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Paskapoo Sandstone is the name of the specific type of sandstone found in the numerous sandstone quarries that were once in operation in Calgary and used in the construction of the vast majority of buildings from the sandstone era. All Paskapoo sandstone is approximately 60 million years old and is formed from sand particles piling on top of one another in large groups and hardening over time into sandstone. Sandstone is highly susceptible to erosion and often has a lifespan of about 100 years after it is quarried. However, through preservation efforts and reinforcement of sandstone with other materials such as concrete, many of the sandstone structures in Calgary have been able to survive into the present day.

Nat Christie Park, 14th Street Bridge in the background

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Sculptures in this park were carved by members of the Stone Sculptures Guild of North America in 1998. All sculptures are carved out of local Paskapoo sandstone. The name Paskapoo comes from the Cree word for “Blind Man,” with the name being used for this type of sandstone due to its abundance near the Blindman River, which runs through Central Alberta. 


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The Calgary fire of 1886 broke out on Sunday, November 7th, 1886, in the area that now makes up 9th Ave SE and Centre St before being put out at 9 am the following day by the Calgary Volunteer Fire Department. While nobody was killed or injured, fourteen buildings were destroyed, and the fire resulted in $103,200 ($2.4 million adjusted for inflation) in damage and caused widespread devastation through the newly incorporated town. While the fire’s cause is unknown, it resulted in increased vigilance and concern within the community regarding arson.  Calgary Mayor George Clift King was quoted as saying, “If you find any man setting fire to any building, I hand him over to you, and you may deal with him as you like.”  To prevent further damage to any of the buildings in Calgary, city officials drafted a law that all future buildings in the downtown core must be built with either brick or stone. Because a type of sandstone, known as Paskapoo Sandstone, was readily available in the area and was, therefore, the cheapest to quarry, it became a frequently used building material.  This law sparked Calgary’s “Sandstone Era,” which resulted in 15 different sandstone quarries operating within the city and sandstone quarrying, becoming one of Calgary’s key industries in this period. The first sandstone quarries were opened by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in 1885, in what is now Edworthy Park. It is also possible that a sandstone quarry operated by local businessman Wesley F. Orr was in use before the CPR began quarrying sandstone. Following the passing of the Sandstone Law in 1886, quarries opened throughout the city, and by 1890 it was estimated that half of the tradesmen in Calgary worked within the stone cutting industry. The sandstone era came to an end in Calgary in 1915, when the last of the sandstone quarries closed. Contributing factors to the decline of sandstone included the end of the city’s pre-First World War economic boom, high labour costs, and competition from other building materials, including locally made bricks and terracotta and high-quality Indiana sandstone

In 1894 the newly minted City of Calgary realized that Calgary was growing faster than their hospital could accommodate. The first General Hospital had been an old run-down house on 7th ave, that was falling apart. The hospital building was a community effort, with prominent citizens such as A.E. Cross and Mrs. Pinkham (the wife of the prominent Bishop Pinkham) fundraising for the hospital. The first donation was not from any prominent businessmen but rather from Jimmy Smith, a Chinese businessman who was well known and loved in the community. Smith donated $1,000 to build the new hospital upon his death in 1890. They were built in sandstone in a simplified Romanesque style typical of the 1900's. The ruins you see here today are from the second Calgary General Hospital built-in 1894. The new facility boasted 35 beds, an operating room, a nursing school, along with electricity and a telephone. To meet the city’s growing demands, the hospital was enlarged several times, a maternity wing in 1899, and a two-story ward in 1903, and another maternity ward in 1905. However, by 1908 it was clear that the hospital could not keep up with the growing city, and a new facility was built across the Bow River. The old sandstone general was used as an “isolation” hospital for the chronically ill until 1954 when an isolation ward was built at the new general. The building was then turned into a senior’s retirement home. In 1971 the old general was on the wrecking block, and one of Calgary’s biggest heritage debates began. The province deemed the building unimportant despite its heritage, and protests from local citizens and demolition followed. In 1974 public park was opened by then Premier Peter Lougheed grandson of Sir James Lougheed, who had laid one of the cornerstones of the hospital 80 years earlier. Today the ruins have been turned into a park popular with graduating students to get their pictures taken.

Rundle Ruins were the site of Calgary’s second general hospital, the first being a small house where the head nurse was also the cook.The City of Calgary donated $10,000 to the construction of the hospital. It underwent several renovations and additions and was Calgary’s most significant hospital until the third General Hospital was built across the Bow River. 


