Inglewood Main Street Heritage Study - Prepared for the Draft Historic East Calgary Local Area Plan Peer Review
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Inglewood Main Street Heritage Study
Prepared for the Draft Historic East Calgary Local Area Plan
Peer Review
Marilyn Williams, CAHP, MA, PEng
President, 716480 Alberta Ltd.
November 9, 2020
mwconservation.com
Inglewood Main Street Heritage Study 1
Executive Summary
The Ninth Avenue SE Main Street study area
and immediate context possesses significant
Heritage Value as examined in Section 1 of
this report and shows evidence for Activity,
Institution, Person, Style, Landmark and
Symbolic values. Its high concentration of
historic sites as listed in in Appendix II make
it a city landmark and as well as an
important historic commercial street in the
province. Some of its most historic parts are
cultural landscapes including one of
Calgary’s most important places, the
confluence of the Bow and Elbow rivers,
which has served as a significant
navigational intersection and stopping place
for First Nations people for millennia, and
where the 1875 North West Mounted Police
and Hudson’s Bay Company forts became a
nucleus for the city’s settlement. The 1892
Calgary Brewing & Malting Co. site, as well as the west side of 12th Street extending from the
1936 Inglewood Lawn Bowling Club to the 1891 AE Cross Residence and grounds are also
cultural landscapes that possess heritage value for their associations with the AE Cross family,
whose early industrial business once gave the area the name ‘Brewery Flats’. The collections of
early 20th Century working class cottages along 8th and 10th Avenues also recall the area’s
industrial roots.
The Ninth Avenue SE Main Street study area has been the symbolic social and commercial heart
of the Inglewood community from the early 1880s when Inglewood was briefly Calgary’s original
town centre, and Ninth Avenue its first main street. A wide representation of significant
commercial and mixed-use residential-commercial architecture has developed, as well as
several important institutional buildings, and the street boasts one of Calgary’s best collections
of intact Edwardian Commercial-style buildings. Further, the busy east-west traffic corridor, an
early streetcar line, and part of the original east-west highway through Calgary, possesses
activity value as an important transportation route.
This Heritage Value is expressed by the fabric, attributes and characteristics of the area, referred
to as the Character Defining Elements, which are described in Part 2, the Heritage Built Form
Summary. In addition to the exceptional groupings of Edwardian Commercial-style buildings,
including the 1200 block, the vernacular commercial buildings built during the Inter-war and
early Post-war period display the fine-grained historic 25 foot lot-pattern of the street. While
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Inglewood Main Street Heritage Study 2
sometimes reflecting this pattern, infill after the onset of the mid-century oil boom in 1947 that
triggered growth in both construction and automobiles was often oriented to the automotive
industry and created a distinctive, eclectic feel, especially east of 13th Avenue.
Although the area has been developing for nearly 150 years, it maintains a very high degree of
integrity, especially when compared other neighbourhood commercial main streets in Calgary,
and much of its historic fabric has survived as described in the Integrity section of Part 2 of this
study. However proposed policy changes and zoning bylaw amendments affecting Inglewood
threaten the integrity of the identified heritage sites and landscapes. Most at risk are the fragile,
very low-scale historic cultural landscapes mentioned above. As well, the consolidation of lots to
create large parcels results in large-footprint buildings that are less likely reflect the fine-grained
historic streetwall created by narrower buildings with articulated 25-foot storefronts and
traditional architectural façade patterns.
The biggest threat to the historic fabric is the imbalance between policy (including zoning) that
encourages new construction as compared with the absence of policy that would promote the
retention, protection, re-use and/or rehabilitation of the existing historic and character
buildings, most of which have not been designated by owners. With this imbalance, and trends
to a larger building footprint, the historic fabric and character will be challenged even if
intensification is within a six-storey form.
If the level of integrity which exists today is to be maintained, City planning policy must provide
a vision and objectives for the area that clearly promote the retention and conservation of the
heritage resources, while promoting new development that reflects the historic streetwall. High
level Heritage Strategies are identified in Part 4 from both these perspectives and are
summarized below.
Strategies to retain individual heritage assets:
• Currently heritage assets on Ninth Avenue SE are protected to some degree: six through
ownership by government or not-for-profits, one through a restrictive covenant and
eleven though designation
• Offering financial incentives such as tax incentives and matching grants for designated
heritage properties would further bolster the number of protected assets.
Strategies to retain historic context:
• A special rehabilitation project that would follow the processes of the provincial Main
Street Programme (discontinued in 2015) with funding from multiple sources such as
the provincial Historical Resources Branch, the City of Calgary, federal job creation
grants, the Inglewood BIA, and matched by building owners on a per site basis.
• The creation of a heritage management plan for the Main Street area which would
incorporate many of the strategies listed above in a cohesive, phased approach;
• The development of place-making policy to create a vision for development that uses
historic assets at its core, and has stronger policy for the adaptive re-use of existing
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Inglewood Main Street Heritage Study 3
buildings; for example, development of the Brewery Site as a Brewery District, an
example being Toronto’s successful historic Distillery District;
• The development of a comprehensive heritage study such as an historic context paper
or heritage impact assessment to inform future plans and policy;
• Branding and interpretation of Atlantic Avenue as a heritage district over and above
heritage interpretation of individual sites, even if formal recognition/protection is not
yet in place;
• Working with the Province for the creation of heritage area legislation which does not
require the consent of all property owners.
