Grain Exchange Building

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

At six stories, the Grain Exchange Building was the tallest structure in Calgary upon its completion. The current tallest building in Calgary is Brookfield Place Tower, at 56 stories. Construction cost: $164,000. Initially called the Hull Block, but the name was changed when the Calgary Grain Exchange moved there in 1910.The Grain Exchange Building’s height caused concerns about the effect the wind could have on a building of its height. The height of the building stems from property values increasing by 1000 percent in the area around Stephen Avenue between 1908 and 1912. This caused developers to construct taller buildings in order to maximize profits. The building was made with a combination of sandstone and reinforced concrete which has contributed to its longevity by having the concrete mediate any potential decay of the sandstone. It contained the city’s first passenger elevator, a cage elevator with a metal expanding door.

Images

Grain Exchange Building circa 1910

Grain Exchange Building circa 1964

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

The Grain Exchange Building was built for rancher and meat packer William Roper Hull. The building acted as a hub for grain businesses that set the grain prices across Alberta. 21 companies occupied the building in 1910. The Grain exchange is a six-storey sandstone commercial building in the Edwardian Classical style of pre-First World War era. It symbolized Calgary’s role as a service center for the grain industry in Alberta. However, by 1919 the Exchange needed more space and moved to the Lancaster Building. Since then a variety of businesses have occupied the building. It is the significant as the first reinforced concrete high-rise in Calgary. The building is an example of the commercial style, with excellent details and cut and coursed sandstone. The building retains many of its original exterior and interior details, including the pronounced cornice, ground floor, ground floor pilasters with armor shields, continuous storefronts, and fine entrance door with wood tracery and beveled glass. The building is of historical significance due it its association with the centralization of the grain trade in Calgary and its association with William Roper Hull.

Sources

Image Sources(Click to expand)

NA-1370-3 used with permission from the Glenbow Library and Archives

aj_83-17, Alison Jackson Photograph Collection, Calgary Public Library