Rundle Ruins 

Built between 1907-1911 by William M. Dodd, it a four-storey sandstone building with a central clock tower. Constructed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, it features a rough sandstone exterior, rows of recessed windows, arches, and a red pressed metal tile roof. It was opened in 1911 by future Prime Minister Robert Borden, Calgary city hall is one of the oldest City Halls in western Canada. The building is also significant for its single massive clock tower, heavy stone verandas and balconies, a deep recessed front entry and keystones over many of the windows and entrances. The building has a steel structural frame that supports the outside walls of brick and locally quarried sandstone. Construction of the building was anything from smooth sailing in 1909 workers began leaving the project after Dodd had been unable to pay them due to budget overruns. Dodd himself was dismissed due to these cost overruns after asking the city council for an additional $77,000 for the project. Dodd faced harsh criticisms from the press and public for his handling of the project and was ultimately paid $6,500 for his work and left the city immediately after. In 1964 the walls outside the building were coated with a protective liquid to prevent the sandstone from any further deterioration. In 1997 City Hall was reopened following $9.3 million renovations. In 2014 it was announced that city hall would undergo another restoration to stabilize the crumbling sandstone exterior, this restoration is scheduled to continue until July of 2020. The restoration has not been without controversy due to the sandstone utilized for these renovations being imported from Poland and Spain. A former quarry located in Edworthy Park was proposed as a source of sandstone. Still, due to the quarry’s location being in what is now a city park, this idea was rejected by City Council due to opposition to resource extraction occurring in a park.

- Stands where Calgary’s original town hall was, a wood-frame building erected in 1885.

- In 1907, the City council approved $150,000 for its construction. The lowest contractor bid was $190,000, but the final construction cost would be $300,000. By 1909, escalating construction costs cause the city to propose a bylaw for additional funds, but ratepayers voted it down. A public scandal ensued, during which the contractor walked off the job, and architect William M. Dodd was fired. For nearly a year, City Hall stood unfinished and virtually abandoned. Additional funds were approved in 1910 when construction resumed.

- The tower clock was purchased for $3,657 from the Seth Thomas Clock Co. of Thomaston, Connecticut, and the watch and its 1500 lb. bell was installed in 1911 by D.E. Black, a local jeweller and alderman.

- It is the only surviving City Hall of its period in Western Canada. 
 


Old City Hall

The Clarence and Norman blocks, built with sandstone from Calgary’s Bow Bank Quarries, were constructed by Senator James A. Lougheed as the place for his law offices and various businesses. Clarence Block was constructed for and managed by Lougheed and named for Lougheed’s eldest son, Clarence. It housed his law practice until 1927, which he shared with future Prime Minister RB Bennett. Clarence Block helped to establish Stephen Ave. Calgary’s prime retail and professional services area. Norman Block also built by Senator Lougheed named for his second son Norman. It was built in 1904 a two storey flat roof building, eight bays across, in an Edwardian Commercial style, with a rooftop balustrade and centre and scroll pediments. The first of many fires to engulf the blocks occurred in the Clarence Block on Christmas Day 1900 at 2:30 am. Despite the fire crew’s efforts, it spread to the neighbouring Norman Block and caused roughly $190,000 ($5 million, adjusted for inflation) in damage and destroyed Lougheed’s law library and office furnishings. Almost immediately, Lougheed began rebuilding. He reopened them in February 1901. Three years later, the Norman block was again in flames in “the worst fire in Calgary’s history,” said the Calgary Herald. The block was rebuilt and would burn down twice more, in 1911 and 1933, with the Lougheed family rebuilding each time. The blocks were fully renovated in 1972, and today they conspicuously are home to a “Winners” store in the Norman Block and a “Sportchek” in the Clarence Block.

- Build by Sir James Lougheed and named for his two eldest sons, Clarence and Norman. The blocks caught fire four times between 1900 and 1933. The Lougheed family repaired the buildings each time. Lougheed’s partners on the buildings were Lord Beaverbrook, a Canadian-British newspaper publisher and influential in British media and politics and future Alberta Premier John E. Brownlee. 