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Inglewood Main Street Heritage Study 4
Contents
Executive Summary ........................................................ 1
Contents ......................................................................... 4
1. Heritage Assessment .................................. 5
Description of study area ............................................... 5
Heritage Value ................................................................ 6
2. Heritage Built Form Summary .................. 11
Character Defining Elements ........................................ 11
Integrity ........................................................................ 15
3. Heritage Strategy and Tools summary ..... 19
Summary of Existing Heritage Policy and Tools ........... 20
City of Calgary Proposed Tools ..................................... 22
Additional Best Practice Tools Recommended ............ 24
4. Built Form Strategy Assessment ............... 25
Future threats to integrity ............................................ 25
Heritage Strategies: Individual Historic Resources....... 27
Heritage Strategies: Historic Context strategies .......... 29
Appendix I Methodology and Sources used ................. 30
Methodology ................................................................ 30
Sources ......................................................................... 31
Appendix II Inglewood Resources Heritage Inventory . 33
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Inglewood Main Street Heritage Study 5
1. Heritage Assessment
Description of study area
The study area for this report includes the 9th Avenue SE corridor, between the Elbow River and
Blackfoot Trail SE. The opposite side of each block, along 8th Ave SE and 10th Ave SE have been
included in the study area in order to consider appropriate transition to the surrounding low-
rise residential community. While the urban design analysis is limited to 9th Avenue SE, this
heritage context study includes heritage resources outside of the primary study area along 9th
Ave.
The study area is located in the southeast community of Inglewood, one of the earliest inner city
neighbourhoods in Calgary. The area has had a commercial context since 1875 when a Hudson’s
Bay Fort was located at its west end, and the historic Ninth Avenue SE commercial street,
originally Atlantic Avenue, dates to the early 1880’s. Historic development of Ninth Avenue SE
and context area includes: its subdivision west of 15th Street from 1884-7 and east of that street
in 1906; its service from 1909 as a streetcar route (from the Inglewood Bridge to a loop at 15th
Street) after which it underwent its most rapid period of development through the First World
War; and a later development phase from 1947-51. In addition to the historic commercial
street, the study area includes working-class residential streetscapes on 8th and 10th Avenues
that developed for families of workers in early East Calgary industries, numerous commercial
and institutional buildings that served those residents, and the highest concentration of historic
sites in the city.
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Inglewood Main Street Heritage Study 6
Heritage Value
The heritage value of the study area was assessed according to the following Council-approved
criteria of significance used by the City of Calgary heritage planning highlighted for those criteria
which the Inglewood Main Street study area meets. As well, future research such as a heritage
survey or community context paper could reveal further values.
Activity
Event
Institution
Person/people
Style
Design
Construction
Landmark
Symbolic value
The wider setting at the west end of the Ninth Avenue SE commercial main street includes the
confluence of the Bow and Elbow rivers, which has served as a significant navigational
intersection and stopping place for First Nations people for millennia, and later evolved as an
important centre for encampments and trade. (Activity Value)
During the pre-contact period, the confluence was a significant navigational intersection and
stopping place for First Nations people who traversed their traditional lands as they followed
the annual migrational patterns of the bison along an ancient north-south route called the Old
North Trail. The area later became an important site for encampments and trade.
Calgary’s most important surviving commercial street outside the Stephen Avenue Mall, Ninth
Avenue SE has been associated with commerce since 1875 when the HBC store was
established. (Activity Value)
The main street area also possesses person value for its associations with Angus Fraser, its
earliest landowner, homesteader and manager of its first commercial enterprise, the
Hudson’s Bay Company post. (Person Value)
The First Nations presence at the confluence influenced the North West Mounted Police
(NWMP) to establish their fort at that location, on the west bank of the Elbow, in September
1875. Later that year the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), under the direction of Angus Fraser,
relocated their trading post on the east bank of the Elbow across from Fort Calgary, today the
west end of the Inglewood main street area. Fraser had arrived in 1874 to establish an outpost
at the mouth of the Ghost River (45 km west of Calgary). The HBC post did not hold title to their
land so, to secure it, Fraser personally homesteaded 160 acres in 1881. First Nations people
were essential to the HBC’s fur and provisioning trade, both as a market for goods and as
suppliers of the pemmican and buffalo robes which were the basis for this trade. Métis
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Inglewood Main Street Heritage Study 7
homesteaders were also involved as HBC employees and freighters. The confluence and the two
forts became a nucleus for settlement. In the Inglewood main street area, NWMP Inspector Sir
Cecil Denny began homesteading the lands east of the HBC fort; south of Ninth Avenue SE,
Colonel James Walker, also a former NWMP officer and the Cochrane Ranch manager,
homesteaded and operated his sawmill from 1882. Remaining from this important period are
the Hunt House, an 1881 HBC log cabin, as well as the artifacts and below-ground remains of the
Fort Calgary archaeological site.
From the early 1880s when Inglewood was briefly Calgary’s original town centre, and Ninth
Avenue its first main street, the Ninth Avenue SE Main Street has been the social and
commercial heart of the Inglewood community. (Symbolic Value)
The commercial street is also valued for its associations with the AE Cross family, a generous
and progressive employer, whose early industrial business once gave the area the name
‘Brewery Flats’, and has four important historic sites associated with the family. (Person
Value)
Following confirmation by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) that their main line would extend
through Calgary along the Bow River, Commissioner George Irvine and Major John Stewart, both
of the NWMP, acquired Denny’s land which they subdivided as ‘Calgary’. However, a short time
later the CPR effectively determined a new town centre location when they registered land west
of the Elbow as ‘Calgary Plan A’ and announced plans to build their station. Although many
eastside settlers moved across the river to that subdivision, the major landowners east of the
Elbow remained committed to the area. Stewart built a substantial residence just north of the
corridor (extant). Wesley Orr, who served many terms as alderman and mayor, acquired the
land around the HBC post west of 11th Street which he registered in 1887 as ‘East Calgary’,
successfully promoting it as the municipality’s first industrial area.
