1900 Heritage Drive S.W.

Built: 1894

Architect

Original owner

Construction materials

Architectural style

Original interior details

Historical highlights

Peter Prince reportedly designed his home from plans of a Connecticut house published in the November 1893 issue of Scientific American, Architects and Builders Edition.

Original owner:

Peter Anthony Prince was born near Trois-Rivieres, Quebec May 4, 1836. Prince lived in Ontario where he learned the millwright trade and lumber business. In 1866 he migrated to northern Wisconsin where he joined the Northwestern Lumber Company and became an American citizen. Prince moved to Calgary in 1886 and became the Manager of the Eau Claire and Bow River Lumber Company, a position he held until 1916. Prince quickly became involved in other business ventures and with I.K.Kerr, president of the lumber operation, built a flour mill and elevator which later became the Robin Hood Mill. Prince also operated Prince - Kerr ranch at Brooks, became president of the Calgary Iron Works, the Louis Petrie Company, the Calgary Milling Company and held an interest in the John Irwin Company grocery business. In 1889 Prince signed a contract to supply Calgary with electricity and formed the Calgary Water Power Company which he ran until his death in January 1925 at age 89. His wife Emily survived him by nineteen years and his stepdaughter Nora remained living in the 4th Avenue house until her death 1965. Calgary's Prince's Island is named for the "lumber baron", Peter Prince.

Construction materials:

Yellow brick veneer on a sandstone foundation.

Architectural style:

Queen Anne style. Three storeys with a tower.

Original interior details:

3,300 square feet. Parlor, dining room, kitchen, eight bedrooms, servant's quarters, and the modern convenience of hot water heating. Wood trim and floors.

Historical highlights:

• House originally built at 238 4th Avenue S.W. close to Prince's Eau Claire and Bow River Lumber Company in the district now known as Eau Claire.
  

• In 1966 Alberta and Southern Gas and Alberta Natural Gas donated the house to Heritage Park, sponsoring the move and restoration as a Centennial project in 1967.
  

• In preparation for the move the woodwork and 25,000 bricks were removed and the house divided into three sections. It was reassembled on a simulated sandstone foundation on a lovely lot at Heritage Park.
  

• Interior has been restored and refurnished to depict the end of the Edwardian Era (c.1910). Some items which originally belonged to the Prince family are on display in the dining room; a rocker, solid wood table and four chairs and a cheese dish.
  

• Heritage Park opens for the 1998 season on Saturday May 16th.

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