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Notes |
Verso printed: "No. 63. Calgary, Alberta. In the heart of prosperous ranching country, this foothill city on the banks of the Bow River is a busy transportation and oil center.
“Cornerstones” were articles that appeared in the Sunday edition of the Calgary Herald between 1997 and 2000. The following article appeared January 4, 1998.
Palliser Hotel
• 133 9th Avenue S.W.
• Built: 1911 – 1914
• Architect: E. and W.S. Maxwell of Montreal.
• Original cost: $1,500,000
• Contractor: P. Lyall and Sons Construction Company. Western Manager - H.A. Singley. Local superintendent of construction was Sanford N. Mapes.
• Original owner: Canadian Pacific Railway.
• Architectural style: Classical features. Design similar to New York's Plaza Hotel rather than the French Chateau Style hotels built by the CPR in other Canadian cities. The eight storey (plus a lower basement level) Palliser was built in an E shaped plan with three individual towers. It featured a flat roof and substantial cornices. Classical features included engaged Ionic columns and radiating voussoirs over the round - headed windows flanking the main 9th Avenue entrance. A French - styled Mansard roof appeared on the original plans but was never built.
• Construction materials: Stone, steel, reinforced concrete and brick.
• Original interior details: Moulded ceilings, marble columns and floors, fine oak woodwork, hand made rugs and tapestries. Original art from Montreal art dealers W. Scott and Sons. Roof garden and sun parlour, dining room, palm court (to the left of the main entrance), ball room, ladies' drawing room, gentlemen's smoking room and 350 suites in the upper floors. Each suite featured Canadian made furnishings, a mahogany door, brass bed, hot and cold running water and an outside window. The Western Standard newspaper of June 20, 1914 described the elegant new hotel in detail. " The floor of the rotunda, vestibule, entrance hall and elevator hall is of grey Tennessee marble, and the columns that support the roof are finished in Botticino marble, with sylvan green marble for the bases. The entire ground floor with the exception of the dining room and ladies' drawing room, is fitted in fumed oak." The bar room, with its oak beams, stained glass windows, and coats of arms carved into heavy columns had the air of a baronial hall. Basement included a barbershop, complete with porcelain manicure tables, a brick wall oven for baking fresh bread, ten sample rooms, a wine cellar, ice room and a baggage room connected to the railway station.
Historical highlights:
• Excavation for the new hotel began May 12, 1911 on CPR property which had been the site of the railway garden and bandstand. The location of the hotel next to the railway station at the hub of the city was no accident as most hotel guests travelled by train.
• On March 1st 1912 a local paper announced "Plans for the New CPR Hotel Arrive."
• The Hudson's Bay Store and the Palliser were the most costly commercial buildings erected in Calgary during the boom years.
• During construction Calgarians referred to the hotel as " the Canadian Pacific Railway, Calgary Hotel". The local newspaper asked readers to submit ideas for naming the new hotel. Suggestions included the Adanac, Great Western, Golden West, Pride of the West, Royal Northwestern, Shaughden, Crowfoot, Piedmont, Swastika and Royal Mary.
• The name Palliser was selected in commemoration of Captain John Palliser, leader of the famed British expedition responsible for exploring Western Canada between 1857 and 1860. Members of the expedition collected astronomical, meteorological, geological and magnetic data, described the flora and fauna, the inhabitants and the suitability of the country for settlement and transportation.
• Hotel popularly known as the "Castle by the Tracks".
• When the Palliser opened about 11 months behind schedule in June 1914 there were 300 employees. The Chief Steward reported that the supplies included 12,612 sheets, 6,000 pillow cases, 9,600 quilts, 15,00 blankets, 2,000 tablecloths, 8,400 serviettes and 13,200 plates.
• 1929 - three floors and a penthouse were added, making it the tallest building in Calgary at the time. Tudor, Spanish and Italian decor was featured in some of the 492 suites. Rooms were $4.50 a night. Complete lunch was $1.00 and dinner $1.50.
• Home to social and service club functions, dining, dancing, teas, supper dances.
• Palliser hosted Annual Old Time Range Men's Dinner between 1929 and 1993. The first dinner held July 9, 1919 was attended by 57 "old time cow men". Only those men who had worked on a round - up wagon prior to 1900 qualified for the spread put on by CPR.
• 1930 - dinner honouring the "Famous Five."
• During the 1930s the big band sound of the Jerry Fuller Orchestra was broadcast live on national radio from the Hotel's ballroom.
• Temporary home to politicians, movie stars and royalty including the Prince of Wales who later abdicated the throne to marry Mrs. Simpson, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Cary Grant, Sophia Loren, Don Johnson, Bill Crosby and famous Danish explorer, Roald Amundsen.
• Some folks just moved in and stayed. Calgarian R.B. Bennett who eventually became Prime Minister of Canada lived in room 760.
• Between the 1940s and 1960s the Palliser's New Year's Eve Ball was the city's major social event.
• 1962 - 1965 - $2.5 million renovation. The interior was "modernized". Ceilings lowered, air conditioning installed, 475 suites updated and a new dining area and bar, the Rimrock Room and the Big Top Lounge opened.
• 1970s and 1980s - Millions of dollars spent restoring the hotel to its original splendour. Earlier renovations were dismantled and the lobby, lower level guest rooms and other public areas restored in Renaissance Revival style.
• Chosen to host Olympic VIPs during the XV Olympic Winter Games (1988) held in Calgary. • A gala Charity Ball was held in May 1989 to celebrate the Palliser's 75th Anniversary.
“Then & Now” columns appeared weekly in the Calgary Herald between 2002 and 2005. The following article appeared December 31, 2002.