Some of the earliest build-out of the main street area comprised industrial development starting
in 1892 with Alfred E. Cross’s Calgary Brewing & Malting Co. at 1535 Ninth Avenue. The Cross
family who lived just north of the main street on 8th Avenue at the 1891 Cross Residence
(extant), was a significant and progressive employer; the surrounding community was soon
referred to as Brewery Flats. The family were also known for their contributions to the
community, including two sites in the corridor: the 1932 garden on the south part of the
brewery site (formerly open to the public) and the 1936 Inglewood Lawn Bowling Club on 8th
Avenue. Other early industrial employers formerly located on Ninth Avenue included Cushing
Brothers Sash and Door, established by William Henry Cushing in 1885, and Terrill’s 1911
greenhouses (none are extant).
In 1906 William Pearce subdivided the main street area east of 15th Street as ‘Bow Bend’, where
he built his sandstone mansion. He later donated lands which became Pearce Estates Park, and
was responsible for establishing a park at St. George’s Island north of Inglewood. South of the
main street area, Colonel Walker surveyed the west portion of his lands as ‘Inglewood’,
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Inglewood Main Street Heritage Study 8
retaining the east portion (today’s bird sanctuary) for agriculture. The east end of today’s
Business Improvement Area (BIA) is within this subdivision. From around 1910 the surrounding
neighbourhood took the name Inglewood in favour of Brewery Flats. The Major Stewart House,
the street layout of the East Calgary subdivisions, including the ‘Atlantic Avenue’ main street
running diagonally through them, and Pearce Estates Park, set northeast of the main street area,
remain today.
The busy Ninth Avenue SE east-west traffic corridor possesses activity value as an important
transportation route, as an early streetcar route, and as part of the original east-west
highway through Calgary. (Activity Value)
The most intense period of commercial development followed the introduction of the ‘Red Line’
(Route 1) streetcar line in 1909. To accommodate the new system a 1908 steel bridge replaced
the original bridge over the Elbow River and service was introduced along Ninth Avenue from
the bridge to a loop at 15th Street. In the early years, horses were the most common mode of
transport and even by the 1920s there were still three important livery stables in the corridor:
the 1909 Stewart Livery Stable at 806 14th Street, the 1909 East End livery stable at 1036 10th
Avenue (both are extant), and Charles Riddock’s Cartage and Livery stables on 8th Avenue (non-
extant). From the 1920s, Ninth Avenue between 17th Avenue SE and the Langevin (today’s
Reconciliation) bridge became part of the first east-west highway through Calgary before the
creation of the Trans Canada Highway in the mid-1950s which followed 16th Avenue N. By the
mid-1930s, the transition from horses to cars being well underway, there were at least 8
automobile-related businesses along the Ninth Avenue SE main street. From the onset of
Alberta’s Post-war economic oil boom in 1947, automobiles and the associated automotive
service industry increased significantly. The affordable vacant lots along Ninth Avenue SE which
had not been developed in the Inter-war period attracted renewed building and the street was
almost fully developed by 1951. Most of these buildings were automotive service related. One
of the most distinctive examples, and the sole Ninth Avenue SE automobile service building on
the inventory, the 1946 Art Moderne Commercial Body Works Building at 1018, was demolished
in 2015. However, non-inventoried examples remain, including some which have been
reactivated for other purposes such as the re-use of a Quonset hut which is currently the Blues
Can bar. These vernacular buildings make a contribution to the street and add a sense of
evolution.
Serving its commercial role since 1875, almost 150 years, the Ninth Avenue SE commercial
main street area has a wide representation of significant commercial and mixed-use
residential-commercial architecture, including one of Calgary’s best collections of intact
Edwardian Commercial-style buildings. (Style Value)
The Ninth Street SE commercial buildings display the following styles, organized
chronologically:
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Inglewood Main Street Heritage Study 9
• Vernacular log cabin style (1875-83) - simple one-storey log structures with gable roofs;
three remain, the ca1876 Hunt House and the ca1875 Metis Cabin on the HBC site and one
other, the McVittie Cabin, at Heritage Park.
• Boomtown commercial style (1884-1903) - the next common style to appear; gable-roofed,
wood-frame buildings with bevelled wood siding and boomtown false fronts. Although
buildings with intact elements of this style do not remain, some may be uncovered in
future restorations.
• Edwardian Commercial-style (1904-14) - typically 1 to 4-storey, flat-roofed buildings of
wood-frame or solid brick construction (later examples included structural steel and/or
concrete floors), often with red face-brick cladding on the front façade and pressed metal
upper and lower cornices. All had storefronts on the ground floor with recessed entry ways
and large plate glass display windows with full-width, multi-light transom and sign band
above. Most buildings over one storey were mixed-use, commercial-residential with
residential apartments and some offices on the upper storeys. There are 13 buildings of
this style on the historic inventory, with 12 on the main street, and one on 10th Avenue.
• Inter-war (1918-1938) - in the main street area there are good vernacular examples,
including the 1923 Spanish Colonial Revival Blyth Hall and the 1936 Art Deco Garry Theatre
on the inventory.
• Post-war styles (1946-56) - there are good vernacular examples in the main street area,
including the 1946 utilitarian Commercial-style Lyon’s Confectionery Building at 1221 and
the 1946 Economy Cleaners & Tailors Building with International Style influences at 1209.
The Ninth Avenue SE Main Street area is valued for its public buildings which have played an
important role in the community. (Institution Value)
A central street in Inglewood, Ninth Avenue SE also possesses many important institutional and
public service buildings, both along the main street and in the adjacent context area. Those
along the main street include the 1902 New East Ward School (now Alexandra Centre) at 922,
the 1906 Fire Hall No. 3 at 1028 and the East Calgary Telephone Exchange Building built at 1311
by provincial public works in 1909. Those in the context area are the 1911 churches, St. John's
Evangelist Anglican and St. Andrew's Italian Parish, at 1423 and 1403 8th Avenue, respectively
and the 1912 Trinity United Church at 1401 10th Avenue.
