Article about Calgary Heritage Authority and Elveden House

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Article about Calgary Heritage Authority and Elveden House

Postby Bob van Wegen » Mon Dec 05, 2005 5:33 pm

First skyscraper added to list of city's top historic buildings

David Bly
Calgary Herald


Monday, December 05, 2005


When the Calgary Heritage Authority goes looking for potential historic sites, it doesn't confine itself to ancient structures built when the city was young.

This year, Elveden House, Calgary's first skyscraper, has been added to the authority's inventory as a Category A site.

Here's a link to photos and info: http://calgarypubliclibrary.com/calgary ... /com53.htm

The heritage authority adds 10 to 15 sites each year to the inventory, classifying them A, B or C, depending on the site's importance.

"In a perfect world, we'd save them all -- A, B and C," said Darryl Cariou, the city's heritage planner, "but with limited resources, we have to make choices."

He said the authority is still compiling the 2005 additions to the inventory, but said it includes the Lacombe Home site in south Calgary as well as Elveden House.

Twenty storeys isn't much by today's standards, but when Elveden House, 717 7th Ave. S.W., was completed in 1960, it dominated Calgary's skyline. It was the first of three phases for the Elveden Centre -- by 1964, the complex consisted of three linked towers.

Being put on the authority's inventory does not affect a building's legal status.

"There are no statutory implications," said Cariou. "It's an information list only, that identifies buildings as having historic value or significance. It does not affect the ownership of anyone's property."

Besides maintaining the city's list of potential heritage sites, the authority, which consists of 10 to 13 volunteer members, advises the city council on matters relating to historic resources.

Cariou and his staff provide administrative support and advice to the authority.

The inventory consists of nearly 500 buildings and sites, ranging from homes built in the 1880s to much more modern buildings, such as Elveden House.

"Certainly, the older a building is, the more we look at it," said Sheila Johnston, chairwoman of the authority, "but age isn't the only criterion. We look for anything that reflects the history of Calgary."

She said interest in preserving Calgary's heritage has grown significantly in the past few years.

"I think that in past years we worked more quietly, because the value of heritage wasn't always recognized," she said, "but the climate has changed in terms of heritage recognition."

A major turning point, she said, was the demolition of the 93-year-old St. Mary's School in 2002.

"Ordinary people began to see, in spite of all the best efforts of people who are deeply concerned, that heritage can be steamrolled," she said. "Now there is a growing concern, a sense of urgency, as we realize what we are losing."

She said the current city council backs the heritage authority's efforts.

"I think it is fair to say that this city council is more supportive than in the past," said Johnston.

Cariou agreed.

"They are significant supporters of heritage preservation," he said of the aldermen.

Cariou said it's a common misconception that council has the power to save old buildings from demolition.

"A heritage designation never happens without the co-operation of the owner," he said. "If the council designated a property a municipal heritage site, the legislation says it would have to compensate the owner for economic losses in connection with that designation.

"That's what's known as incurring an unknown liability, and it's just not a practical way to proceed."

A heritage designation can be done at the municipal, provincial or federal level. About 20 per cent of the properties on the Heritage Authority's inventory have been designated provincial heritage sites.

Such a designation makes a property owner eligible for grants and other financial assistance in restoration work, but also restricts what can happen to the property.

Restoring a heritage property does not always make financial sense, said Johnston, "but heritage brings a kind of beauty that doesn't happen any other way."

She said those developers who have a passion for heritage are to be commended for their commitment.

Cariou said his office and the heritage authority often work closely with property owners in preservation and restoration.

"We want to work with willing building owners," he said.

"We can't and don't want to force people to do things. We're always looking for ways to work in partnership with owners of heritage buildings."

He said the Grand Theatre-Lougheed Building project and the Inglewood livery barn are two examples of such co-operation.

"We can't save everything," he said, "and that's probably not the right approach anyway -- we're a very young city. We have to look ahead at the same time we're looking back."

He said he spends a lot of his time doing site visits, and meeting with owners, developers and architects.

"A lot depends on building those partnerships," he said.

"It's getting easier. There's a growing awareness and a recognition of the importance and value of heritage. It partly has to do with the city getting more mature and recognizing that these buildings have value, not just as architectural things, but as containers of memories."

Calgary is sometimes compared unfavourably with cities such as Winnipeg, which has preserved a higher percentage of its historical buildings.

He said heritage preservation in Calgary and Alberta is similar to elsewhere in Western Canada.

"In Winnipeg, they don't have stronger laws," he said. "They have no oil. That's what's driving new construction and demolition in Calgary."

He said the awareness of the need to preserve heritage should be applied to buildings under construction today.

"Hopefully, we'll look to preserving some of these new buildings in 50 years," he said.

Trudy Cowan, involved in heritage preservation in Calgary since 1969, said she has seen a tremendous change sweep across the country regarding heritage.

Now executive director of the Lougheed House Conservation Society, she's a former chairwoman of the Calgary Heritage Advisory Board, predecessor to the heritage authority.

"You see far more instances of heritage and heritage issues being covered in newspapers and the electronic media," she said. "For instance, the fact that a historic hotel in a small town burns down wouldn't have rated mention in the past. Now it makes the front page.

"Then, nobody noticed that all the elevators were going, that all the lighthouses on the coast were going. Now people are noticing and they care."

She said the heritage authority has helped raise heritage awareness through publications, installing plaques on buildings and working with other organizations.

"And because of the heritage authority, a lot more work is being done on developing an actual mechanism for heritage protection in the city," she said.

The heritage authority recently released its annual report for 2004, and listed as highlights for the year the beginning of the restoration of Central Memorial Park, the preservation of the Lougheed Building-Grand Theatre, and the moving of the Rouleau House onto city property in the Mission District, saving the house from demolition.

dbly@theherald.canwest.com

© The Calgary Herald 2005
Bob van Wegen
 
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