building,
built from Paskapoo sandstone?
Where was the tour guide when
you needed him?

Yarn Bombing FTW!

One more thing for the day: as I was leaving the park, I glanced down at the flowers bordering the exterior gate.  There was a small guard rail - so people wouldn't step on the flowers?  Someone had very thoughtfully knitted a colorful cozy for it.  

*The auto-correct also objects to my use of “gender-specific expressions” and “wordiness”.  How rude.  I think, I’ll use more commas, and see if I can confuse, it.

No, it’s okay with that.  Weird.