The Ninth Avenue SE Main Street study area is a landmark streetscape in Calgary, known for
its high concentration of historic sites. (Landmark Value)
• ‘Inglewood is endowed with one of the province’s richest collections of historic sites and
structures’ (Provincial Minister of Culture and Multiculturalism, 1991)
• ‘Inglewood contains the greatest concentration and variety of heritage resources in the
City’ (Heritage Planner reporting to Calgary City Council, 1991). Almost three quarters of
these sites are located in the study area.
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• City Council passed a resolution in 1991 ‘to designate in principal the area of Inglewood as
an Historic District … [to]… support the physical integrity, social character and history of the
area’ (Decision of Council, 1991).
From 1992 Heritage Canada, the Inglewood Business Revitalization Zone and participating
building owners ran a two-year Main Street Project to restore the façades of a number of
buildings, and revitalize the businesses on Ninth Avenue SE. These initiatives continued from
1994-2001 under the Alberta Main Street Programme.
The residential working class streetscapes in the study area along 8th and 10th Avenues recall
the area’s industrial roots. (Symbolic Value)
Following on large industrial employers such as the CPR from 1883, the Burns meat packing
plant from the 1880s and the brewery from 1892, the surrounding East Calgary subdivisions in
Inglewood and Ramsay developed as working-class neighbourhoods. In the study area, 8th and
10th Avenues display representative working-class residential streetscapes, characterized by
modest early 20th Century cottages, mostly 1 to 1½ storeys and a few with 2 storeys, with
landscaped setbacks and grassy public boulevards with regular plantings of street trees and
shrubs.
The Inglewood Main Street study area also possesses style value for the early 20th Century
styles of the homes lining the 8th and 10th Avenue residential streetscapes. (Style Value)
The north side of the 10th Avenue residential street developed early and by 1914 was 80% built
out, while the south side of 8th Avenue was about 50% built out at that time. By 1924, 8th
Avenue was still mainly unchanged, although 10th Avenue and the residential streets in Bow
Bend at the east end of the study area were almost entirely developed. As a result, these
streets display early 20th Century styles including Foursquare, Edwardian Gable-Front,
Edwardian Cottage, Craftsman and Queen Anne with front porches and mainly front-gable
roofs, but also some hipped and side-gable roofs.
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2. Heritage Built Form Summary
The following is a description of the physical
elements which capture, display or embody the
heritage value described in the above assessment.
Referred to as character defining elements they
include buildings, assemblies or groupings of
building, special sites, and streetscapes, as well as
the relation to the wider heritage context and
interface with surrounding community where
there are historic associations. They include
attributes such as view-lines, setbacks and
landscaping, styles and architectural elements, and materials. In order to retain the heritage
value of a place, the associated character defining elements must also be retained and
managed.
Character Defining Elements
Key elements that define the heritage character of the Inglewood Main Street study area
include but are not limited to its:
• Characteristics of the Ninth Avenue SE commercial street which was almost fully developed
by 1950 including:
o early commercial street with sidewalks;
o 1 to 4-storey, flat-roofed commercial buildings;
o commercial storefronts at street level; residential apartments and some offices on
the upper levels;
o many commercial buildings with zero front setbacks, built on narrow (25 or 50-foot)
lots with a narrow (25-foot) bay rhythm at ground level, especially west of 13th
Street (which was about 50% built-out by 1911);
o Edwardian commercial buildings with Edwardian Commercial-style features such
as: red-brick cladding on the front façade; pressed metal upper and lower cornices
and decorative elements, many sand-painted; commercial storefronts with piers,
bulkheads, recessed entry ways, and large plate glass display windows with full-
width transom lights, some with metal-frame canvas awnings; name blocks and
multi-pane Chicago-style windows on upper level; sandstone or sandstone-look cast
stone lintels and sills; wooden window sashes and doors;
o Inter-war vernacular commercial buildings with smooth stucco cladding;
architectural detailing reflecting interpretations or influences of the styles of that
period such as Spanish Colonial Revival, Art Moderne and Art Deco;
o Post-war vernacular commercial buildings, some with influences of the International
Style;
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o commercial signage such as wooden or pressed metal signbands, some with date or
name blocks, and/or small projecting signs on building façades at top of storefront;
original painted ‘ghost’ signs;
• Commercial architectural streetscapes with special assemblies:
o The assemblies of Edwardian Commercial-style buildings in the 1200 block and on
the north side of the 1300 block of Ninth Avenue;
o National Hotel at 1036 10th Avenue and adjacent livery stable;
• Characteristics of the adjacent working-class residential streetscapes on 8th and 10th
avenues and the south end of 15th and 16th streets including:
o residential streetscape features including consistent landscaped setbacks, grassy
sidewalk boulevards with uniform plantings of trees and shrubs, and mature street
trees especially on 10th Avenue;
o 1, 1 ½ and 2-storey working-class cottages;
o Victorian and Edwardian working-class residential most wooden-frame with:
bevelled wooden siding and wooden architectural details; front porches or
verandahs; front-gabled, side-gabled or hipped roofs; and styles comprising
Foursquare, Edwardian Gable-Front, Edwardian Cottage, Craftsman and Queen
Anne Styles;
• Streetscapes associated with the AE Cross family and Inglewood’s industrial roots:
o the streetscape on the south side of the east end of the 1500 block comprising the
1892 Calgary Brewing & Malting Co. site and 1932 landscaped former public garden
at 1535;
o the part of the west side of 12th Street which extends from the 1936 Inglewood
Lawn Bowling Club (1235 8th Avenue) to the 1891 AE Cross Residence (1240 8th
Avenue);
• Important institutional and public service buildings located in the main street area including
the 1909 East Calgary Telephone Exchange Building at 1311, 1902 Alexandra School at 922,
and 1906 Fire Hall No. 3 at 1028 on 9th Avenue and 1911 St. Andrew's Italian Parish and St.
