One of the hot buttons these days in city planning is the adaptive reuse (or repurposing in layperson speak) of older buildings, by renovating them to accommodate new uses, rather than tearing them down.

Barron Building which opened in 1951 as an office building is current being renovated into housing.

Recently, City of Calgary Planner Thom Mahler circulated on social media a piece from Fast Company, an online magazine, titled “What if we didn’t build a single new building in 2022?”

While that isn’t going to happen, we are going to see in the future, less tearing down of buildings and more consideration given to repurposing older buildings - especially those with historical significance.

Not only will this mean better preservation of the past, but also preservation of our future, as for decades, environmentalist have been chanting “the most sustainable buildings are the ones that already exist.”

Mahler is excited by plans for the current repurposing of Calgary’s Art Deco, Barron building which opened in 1951 from office to residential.

While Calgary has a reputation of having a bias for new construction, over repurposing, there are several good examples of adapting our historic buildings to new uses - condos, concert hall, ballet centre, theatres, opera centre, innovation/art hub and even a farmers’ market.

Calgary Public Building (1931)

The Calgary Public Building, now the Jack Singer Concert Hall and City of Calgary offices was completed in 1931.

The building’s Modern Classical style retained its Tyndall limestone exterior and massive iconic columns on the north and west facades when it was repurposed.

The building was the city’s main Post Office from 1931 to 1961, then federal government offices until 1979, when their offices moved to the Harry Hayes building. It still has the original manually operated elevator. The building became the anchor of the Calgary Performing Arts Centre which opened in 1988, and is now branded as Arts Commons, with plans in for a mega renovation and expansion in the near future.

King Edward School (1913)

cSPACE Arts Hub, formerly King Edward School (1721 29 Ave SW)

The King Edward School with its nineteen classrooms and two cupolas opened in 1913, with William Aberhart as its first principal. A gymnasium was added in 1956 and a second addition designed by W.G. Milne was added in 1967. Due to a dangerous crack in the outer wall of the original sandstone west wing it was demolished in 1978.

The school closed in 2001, however, in 2012, cSPACE (partnership between the City of Calgary and Calgary Foundation), purchased the building from the Calgary Board of Education and converted it into an arts incubator, with studio, exhibition, performance and meeting spaces.

To help with $35M renovation costs (which included a modern addition to the west side and site purchase), the city block was sub-divided with the eastern and western sides sold to developers for upscale condos and a seniors living buildings.

In the summer the plaza on the southside of the school hosts a popular weekend Farmer’s Market.

Katchen Brothers Abattoir (1938)

The Crossroads Market building (opened in 1938, with an additional storey added in 1956), located at 1235 – 26th Ave SE, in Calgary’s historic Stockyards District, where the CP and CN rail lines intersect in southeast Calgary. It was originally the Katchen Brothers abattoir (slaughterhouse) and later the Canada Packers meat packing plant

The Crossroads building is the only remaining abattoir in the city, and its presence recalls the now-demolished Alberta Stockyards that stood directly across 26 Avenue SE from 1903 to 1990. Slaughtering and meat-packing was part of Calgary’s rich ranching history and the reason the city is often referred to a "cowtown."

Today the building has been repurposed to house a farmers’ market, flea market, Loose Moose Theatre and several other art and creatives endeavours including the Alberta Society of Artists’ gallery. There is a high probability the building and entire site will undergo a major repurposing when the southeast leg of the Green Line is completed with the 26th Ave SE station next door. Wouldn’t it be great if the station was named the Stockyard Station to help celebrate some of the area’s history?

Pumphouse No.2 (1913)

The Pumphouse Theatres red brick building originally opened in 1913 as the Bow River Pumphouse No. 2. The hipped-roof building is situated amidst a park-like setting with an allee of historic poplar trees and a small art park. The property was protected as a Provincial Registered Historic Resource in 1975, declared a Canadian Water Landmark by the American Water Works Association in 1980 and designated a Municipal Historic Resource in 1996. From 1913 to 1967, Pumphouse No. 2 was an integral component in Calgary's water supply and distribution system. From 1913 to 1933 the pumphouse was the main intake and pumping station to serve the city.

In 1982, major renovations were completed, converting the pump-room into the 69-seat Joyce Doolittle Theatre and the shed structure into the 300-seat Victor Mitchell Theatre.

Walking or cycling by you would never know that this is modern theatre complex.

Calgary Central Collegiate (1908)

The Calgary Central Collegiate Institute at 930 13th Avenue SW, opened in 1908 and became the Central High School in 1918. It was converted into the Calgary Board of Education’s offices in 2007.

