| Architect: Hodgson and Bates of Calgary
Contractor: George A. Archibald of Winnipeg
and Calgary
Original
cost: $164,000.
Original
owner:
William Roper Hull,
rancher, real estate speculator and founding member of
the Calgary Grain Exchange. Hull came to Calgary in 1884
with his brother John. Hull was one of the first to use
irrigation methods, developed a meat packing business and
a chain of butcher shops. Along with A.E.Cross and
William Cochrane founded the Calgary Brewing and Malting
Company. In 1903 Hull and his wife, Emmeline Bannister
Ellis, built a gracious brick and sandstone home named
Langmore on the corner of 12th Avenue and 6th Street. The
house and grounds covered 22 city blocks. The house was
demolished and Hull Estates now occupies a portion of the
Hull property. Hull built Calgary's first cultural
centre, Hull's Opera House and in 1902 the Alberta Block
which is still standing on the corner of 1st Street and
8th Avenue West.
Construction materials:
Reinforced concrete
frame, rusticated sandstone cladding on three facades.
Heavily moulded stone window surrounds.
Architectural style:
Classical design. Height
is accentuated by pillars, columns and vertical lines of
the windows.
Original interior
details:
Hard wood trim
throughout. First passenger elevator in the city, a cage
elevator with metal expanding door and wrought iron gate.
Stair rails of solid brass. Walk in vaults on each floor
have pictures on them depicting some aspect of Alberta- a
sheaf of grain, a buffalo. Heated and lit by gas. Until
1951 the Grain Exchange Building was heated by the
boilers located in the Alberta Block which Hull also
owned. The heating pipes passed through a 4 foot tunnel
under the lane between the two buildings. Basement
designed as a bowling alley and billiard room.
Historical highlights:
- first building to
extend the business section off 8th Avenue
- the building above
ground measures 50 feet by 130 feet and covers
the entire site.
- at 6 stories, one
of the tallest buildings in Alberta in 1909. This
"skyscraper" was considered the most
up-to-date business block in the province.
- first structure in
the city to be built using the "Kahn"
reinforced concrete method of construction, at
that time a newly developed technique.
- building was a
speculative venture but Hull was persuaded by the
Calgary Board of Trade and the members of the
Exchange to make it home to the newly formed
Calgary Grain Exchange. Initially it was called
the Hull Block but the name was changed to the
Grain Exchange Building. Founding members of the
Exchange included Herald publisher J.H.
Woods.
- ornate central door
way facing 1st St. Elaborate sandstone arch
carved by Norman Priestly. Heavy oak doors and
bevelled glass. WH intertwined initials inscribed
on a scrolled stone shield above the door.
- home to the Grain
Exchange 1910-1919. In 1910, the building housed
21 grain companies in addition to the Exchange.
The Exchange enabled grain companies to maintain
telegraphic communication with other major grain
centres and so set Alberta prices for Alberta
farmers. The Exchange was developed as a result
of the rapid increase in agricultural development
in Alberta in pre World War I years and
symbolizes Calgary's position as a service centre
for the grain industry in Alberta.
- the Exchange had
outgrown the building by 1919 moved to the
Lancaster building on 8th Avenue. Since then the
Grain Exchange building has served as a business
block for a variety of business and professional
people; lawyers, physicians, dentists, land
developers, an architect (Hodgson and Bates who
designed the building had offices there until
1915) the American Consulate in 1911 and in 1950
the Alberta Liberal Party.
- purchased in 1951
by Henry Darney Mann, prominent Calgary lawyer
and Secretary of the Calgary Bar Association
1912-1917 who had his office in the building from
1916 until his death in 1971.
- present owners A
& H Holdings and Louson Investments purchased
the building in 1972 from Mann's family and
recently completed exterior renovations. Building
is currently a rental property and houses small
businesses including jewellery, visual arts,
clothing manufacturers, artist.
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Grain Exchange Building