John's Evangelist Anglican at 1403 and 1423 8th Avenue, respectively;
• The individual historic sites which, due to their significance and high concentration,
collectively give the Inglewood Main Street Area its Landmark Value as listed in Appendix II;
• Historic situation, setting and layout including:
o setting near the Bow River with its west end located on the east bank of the Elbow
River at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow Rivers, a significant navigational
intersection and stopping place for First Nations people for millennia;
o historic relation to the Fort Calgary archaeological site;
o early buildings related to Ninth Avenue’s earliest commercial enterprise, the 1875
Hudson’s Bay Company post and store situated on the southeast embankments of
the confluence, including the 1881 HBC log cabin at 801 8th Street SE; clear views
from the former HBC site to the Bow and Elbow rivers and their confluence;
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o relation to the historic crossings of the Elbow River: the 1883 Canadian Pacific
Railway (CPR) main line and the 1884 traffic crossing; and
o the original street layout of 8th, 9th and 10th Avenues per early (1884, 1887 and 1906)
East Calgary subdivision plans; the distinctive 6-way corner at 15th Street where the
diagonal and grid plans interconnect; relation to the early Pearce and Walker
subdivisions northeast and southeast of the main street area, respectively.
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Integrity
The Inglewood Main Street study area meets the following criteria for integrity: location,
environment, associations, design, materials, workmanship and feeling. It has a very high
degree of integrity, and only one other commercial street in Calgary, Stephen Avenue, can
compare with it. The integrity of its historic building stock is also high as a result of
reinvestment in the last four decades under programs described below.
Location
The Inglewood Main Street study area retains its historic context with its setting across the river
from Fort Calgary, at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow rivers, one of Calgary’s most
significant places. It also retains its location where the earliest East Calgary subdivisions come
together.
Environment
The west end of the study area retains clear views to the Bow and Elbow rivers and their
confluence, with soft and open landscaping as well as natural vegetation along the riverbank.
The layout of the area still conforms to the early East Calgary subdivision plans, with no major
road changes or closures.
Associations
The Inglewood Main Street study area maintains its associations with historic activities:
• First Nation peoples and their traditional use of the confluence - the study area retains
its location, historic context and the relation to the confluence of the Bow and Elbow
rivers and therefore its association with this use from pre-contact times.
• Commerce - The Ninth Avenue SE Corridor is still a busy commercial street; it also
retains the frontier-period buildings associated with the HBC fort and those from the
first half of the 20th century associated to its service as a streetcar commercial street,
although no commercial examples of the ca1890s early settlement period remain are
evident.
• Transportation - the area has maintained its role as a busy transport corridor as well as
the character of a streetcar commercial street along Ninth Avenue.
The Inglewood Main Street study area retains its associations with its historic land uses,
although the balance of its original commercial and residential land uses was challenged in the
1960s when there was such a proliferation of car dealerships, and auto body and salvage shops
that City plans identified the neighbourhood as an industrial area. However, a joint Inglewood-
Ramsay community-led revitalization project led to a 1974 City-endorsed design brief and
corrective zoning that stabilized land use. Later, remedial zoning regulation in the 1990s further
limited future auto-related businesses.
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With the balance of uses in the corridor restored, the Inglewood Main Street study area could
keep its original land use: commercial and mixed residential-commercial on the main street,
residential uses on the adjacent avenues and intersecting streets, and some institutional
throughout the study area. Associations are retained through the currently zoned uses as well
as through the building types and styles, setbacks and landscaping as identified in the character
defining elements.
The Inglewood Main Street study area retains its working-class residential streetscapes, and
therefore maintains its symbolic associations with its industrial, working-class roots. 8th and 10th
Avenues retain a high number of early 20th Century cottages, as well as their landscaped
setbacks along the streets and the planted public boulevards. Most infill respects the scale and
form of the houses, with a few exceptions.
The Inglewood Main Street study area also retains its associations with historic persons:
• AE Cross family - these associations are retained through the retention of the brewery
site and former garden, the Cross Residence and the bowling club.
Design, Materials and Workmanship
At the street level
The streetscape of the commercial main street within the study area has a high level of
integrity while showing a gradual sense of evolution, with only a few properties that disrupt the
visual continuity. The buildings in Pre-war and Inter-war commercial streets were erected
adjacent to each other in compact assemblies, often sharing a common wall, and usually
displaying common storefront and signage elements, creating a visual continuity at street level.
Examples of these assemblies are more commonly seen west of 13th Street. Building heights
vary, but within a four-storey range. East of 13th Street these earlier commercial buildings are
less common and tend to be more dispersed between Post-war developments, which are
mainly automotive-related often with large setbacks on all sides. In general, Post-war
development was infill on undeveloped parcels; it did not result in a loss of historic structure,
and shows a sense of evolution. However, there are a few examples where larger car
dealerships and parking lots interrupt this pattern. Newer buildings have generally respected
the height, roof-form and materiality of the Pre-war commercial buildings, however a few
recent developments erected on large lots do not maintain the fine-grained massing,
articulation or bay rhythm at street level of the early 20th century buildings. Also, east of mid-
block in the 1300 block is in the floodplain (flood fringe), one new build has a deeper setback
and higher grade than the rest of the block to meet guidelines following the 2013 flood.
At the building level
The integrity of the early 20th Century building stock is high thanks to reinvestment under
various programs and initiatives in the last four decades. The above-mentioned corrective
zoning enabled mortgage guarantees for homes that had been rezoned for industry and the
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retention of that housing stock; the 1970s community revitalization project also led to a $5.6
million Neighbourhood Improvement Program with incentive funding for building regeneration
as well as community service projects to adaptively re-use the Alexandra School as a multi-
service centre and the East Calgary Telephone Exchange as a seniors arts and social centre.