Clarence and Norman Blocks 

The Alberta Hotel served as a hostelry for pioneers and ranchers and a gathering place for visitors to Calgary from the surrounding rural areas. Architecturally significant as one of the oldest structures in downtown Calgary and is distinguished by its use of sandstone in its construction. Construction of the original portion of the building began in 1888 and is a direct example of the changes in building practices post “Great Fire of 1886.” It is a rare example of Italianate style of design in Calgary as few remain in Calgary. The ground floor of the building has been altered while the second and third floors retain their sandstone exterior. Numerous stories are surrounding the regulars at the bar, such as Mother Fulman. She was known as “The Queen of Garbage Row” for collecting waste from hotels around the city to feed her pigs and was notable for her colourful vocabulary and ability to out-drink any man in the bar. Another regular was the deaf architect J.J. Wilson who would mistake every remark said to him as an invitation to drink. A man once attempted to rob the bar while armed with a gun. The bartender reportedly squirted the soda siphon in his hand into the robber’s eye, temporarily blinding him and allowing the bartender to grab his gun from his hand and call the police to arrest him. After the passage of prohibition in 1916, the bar was closed down after the last supper held by its final owner Charles Taprell. After its closure, the bar was kept in place and put into storage while the building was remodelled, and businesses were brought into the first and second floors.

The Bar at the Alberta Hotel was said to be the longest between Winnipeg and Vancouver in the early part of the 20th century. The bar was frequented by regulars such as Senator Patrick Burns and future Prime Minister RB Bennett, who owned a private table at the bar. In 1911 the building had several gargoyles installed outside of it was were unusual for being modeled on individuals you would find on a newspaper staff, as opposed to fantastical animals.Along with the bar, the hotel also contained the largest barbershop in Calgary, which included 12 chairs. It served as a meeting point for local business people who would often begin meetings in the barbershop and finish them over drinks at the bar. 


Alberta Hotel 

In 1904 the cornerstone was laid by Isabella Lougheed on behalf of her Uncle Lord Strathcona. This was to be one of the first Methodist Churches in Calgary. The new church was attended by many prominent Calgary Citizens, notably the Lougheed Family. The walls were made out of sandstone hewn from local quarries. The sanctuary was panelled in antique wood and walnut. A Calgary Herald Article declared, “of all the churches in Canada today, there are none more complete or handsome.” In 1916 the church’s sanctuary was severely damaged by fire on February 29th. While repairs were made, a pair of local theatres were used in the interim. The church reopened a little over a year later. Several years later, Central Methodist got a new name when the Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational churches merged to become the United Church of Canada. Afterwards, Central Methodist became Central United Church, and the congregation grew. At one point boasting the largest congregation of any United Church in Canada, with 3,500 members. Today the church serves those who have long resided just beyond their doors working with homeless people to shelter and clothe them with the Central Church having a role in the creation of Calgary Urban Project Society (CUPS) in the 1980s and Inn from the Cold Society later on.

At completion, it was the largest structure in Calgary, with a capacity of 1,975 people. The plot of land for the church was chosen with the help of MLA and future Prime Minister RB Bennett. Bennett successfully resisted several calls for the building to be relocated, keeping the church close to the business core of the city. This created a haven where spiritual values could be enforced amidst what he saw as the materialism of the business class around him. 

Central United Church 

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.

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.


Grain Exchange Building 

Haultain was constructed in 1894 with sandstone from WM and Oliver Co. Quarries. It cost roughly $2,500 to build. It was designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style and features a rough-faced sandstone exterior with sandstone lintels, sills and arches. A medium-pitch hip roof with pronounced overhangs and a sandstone entablature above the front entrance reads “Haultain School 1892-1922.” Both of these dates are incorrect as the school was built in 1894 and the keystone carved in 1920. Originally named Southward School, in 1894, Calgary was divided into four wards with Haultain being in the southern-ward, which gave its name. The school was expanded in 1907, adding and additional ten rooms to the schoolhouse. In 1910 Southward school was renamed after Haultain. The large school, which in 1925 had the most students in the city at 525, would later be closed in 1962 due to declining enrollment. Just two years later, the larger addition would be destroyed in a fire. After being registered as a Provincial Historic Resource in 2004, the building was sold to the City of Calgary. It became of the office for Calgary Parks.

Calgary’s first sandstone school outfitted with the luxuries of both running water and electricity.  It is currently the oldest surviving school building in Calgary.  Named for North West Territories Premier Frederick Haultain. Haultain advocated for the creation of Alberta and Saskatchewan into a single province called “Buffalo.”  