THEN:
• Built in an E-shape, the classically styled Palliser Hotel was named for Capt. John Palliser, leader of the British expedition that explored Western Canada between 1857 and 1860. It was one of a string of Canadian hotels built across the country by Canadian Pacific Railway. The $1.5-million Palliser opened about 11 months behind schedule in June 1914. In addition to 350 suites and 300 employees, the luxury hotel boasted a wine cellar, ice room, barroom, barbershop and bakery with a brick wall oven. The chief steward reported that supplies included 12,612 sheets, 6,000 pillowcases, 15,000 blankets and 13,200 plates. In 1929, three floors and a penthouse were added, making it the tallest building in Calgary at the time.
NOW:
• In recent years, millions of dollars have been spent in renovating and restoring the Palliser to its original splendour. Since 1914, it has been a temporary home to politicians, government officials, movie stars and royalty, including the Prince of Wales, the Queen and Prince Philip, Cary Grant, Sophia Loren and Don Johnson. In 1988, the hotel provided accommodations for Olympic VIPs during the XV Olympic Winter Games. With the 1999 merger of CP Hotels and a San Francisco-based company, this Calgary landmark was renamed the Fairmont Palliser.
“Cornerstones” were articles that appeared in the Sunday edition of the Calgary Herald between 1997 and 2000. The following article March 22, 1998
Centre Street Bridge
• Centre Street over the Bow River
• Built: 1916
• Architect: John F. Green, a pioneer engineer in the field of concrete bridges who also designed the Louise and Mission bridges.
• Contractor: City project using day labour.
• Craftsmen: The four concrete lions, emblems, shields and buffalo heads on the Centre Street Bridge were designed by Scottish stone mason James L. Thompson who came to Calgary in 1910. He worked as a labourer for the City and as a hobby, carved a lion for his garden at 2109 Centre Street North. The bridge lions, modelled after those at the base of Admiral Nelson's Monument in Trafalgar Square, London, were cast on the construction site, hoisted and cemented into place.
• Original cost: $375,000
• Original owner: City of Calgary (1916)
• Construction materials: Upper bridge - reinforced concrete. Lower bridge - steel and concrete.
• Architectural style: Upper bridge - arch superstructure. Lower bridge - "I" girders superstructure.
• Original detail: Reposing lions and concrete turrets. Four spans. Upper bridge is 583 feet long and 48 feet wide. Lower bridge is 480 feet long and 18 feet long.
Historical highlights: First crossing at Centre Street was Fogg's Ferry in 1882.
• A.J.McArthur, who owned and subdivided Crescent Heights in 1906, formed a private company called the Centre Street Bridge Company Limited and sold shares to speculators and land holders on the North Hill. Lots were sold with a promise of a bridge connecting the new community to the downtown. The company built a $17,000 steel truss bridge with wooden approaches across the Bow River.
• Following the city's annexation of Crescent Heights in 1908 the bridge company built a steep road from the bridge to the top of the hill and the city installed stairs for pedestrians.
• Between 1908 and 1912 the bridge company and the city waged a battle over who was responsible for upkeep and repair of the bridge, which was by this time quite heavily used by residents of Crescent Heights, Mount Pleasant, Rosedale, construction workers hauling gravel to build downtown sidewalks and contractors dumping clay from downtown excavations at the base of the North Hill. The heavy traffic quickly wore holes in the planking.
• In April 1911 bridge owners put in a toll gate to recoup maintenance costs, a move which angered city officials and local residents. The toll was eventually abandoned but the bridge remained closed to heavy traffic. Crescent Heights promoters offered to sell the bridge to the city for $17,0000 but council refused to pay even $5,000.
• By 1912, the problem was resolved and the City bought the old Centre Street Bridge for $1300.00.
• Construction on a new bridge began in April 1915 and was completed by year end 1916.
• The lower deck was first designed as a pedestrian bridge only and converted for traffic half way through construction.
• The remains of the old bridge were sold to the provincial Department of Highways in 1917 for $1,500.
• October 1971 - $200,000 repair to foundation and reinforcement of the arches on the southern span.
• By 1973 more than 32,000 motor vehicles crossed the bridge daily.
• In 1974 the city installed a $220,000 temporary one-lane Bailey bridge across the Bow River for the duration of a $2 million renovation which closed Centre Street bridge between April and September. The temporary structure was for pedestrian, bus, taxi and emergency use only.
• Upgrading included installation of automatic lane lights to permit maximum traffic flow at rush hours, new surfaces on upper and lower decks and a three foot concrete barrier between pedestrian and automobile traffic.
• The bridge was officially re-opened September 30, 1974 by Mayor Rod Sykes and Highways Minister Clarence Copithorne.
• The story of Centre Street Bridge appears in Hugh Dempsey's book Calgary: Spirit of the West. For more information about Calgary bridges consult R.A. Welin's The Bridges of Calgary 1882 - 1977.
“Then & Now” columns appeared weekly in the Calgary Herald between 2002 and 2005. The following article appeared October 15, 2002.
THEN: Centre Street Bridge
• Since Fogg's Ferry opened in 1882, the Centre Street crossing over the Bow River has been a major north- south thoroughfare. Crescent Heights developer A.J. McArthur and a group of private investors built the first bridge in 1907. Four years later, the city bought it for $1,300. A new four-span steel and concrete bridge completed in 1916 included upper and lower decks. The most distinctive feature was a quartet of reposing lions, two facing north and two facing south, designed by Scottish stonemason James L. Thomson.
NOW: Centre Street Bridge
• In 1992, the city officially designated the bridge as a municipal heritage resource. Seven years later, the bridge was closed for the third major structural upgrade since 1916. It reopened in September 2000 after a $13-million repair that included removal and replacement of the original concrete lions. More than 27,000 vehicles cross the bridge daily. |