In addition, for many commercial buildings, from 1992-2001 a further $2.5 million was invested
in façade restorations under an Inglewood Main Street Programme. The restored buildings
show a high level of integrity of design, materiality and workmanship, and positively influence
the maintenance and integrity of other buildings on the commercial street.
The example above is the Aull Block: façade shown covered in stucco in 1992 (left) and after its
brick, cornices and name block were restored (right).
Feeling
Because it has evolved, mainly through infill vs. demolition, it retains the feeling of a
commercial street which developed from the late 19th Century through Mid-Century times. The
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Inglewood Main Street study area also retains the numerous historic sites and structures that
give it its landmark status.
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3. Heritage Strategy and Tools summary
The following is a summary of potential tools which
would support, either directly or indirectly, heritage
preservation in the project area, that is, the protection
and maintenance of the character defining elements
identified in the previous section. This section includes:
a summary of existing tools enabled by municipal,
provincial and federal policy and legislation; tools
currently under consideration by the City of Calgary;
and suggested additional best practice tools employed
by other jurisdictions, as well as the rationale for their
adoption at a municipal or provincial level.
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Summary of Existing Heritage Policy and Tools
The table below summarizes existing heritage policy and tools that would apply to the study
area. In terms of legislation, the enabling legislation for local municipalities to identify, protect
and manage historic resources in Alberta is the Alberta Historical Resources Act. Policy tools that
are regulated by a municipal land use bylaw, that designate and control land uses or that
provide financial incentives like property tax incentives for heritage properties are covered
under the Alberta Municipal Government Act. City of Calgary municipal planning incentives are
controlled under the Land Use Bylaw, the Municipal Development Plan, the Developed Areas
Guidebook, and Local Area Plans. Most Federal heritage legislation is covered under two acts:
The Department of Canadian Heritage Act and the Historic Sites and Monuments Act.
Policy Details Comments
Municipal
Designation as Designation Bylaw provides Access to municipal and
Municipal Historic long-term legal protection and provincial grants; some
Resource demolition control favourable planning policies e.g.
parking relaxations
Listing on Inventory of property is eligible for Technical Support, Limited Tools,
Evaluated Resources designation may have favourable policies
Heritage Density development project may Not yet implemented for
Transfer increase density by transferring Inglewood (see next section).
unused density from a heritage May be integrity issues if receiver
resource site is also on the main street
Provincial
Designation as Provides long-term legal Access to advisors, grants
Provincial Historic protection
Resource
Designation of a Provides long-term legal Requires the agreement of all
Provincial Historic Area protection property owners within the area
Main Street projects integrate heritage Overall programme terminated
Programme preservation and economic by the government in 2015, but it
(terminated but may be needs by following four may be possible to apply to the
possible through the strategies: coordination, Alberta Historic Resources
Alberta Historic business development, Foundation for funding/support
Resources Foundation) promotion and design/façade as a special project.
rehabilitation
Alberta Municipal A council may designate an area Area redevelopment plans can
Government Act - area of the municipality as a provide direction for
redevelopment plans redevelopment area for the rehabilitating buildings, and can
purpose of …(ii) rehabilitating include other proposals by
buildings in the area 634(1) (a) council.
An ARP may contain “any other
proposals that the council
considers necessary.” 635 (b)
Federal
Designations (Historic Commemorative recognition; This has been useful for the
Sites & Monuments does not provide protection; Stephen Avenue district when
Board of Canada) limited cost sharing funding. combined with other strategies
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City of Calgary Proposed Tools
The following are tools which could be used to manage heritage within the study area should
they be implemented.
Policy Details Comments
Municipal
Draft Historic East Calgary LAP
Heritage Planning areas identified for heritage Policy tools such as those listed below
Areas planning work and policy tools under Heritage Conservation Tools &
Incentives report; in non-statutory
appendix of LAP.
Heritage Conservation Tools and Incentives report (PUD2020-0259)
Financial Incentives Community-Specific or Area- Community investment fund under
Specific Grant Program Established Areas Growth & Change
Strategy (EAGCS)
Municipal Tax Incentives - privately owned buildings (Only
Residential Tax-Back Grant- residential at the time of this report)
owners of designated e.g. 15 Years up to $50,000 total; not
properties receive partial tied to conservation work
reimbursement
Non-Residential Tax Credit- e.g. 50% of project cost, up to 50% of
owners annually receive assessed value
partial tax reimbursement for
conservation work on
designated properties
Increased matching grant funding Owners contribute 50% of the cost of
for - owners of designated the project through a matching grant
commercial properties programme; incentive to designate and
maintain commercial buildings
Heritage Calgary Operating Could increase designated properties
Increase
Heritage Policy Applicable to newly proposed Currently not proposed for commercial
Areas (currently heritage assets (see image below areas, but could be very effective,
being drafted) for study area) as follows: especially if all 3 layers applied;
benefits residential streets within the
study area (comments below)
Layer 1 - additional permitted & Applies to all heritage assets
discretionary uses such as higher
density, parcel width, lot coverage,
reduced parking requirements,
expedited approvals
Layer 2 - additional layer of Applies to all heritage assets within
discretionary design guidelines defined areas with 25% heritage assets
(roof pitch, massing, fenestration, on a block face; discretionary
materiality, etc.) to all building guidelines not as strong as design
types in the policy area regulation.
Layer 3 - additional layer of Applies to all buildings within defined
comprehensive policy controlled areas with 50% heritage assets on a
by a Direct Control Bylaw block face; context-specific design
regulations (massing, setbacks, roof
9-November-20Inglewood Main Street Heritage Study 23
pitch, etc.); generally requires
supportive property owners
Although Heritage Areas Policy is currently only proposed for residential streets and not for
commercial streets, the policy could provide effective heritage protection for the study area in
the form of additional permitted & discretionary uses, building design guidelines and
comprehensive policy controlled by a Direct Control Bylaw with design regulations. Below is a
conceptual illustration of a generic area (from the Heritage Conservation Tools and Incentives
public presentation by heritage planning January 2, 2020) showing how the three layers of
heritage area policy are applied based on percentage of heritage frontage on a block-face.
