Calgary's Hudson's Bay building was more than just a store. These photos reveal its rich social history

While the Hudson's Bay Company is closing each but six stores successful the country, its sandstone gathering connected Calgary's Stephen Avenue leaves a landmark of its bequest successful Western Canada. 

Local historiographer Harry Sanders said that portion the Bay's estimation is simply a "mixed bag" —  being the oldest corp successful North America and having a grounds of assemblage exploitation —  its spot successful Canada and Calgary's history is undeniable.

The institution archetypal arrived successful Calgary successful 1876 — conscionable a twelvemonth aft Fort Calgary was founded — with a trading station conscionable eastbound of the Elbow River, according to Josh Traptow, CEO of Heritage Calgary.

In 1884, they constructed a woody gathering astatine the northwest country of Centre Street and Eighth Avenue S.W., successful the determination of downtown Calgary's contiguous time Hudson's Block.

About 7 years later, that store was replaced by different Bay sandstone gathering successful the Romanesque Revival architectural style.

The twelvemonth 1891 marked the commencement of its operations arsenic a section store successful the city — the archetypal of its benignant successful Calgary.

In 1911, operation began westbound of the artifact connected the $1.5-million, six-storey, Chicago Commercial-style Hudson's Bay gathering Calgary knows today.

The monumental building, designed by the Toronto architectural steadfast of Burke, Horwood and White, opened connected Aug. 18, 1913. Featuring Edwardian Classical elements and made of reinforced factual and steel, the exterior is wholly faced with cream-glazed terracotta — a rarity successful Calgary.

The store offered 40 departments, including a ample market division, a determination shipping section and other on-site amenities including nationalist telephones, a telegraph and cablegram office, and a men's smoking lounge, according to the city's Inventory of Evaluated Historic Resources.

"There were escalators and elevators and ... this is conscionable 5 years aft the precise archetypal rider elevator was installed successful Calgary," Sanders said. "There was truly thing similar it."

The improvement of Calgary's Hudson's Bay store

In May 1930, the store completed its important expansion, adding the Eighth Avenue facade and the iconic colonnade made of granite columns, terracotta archways and a mosaic terrazzo floor. The enlargement came with the terms tag of $2.5 million.

In an nonfiction from March 1932, The Beaver magazine, present known as Canada's History, called the colonnade "an past Greek Athenaeum enactment to applicable use."

Another summation was completed to the westbound of the gathering successful 1958, expanding the store by 130,000 quadrate feet astatine a outgo of $3.5 million.

A nationalist prototype 

"When this gathering was built successful 1913, it was the archetypal gathering of its benignant successful the Hudson's Bay portfolio and they utilized it arsenic benignant of a trial task for their different buildings," Traptow explained. 

WATCH | The aboriginal of Calgary's downtown Bay store

The Company would aboriginal exemplary caller stores successful Vancouver (1916), Victoria (1921), and Winnipeg (1926), successful the representation of Calgary's sandstone building.

"That was conscionable the motion of the times. ... The 1910s, 1920s were benignant of a bully clip successful Calgary — the property of optimism, right?" Traptow said.

A 'social' hub, beyond a buying experience

Sanders said the store initially had 600 employees, who participated successful the "Beaver Club" — a benignant of worker relation which took portion successful excursions similar picnics.

The sixth level of the gathering was called the Elizabethan country — fitted with Elizabethan-style furnishings and finishes that made it 1 of the city's astir desirable restaurants.

The 275-seat good eating abstraction hosted politicians, clubs, fraternal societies and others, according to Sanders.

"There's a affluent benignant of societal past to the Bay that's acold beyond conscionable the commercialized function," helium said.

Shoppers could driblet their children disconnected to the rooftop playground which had a governess who would ticker the kids.

Outside, thoroughfare photographers who operated retired of a kiosk wrong the Bay captured Calgarians retired for a stroll oregon buying connected Stephen Avenue.

A lasting legacy

The Bay's beingness successful downtown Calgary cemented it arsenic a retail hub for radical to travel and shop, Traptow said, maintaining its beingness connected Stephen Avenue in immoderate way, signifier oregon form, since the 1890s.

"I'd accidental it's 1 of the astir architecturally important buildings successful the metropolis of Calgary with the arcade ... the Chicago benignant of architecture," helium said. 

"There's thing other similar it successful Calgary — really, successful Western Canada."