Moxam/Congress Buildings

[design_grrl]

( Newsposter interjection: This is an old thread dating back to 2006-07. Click the link for the latest news from Spring 2010 in another thread.
http://www.calgaryheritage.org/CHIForum/vi ... =1973#1973 )

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I am a resident of the Moxam Apartment building on 13th Ave. S.W. Lately, there have been several rumours circulating amongst the tennants that the Moxam and its sister building, the Congress, are slated for development in 2 years (1 year shy of the Moxam's 100th birthday.)

Does anyone have any concrete info on this? If the rumours are true, action needs to be taken now to ensure that two of Calgary's oldest buildings don't meet their fate at the hands of some high-rise condo developer.

[Chris E]

Hey design_grrl, welcome to the Calgary Heritage Initiative forums.
Can you elaborate at all on what you've heard? Anything more specific?

[design_grrl]

I have simply heard thru the grapevine and from other tennants that the buildings are slated for development in two years. Whether that means demolition, I can't say. However, I checked on the city's website under property assessment and found that no building permits/development permits have been granted in the last 2 years. Does this mean we are home free?

[Bob van Wegen]

I have been involved with the Beltline community planning committee for several years and there have not been any development proposals for Moxam/Congress that I know of... but that doesn't mean one isn't coming in the future.

[entheos_fog]

Hello, I live in the Congress as well and I haven't heard of any sort of development rumour at all. That would really be a nightmare if it came true. I love these 2 buildings...

[Bob van Wegen]

When they were surveyed about 25 years ago for the heritage inventory they only got category C status. One thing we should do is re-evaluate them for the inventory. I bet they would move up the list to A.

[entheos_fog]

I agree. How many twin apartment blocks can you name in Calgary from that era like the Congress/Moxam?

And the interiors (esp the 2-bedroom suites) are actually in really good shape.

[newsposter]

[entheos_fog]

If you follow this link to my flickr site...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/entheos_fo ... 068356889/

...I have a set devoted to the Congress. I don't have any interior pics of my apartment (yet) but there's some of the hallway. The tin wallpaper and original wood trim (that hasn't been painted over) are some of the best features of the interior halls.

And as of now, I live in a one-bedroom, which are a little small but I would like to eventually move to a 2-bedroom once I can afford it. They are, as I've said before, quite stunning and spacious.

[spender]

I just signed up for this forum to be able to post to this topic, I love these buildings.

I used to live in the Congress from 1997 to 2000. I lived on the top floor - I think suite 406? In any case, I really enjoyed living there, I thought it was an excellent place to live in many ways. However, I'll never forget the day I was in the Coles in TD Centre and looking through a book called "Ghosts of Alberta", and I flipped past a picture of my building! I then bought that book. I photocopied the story from the book and posted it on the front bulletin board, and noticed that several people took it in to read in their suites. The story apparently relates to the ghost of an elderly resident that sounds more tricky than menacing.

I am very curious to find out about this axe murder that occurred in the early 1990s. Today one of my partners mentioned that she lived in the Congress in 1994 or so and was aware of the story of the murder, and the haunting.

Now, the spooky stuff. I never really had any creepy experiences in the building. However, I did find it extremely strange that one of the big 2 bedroom suites on the second floor (with the "3" numbers) had extremely high turnover of tenants. I thought this was odd because it was a beautiful and large suite, and super cheap by any standards (I think it was maybe $200 more than a one bedroom). I always suspected this suite was haunted or otherwise cursed.

Next, one girl that I dated for a relatively short time had horrible nightmares after spending a few nights in my apartment (yes, yes, save the comments ), but when she described them I thought they were very freaky. Apparently, in her dream she would wake up in the apartment in the middle of the night, and there would be a woman with short black hair glaring at her in an evil fashion. She had this dream several times. Needless to say, we didn't date for long.

In any case, I am very interested in the experiences of other people who lived in the Congress or Moxam in the 1990s or before.

[newsposter]

Hi Spender, I have heard second hand that there was a murder in the Congress in the 90s, but don't know much else...

[newsposter]

Hey, I forgot all about this old thread, but it came up when googled!
Go here for further information about the Moxam-Congress (spring 2010) - book and exhibit: http://www.calgaryheritage.org/CHIForum/vi ... =2040#2040