Layer 1 applies to all blue dots (commercial streets removed in policy currently being drafted),
additional layer 2 applies to yellow area, and further layer 3 to the orange area.
Based on the heritage assets identified in the windshield survey map from the Heritage
Conservation Tools and Incentives report supporting material, most or all of the study area
would qualify for all three layers of policy.
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Additional Best Practice Tools Recommended
In Europe, the United States and many other Canadian provinces heritage district policy and
legislation is widely used and very effective in retaining the built heritage. One successful
example for a Canadian an inner city commercial main street is Queen Street West Heritage
Conservation District (HCD) in Toronto, where 254 properties are protected under the Ontario
Heritage Act (OHA). The area is managed by a heritage management plan which is a
requirement for all HCD’s. The plan includes design guidelines for both retaining the heritage
attributes (referred to here as character defining elements) of the existing heritage buildings
and guiding the street wall elements (form, building heights, setbacks) as well as architectural
façade patterns and features of new buildings. These latter guidelines would manage the
character defining elements of the streetscape.
Although having legislation such as the OHA for Alberta would be a goal in the longer term,
many of the outcomes could be achieved in the interim through zoning bylaw direction and
Local Area Planning policies which provide design regulation for the existing heritage buildings,
street wall elements and new buildings. This type of direct control has been used by Edmonton
heritage planners since 1982 to manage Heritage Overlay Districts. Although the creation of
Direct Control Bylaws customized for specific purposes is generally discouraged in Calgary, an
exception should be made for one of the most significant heritage areas in the province.
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4. Built Form Strategy Assessment
There is currently a unique opportunity in
Calgary to retain the integrity and historic form
of its most historic and intact streetcar
commercial street, the Inglewood Main Street,
which is the only streetcar commercial street to
maintain its character-defining scale and street
pattern. These recommendations do not
replace a comprehensive heritage management
strategy or plan. In addition to the
programmes, policy and tools listed below, such
plans might include non-legislative tools and
actions such as a comprehensive building
survey, or programmes for interpretation or
branding.
Future threats to integrity
The built form of the study area and its surrounding context has maintained an exceptional
degree of integrity to date, and the current zoning has seen new development while retaining
much of the historic built environment. However, there are a number of challenges and threats
to maintaining the integrity of the historic fabric and fine-grained built form of this
neighbourhood. These challenges generally stem from the introduction of or proposed
introduction of policy to achieve increased density, without corresponding policy to support the
preservation of historic character and heritage assets through sensitive development and
adaptive re-use.
Heights - Historic heights ranged from 1 to 4 storeys, and were predominantly 2-storey. In
recent years several buildings have been erected or are under construction within the study
area, at a height range from 4-7 storeys. The permissible height of 6 storeys recommended for
most of 9th Avenue in the proposed LAP would not pose a threat if implemented with attention
to massing (see comments below). However, significantly increased heights of 12 to 26 storey
(mid-scale to high-scale) are proposed in the draft Historic East Calgary Communities Local Area
Plan (LAP) near three very historic areas:
• A 26 storey (high-scale) area at the Ninth Avenue SE western gateway would affect the 8
Street SE cultural landscape comprising the historic setting near the Bow River and the east
bank of the Elbow River where the confluence has been a significant navigational
intersection and stopping place for First Nations people for millennia; the historic 1883 CPR
railway and 1884 traffic crossings; the historic relation to Fort Calgary archaeological site
across the Elbow and the Deane House; and the 1875 HBC post location and historic 1881
HBC log cabins; this area should seek to minimize development on the north side of 9th
9-November-20Inglewood Main Street Heritage Study 26
Avenue to preserve clear views from the former HBC site to the Bow and Elbow rivers and
their confluence, and limit development on the south side to low-scale;
• 12 storey (mid-scale) near two cultural landscapes associated with the AE Cross family and
Inglewood’s industrial roots:
o 9th Avenue and 12th Street is the heart of the historic area; the west side of 12th
Street which extends from the 1936 Inglewood Lawn Bowling Club to the 1891 AE
Cross Residence is a cultural landscape; in addition, the west corner lots at that
intersection are part of the 1200 block of 9th Avenue, one of Calgary’s most intact
Edwardian Commercial architectural streetscapes;
o the streetscape comprising the 1892 Calgary Brewing & Malting Co. site and 1932
landscaped former public garden; while a larger site that could accommodate higher
than 6 storeys, it is important to retain the gardens which interface the street as
well as the historic buildings which can be viewed from the street.
The 3-storey height proposed in the draft LAP for the surrounding residential context would
have a negative impact on the integrity of the adjacent historic residential streetscapes of 1-
storey houses working-class on 8th and 10th avenues.
Massing and historic streetwall - This aspect of integrity can be adversely affected by the
consolidation of lots to create large parcels, generally resulting in large-footprint buildings that
are less likely reflect the fine-grained historic streetwall created by narrower buildings with
articulated 25-foot storefronts and traditional architectural façade patterns such as the
fenestration and the heights of the lower cornices/signbands.
Flood fringe policy and historic streetwall - The historic commercial streetwall was built to the
lot line with zero setback, creating uniformity and a direct interaction between storefronts and
pedestrians. Guidelines for construction in the floodplain (flood fringe, east of mid-block in the
1300 block) following the 2013 flood, call for a deeper setback and higher grade than existing
buildings and disrupt the continuity of the historic streetwall. Widening sidewalks for new
developments could also disrupt the continuity of the streetwall.