Some of the school's noted alumni include: Douglas Harkness, Minister of Defence under Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker, Peter Lougheed, Premier of Alberta from 1971-1985, Chief Justice C.C. McLaurin, Calgary architect Harold Hanen, Canadian flag designer Dr. George F.G. Stanley, and Sheldon Chumir MLA.

In 2007 the Calgary Board of Education signed a long term agreement with Bentall Reality to have the impressive sandstone school converted to the Calgary Board of Education Centre with a modern addition by Gibbs Gage architects. As part of the agreement $50M was spent to adapt the interior of the school to modern office spaces and restore the façade to its original glory.

View of the school from mid-block between 8th and 9th St. SW

Wesley Methodist Church (1912)

The Wesley Methodist Church at 1315 7th St SW is now the Arrata Opera centre. The church originally opened in 1912, with an addition in 1956.

As with many downtown churches across North America, the congregation declined in the mid-20th century and the church was decommissioned in 2003.

In 2005, the Calgary Opera converted it to the Arrata Opera Centre with the help of a donation from Calgary philanthropists Said Arrata. Today the 29,000 square foot building is the headquarters for Calgary Opera and used for rehearsal rooms, a main stage, offices, and a costume outfitting shop.

House of Israel Building (1949)

Tucked away at 102 – 18th Ave SW is the lovely House of Israel building, a charming Art Deco building with classical symmetry and an oculet (a disk containing a design motif) with a Star of David. With the flight to the suburbs in the late 20th century, a new Jewish centre opened in the community of Palliser in 1979, and the building became vacant. It wasn’t until 1998 that the building was repurposed as condos and rebranded as Lindsay Park Place.

St. Mary’s Parish Hall (1905)

Not far from the House of Israel, at 141 – 18th Ave SW is another hidden gem, the St. Mary’s Hall and Canadian Northern Railway Station.

The Oblate Fathers built the St. Mary’s Parish Hall in 1905, but sold it to the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR), who repurposed it into a temporary train station, which later became permanent. When the CNoR was incorporated into the Canadian National Railway, CNR decided not to extend their rail into the downtown core. The last train left the station July 5, 1971, and it remained vacant until the mid-1980s, when it was repurposed as a dance studio and headquarters for the Alberta Ballet and renamed the Nat Christie Centre, thanks to a donation by the Nat Christie Foundation.

Centennial Planetarium (1967)

One of the most recent repurposing of a Calgary historic building is the conversion of the Centennial Planetarium (1967) and former Calgary Science Centre (1984), into Contemporary Calgary a public art gallery in 2018. Designed by Calgary architect Jack Long, the concrete building is not only an iconic brutalist building, but with its integration of multi-planes and diverse geometric shapes, it foreshadowed the computer-generated designs of late 20th century starchitects Frank Gehry and Daniel Libeskind. Plans are in place for a major expansion of the building with a new glass box that is sympathetic to the building’s contemporary design.

Pryce-Jones Department Store (1911)

In 1911, the Pryce department store (the only Canadian location of a family-owned English firm) with its Royal Welsh Tea Room opened to much fanfare. The store was expanded in 1913 and then closed three year later. It was repurposed as the Garbutt’s Business College and the Caldwell Knitting Company among other uses. In 1974 it became the Refinery nightclub where acts like B.B. King, Jerry Doucette and the Association played.

In the early ‘90s it was converted into the Manhattan Lofts.

Pryce-Jones Department Store is Manhattan Lofts today (117 1st St SW)

What’s Next

Let’s hope 2022 brings news of plans to repurpose the W.R. Castell Library (1963) into a mixed-use arts hub, with a multi-purpose performance venue, commercial art gallery, bookstore, café, studios and live/work residential spaces, as a means of enhancing and expanding the Olympic Plaza Arts District experience.

It would also be great to see plans announced for the repurposing of the Eau Claire Y (1988), perhaps even a temporary use, while the redevelopment plans for entire Eau Claire Plaza/Market site get updated based on new market and economic realities.

And then there is the empty Greyhound building that is begging to be repurposed even if on a temporary basis. I understand it is used sometimes as a film studio. It would make a great downtown farmers’ market, perhaps flea market and artists’ studios. Too bad, Amazon didn’t buy it or lease it for their Calgary cloud-computing server hub.

Last Word

As Calgary evolves so must the use of its buildings. It is interesting to note the new Platform parkade in East Village has been designed so it can be repurposed as residential in the future. It is always good to think ahead.

If you like this blog, you will like these links:

Calgary: Celebrates Its History

Calgary: Preservation of the Past vs Prosperity of the Future

Calgary Heritage Preservation: Citizens vs City

Calgary’s Impressive History Of Repurposing Heritage Buildings