Haultain School 

The library opened in early 1912. Designed by the Boston architectural firm “Mclean and Wright,” the Memorial Park Library is almost identical to Attleboro, Massachusetts, also a Carnegie Library. Full of rich details, the Memorial Park Library is built in Edwardian Classism, a pre-First World War-style that its similar to the French Beaux-Arts style. The elegance and grandiosity of Edwardian Classism are often echoed by the formal landscapes they live in. The Memorial Park Library is the perfect example of this. Set in Central Memorial Park, whose symmetrical layout and manicured lawns with a mix of domestic and exotic plants and trees typical of the Edwardian era make this library and park one of the few remained examples of Edwardian Classism in Calgary. The library itself is richly designed with Pasakpoo Sandstone from the Oliver Quarry. The roof is made of copper, the floors were constructed of Douglas Fir, and the trim throughout is Mahogany and birch. This finery is thanks to Annie Davidson, who hosted literary meetings from her home, forming the “Calgary Women’s Literary Club.” She, along with other well-educated women, campaigned to have a public library built in the city. It was because of these women that Carnegie agreed to give the money for the library

First Major public library built in Alberta. It was one of over 150 libraries built in Canada with funds from American millionaire Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie believed in freely accessible learning for all people and focused his philanthropy upon building and funding libraries. Memorial Park Library cost 100,000 dollars to build 80,000 coming from Carnegie. The library was home to the Glenbow Archives and research center. 


Memorial Park Library

Before 1908 high school students in Calgary attended City Hall School on 7th avenue east. When it was completed in 1907, it was the most modern school in Calgary, featuring a self-contained heating plant and indoor plumbing. It is perhaps the most picturesque sandstone building in Calgary with its Castles like roofline and ornate carvings. It may not be surprising since Robert G. Gordon designed it. It has a clock tower and grand arched entrances look closely, and you’ll notice one entry is marked for boys, the other for girls. He adapted the Scottish Baronial Style for the eight-room sandstone school, the most detailed and ornate of the sandstone public schools. Pre-First World War population boom meant that soon it required an addition to keep up with increasing enrollment. Subsequently, a five-room addition was added to match the existing structure. In 1918 the school was simply renamed Central High School. In 1940 Egyptian Revival Style gymnasium was added. Some notable alumni include Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker, Peter Lougheed, Premier of Alberta from 1971-1985, Canadian Flag designer Dr. George Stanley and MLA Sheldon Chumir. Enrollment had drastically declined by the time the school closed in 1965. The Central High was briefly elementary before it became Central Special Class School for students with developmental disabilities in 1972. Shortly after, it was renamed again after Dr. Carl Safran, an educational phycologist who was Chief Superintendent from 1972-1977 and was a crucial player in the development of special education in Calgary. Now a part of the adjoining Calgary Board of Education offices, the school has been carefully restored and retains its original stairwells skylights and dark wood windows.

 Was the first School in Calgary designed specifically for secondary education. It has separate boys’ and girls’ entrances that are still visible today. Central Collegiate school was the first structure in Calgary designed specifically for secondary education. Students that went there were groomed for further instruction. 


Central Collegiate School 

When Alberta became a province in 1905, the newly province moved quickly to develop plans for elections, a permanent capital, and expand its railways, telephone lines and education systems. Calgary was chosen as the site of the provinces first Normal School, a training school for teachers. Construction of the school began in 1906, and the cornerstone was laid in 1907 by premier Alexander Rutherford. The Normal School is a classic example of Beaux-Arts style architecture. It was inspired by 16th-century French academic architecture, which was commonly used for public buildings across North America. The building was designed by Provincial Architect A.M. Jeffers, who would also create the Legislature Building in Edmonton. When it was completed, it was the largest educational building in Alberta and cost $150,000 – a considerable expenditure. Featuring a two-storey colonnade on the east and copper cornice are only some of the fine details that make up the Normal School. The school opened officially in 1907, with two instructors and 26 student teachers. Recognizing that the teachers needed practical experience, the Calgary Board of Education opened grade school in the Normal School. In 1922 the Normal School moved to the Current site of the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) bought the building and renamed it McDougall School in honour of Missionaries George and John McDougall. Over the next six decades, the school would serve firstly as a junior high and then elementary school before being closed in 1981. In 1959 the CBE added on a gymnasium and a three-story addition on the west side of the building. However, these additions were removed during the restoration of the building in the 1980s as they were deemed to take away from the building’s original character. During the restoration, the McDougall school was turned into offices for the province. In 1987 it officially opened as the McDougall Center, the Alberta Government Center for Southern Alberta.

Designed by A.M. Jeffers, who would also create the Alberta Legislature Building. The cornerstone to the building was laid by Alberta’s first Premier, Alexander Rutherford in June 1907. The Calgary Normal School was Alberta’s largest educational institution upon its opening, instructing students from across Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.