Historic fabric - The biggest threat to the historic fabric is the sometimes contradictory
relationship between policies, which encourage intensification and redevelopment and policy
that promotes the retention, re-use and/or rehabilitation of the existing historic and character
buildings. As well, murals are encouraged in the proposed LAP; applying an incompatible coating
to create murals on the side/rear of traditional brick or wood façades can permanently damage
the historic fabric.
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Heritage Strategies: Individual Historic Resources
Current policy and legislation applicable to the Inglewood Main Street study area are mainly
restricted to individual buildings. However, since the study area contains a significant number of
historic buildings they are important tools to consider.
Strategies to manage and protect the heritage and character of the study area have been
organized around five main types: acquisition/ownership, property rights, regulation,
education/promotion and incentives.
Control through acquisition/ownership - this method is only appropriate for certain types of
sites. For the study area, Alexandra School, the Cross House, the Inglewood Lawn Bowling Club
and the Inglewood pool are owned by the City; the Hunt House, Métis Cabin and Deane House
by civic partner Fort Calgary; and the East Calgary Telephone Exchange by the community
association.
Control through regulation - current regulation for the study area is mainly designation,
municipal or provincial, which provides long-term legal protection, and offers access to
knowledge and funding towards conserving the building. Further, where designated resources
are strategically located mid-block, they can act as ‘anchor sites’ which have the potential to
deter the consolidation of the adjacent lots for a large-scale development, indirectly protecting
other sites on the block. 11 sites in the study area are designated, 4 provincially, 4 municipally
and 3 registered. Very few are located as strategic anchor sites.
Property rights controlled by title or agreement (vs. ordinance) - one example would be
protecting the development rights of a property by preservation easements. For at least one
building in the study area, the development rights are protected by a restrictive covenant.
Incentives - an incentives approach is especially useful for privately-owned buildings. Grants are
available for designated Municipal and Provincial Historic Resources as mentioned above, and
provide an incentive for owners to designate/protect their property. The proposed residential
and non-residential tax incentives identified in section 3 would encourage property owners to
designate and bolster the limited number of protected resources in the study area, especially if
applied to 9th Avenue, which would be exempted under the proposed rules. However, these
incentives would be significantly offset by the mid-rise development proposed for some areas
on 9th Avenue. Although there is no density transfer policies in the current Draft LAP, this could
be an effective tool to preserve source sites located in the study area, provided the density is
transferred to appropriate receiver sites outside the study and historic context areas. Density
transfer policies have been implemented in 5 other Calgary inner city communities (Beltline,
Downtown, East Village, Hillhurst/Sunnyside and Sunalta).
Education/information/promotion - educational/informational tools currently in place include:
• information regarding the historic significance of the 43 inventory sites in the study
area posted on the Heritage Calgary database at
9-November-20Inglewood Main Street Heritage Study 28
https://www.calgary.ca/PDA/PD/Pages/Heritage-planning/Inventory-of-evaluated-
historic-resources.aspx;
• technical support and information is available to the owners of properties on the
inventory; Provincial Historic Resources are recognized by bronze plaques and many
commercial buildings display interpretive signage; and
• an Atlantic Avenue walking tour is available at Atlantic avenue, Inglewood :
historical walking tours.
Only strategies which are neutral or enhance the context have been discussed, and certain
individual resource strategies have not been included because of their negative impact to the
overall context of the historic streetscape. For example, density transfer where the sites
receiving the density (receiver sites) are within or near the study area could result in
developments that are more appropriate for a downtown core. Tall buildings would tower over
the 1 to 4-storey area, negatively affecting its historic context. The LAP area would benefit from
significant incentives to retain buildings on the inventory, otherwise there is a risk that heritage
buildings will be lost.
9-November-20Inglewood Main Street Heritage Study 29
Heritage Strategies: Historic Context strategies
The application of all three layers of heritage area policy identified in section 3 would provide
incentives to individual property owners, design guidelines for contributing heritage assets and
comprehensive policy controlled by a Direct Control Bylaw to address streetwall design.
Alternatively, it is possible to implement special Heritage Overlay Districts which would
implement the same incentives and design guidelines.
A 9th Avenue Main Street Project run as a follow-up to the successful project that ran from 1992-
2001 is strongly recommended. Main Street Projects are highly effective overarching
programmes which integrates heritage preservation and economic needs by following four
strategies: coordination, business development, promotion and design/façade rehabilitation.
They have been widely used in North America and in Canada since 1978. Part of the work for a
second project has already been completed; in 2015 statements of significance-evaluations
were completed for 24 commercial and institutional sites in preparation for a provincial Main
Street project, however, the government terminated the Province’s overall Main Street
Programme later in 2015. However, it would be possible to apply to the provincial Historical
Resources Branch for funding as a special project where matching rehabilitation funding would
be provided by building owners; funding could also come from the City of Calgary, federal job
creation grants, and the Inglewood BIA. In the post-COVID19 economy shovel-ready sustainable
construction projects where building-owners and the government collaborate to invest in
commercial building stock will be important to reviving the economy.
Other recommendations include:
• The creation of a heritage management plan for the Main Street area which would
incorporate many of the strategies listed above in a cohesive, phased approach;
• The development of place-making policy to create a vision for development that uses
historic assets at its core, and has stronger policy for the adaptive re-use of existing
buildings; for example, development of the Brewery Site as a Brewery District, an
example being Toronto’s successful historic Distillery District;
• The development of a comprehensive heritage study such as an historic context paper
or heritage impact assessment to inform future plans and policy;
• Branding and interpretation of Atlantic Avenue as a heritage district over and above
heritage interpretation of individual sites, even if formal recognition/protection is not
yet in place;
• Working with the Province for the creation of heritage area legislation which does not
require the consent of all property owners.
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