Calgary Normal School/ McDougall Centre 

Senator Patrick Burns was born a penniless Ontario Irishmen who became one of Calgary’s first millionaires. He began his career as a rancher whose business rapidly expanded into a meat industry. Burns would go on to found the Calgary stampede in 1912 and was appointed a Senator in 1931. In 1900 Burns commissioned Francis Rattenbury, the person that designed the Empress Hotel and Victoria Parliament Buildings, to create his Calgary home. The home was built of sandstone quarried from the Shaganappi Quarry in the French Chateau, and Irish Castle styles finished in 1901. This sprawling mansion had 18 rooms and was ornate with carvings of gargoyles and a three-story tower. After Burns died in 1938, the house was used as a convalescent home for patients discharged from the neighbouring Colonel Belcher Hospital for Veterans. In 1956 the house was demolished to make way for an addition to the hospital, all that remains of the house today is a piece of the sandstone fence with the burns armorial shield located at the southeast corner of the block, other sandstone remnants can be found in Senator Burns Memorial Rock Garden in Riley Park. The Gardens were constructed in the 1950s with more than 20,000 pieces of flagstone from the senator’s home. Today the Burns Manor site is home to the Sheldon Chumir Health Center opened in 2008 which houses, an urgent care center, a diagnostic imaging department, and the Southern Alberta HIV Clinic.

The garden contains sandstone bricks that were initially part of Burns Manor (1903-1956), the Beltline mansion owned by Senator Patrick Burns. Burns is notable for being one of the “Big Four” ranchers who founded the Calgary Stampede in 1912. The house was the site of a reception for Canadian Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier and his wife to celebrate Alberta becoming a province in 1905. Burns celebrated his 75th birthday party with a seven-layer cake weighing 3,000 pounds, which was cut into 23,000 pieces and given to Calgary. Upon his death, the taxes on Burns’ estate were large enough to eliminate the provincial deficit and balance the provinces’ budget


Senator Patrick Burns Memorial Rock Garden. 

The Calgary School Board Purchased the land for the school in 1910. The three-story, 26-room school opened in November of 1913 with William Aberhart as the school’s first principle. The school was one of nineteen schools build from 1894-1914 made from sandstone. This school was made from sandstone quarried near present-day 17th Ave SW. While officially named King Edward School, it was more commonly referred to as South Calgary High School and later in 1918 Sunalta school when students from that school moved in. In 1931 a Junior High program was piloted at King Edward. The program’s success leads to it being adopted province wide in 1935. The school became too crowded in 1922, and some of the classes were moved to a nearby church. During the war, the Calgary Normal School and the Southern Institute of Technology were relocated to King Edward School to make way from the British Commonwealth Training Program that occupied their campus during the war. Much of the original structure remains the same, although two additions were added in the 1950s and 1960s. The first being a 1956 gymnasium addition, which also included home economic and art rooms. The second edition added in 1967 was the King Edward Elementary-junior high. The original west wing was demolished after a dangerous crack formed in the outside wall of the building. King Edward Elementary Junior High closed in 2001. The school stayed empty until it was eventually sold to C space and made into a private art facility.

The first principal of the school was William Aberhart, who later became a noted radio evangelist and the Premier of Alberta. Aberhart directed theatrical productions at the school to teach children skills such as public speaking and oratory. Dropouts were frequent in the early days of the school to the point that a teacher from this period remarked that it seemed the walls of the school were greased.The concept of junior highs was piloted at the school before being adapted province-wide in 1935.


King Edward School 

In 1883 the Edworthy Family settled along the Bow River in the area that is now Edworthy Park. In 1885 Thomas Edworthy began quarrying sandstone in the area called the Bow Bank Quarries. After the Great Calgary Fire of 1886, City Hill made it law that all new buildings in Calgary must be made from sandstone. The Bow Bank Quarries were used to build many prominent Calgary structures, including Norman Block, the Pat Burns Manor, and the McKay House. Thomas Edworthy operated three quarries along the Bow River. The quarry works were substantial with derricks to lift the stone and mechanized wagons on graded roads to carry the sand to the railway. Edworthy quarry operations ended when Thomas Edworthy died in 1904, and the quarries were leased and operated by others until 1914. The City of Calgary purchased the homestead from the Edworthy family in 1962 with the intent of turning it into a public park bearing the family’s name and to preserve the historical activities on the land. The Edworthy home still exists and was placed on the Alberta Historic Resource Register in 1987. Visitors can still see the quarry site with exposed sandstone, drill marks, rubble piles and excavations for the derrick footings.

The quarry was supported by loading and siding tracks utilized by the CPR. The sandstone would be loaded into buckets and then into a siding car, and then the break would be let off releasing the trolley. The Edworthy homestead is one of the oldest homesteads still existing in the Calgary Area. 

Written in Sand - A Sandstone Walking Tour of Calgary

Nat Christie Park

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