Other Names:
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A.E. Cross House
Brewery House
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Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The Cross Residence is a two-storey frame house with sandstone foundation, built in 1891 in the Queen Anne Revival Style. It is distinguished by its truncated hipped roof with widow's walk, and two projecting bays capped with gables ornamented with finials and scrollwork. The residence is located on seven lots adjacent to the Bow River in the historic community of Inglewood. It comprises extensive lawns, gardens, mature vegetation, and outbuildings, including a 1937 garage. Additions were made to the house in three main phases in the early 1920s, late 1940s, and in 1988-90.
Heritage Value
The Cross Residence is significant as one of the earliest examples of the Queen Anne Revival style in Calgary. Designed by J.L. "Deafy" Wilson, it features an asymmetrical façade, two-storey bay windows, and gables ornamented with scrollwork. The widow's walk balustrade, more common in Greek Revival architecture, is unusual in Calgary and lends the residence a picturesque appearance.
The Cross Residence has value for its long association with the Cross family, one of Calgary's founding families. Alfred Ernest Cross (1861-1932) arrived in Calgary in 1884, and worked for Senator Mathew Cochrane before establishing the A7 Ranche near Nanton. After an injury in 1888, Cross retrained as a master brewer, and formed the Calgary Brewing and Malting Company in 1892. He was one of the "Big Four" sponsors of the first Calgary Stampede in 1912, a member of the Territorial Legislature, a leader in Alberta's petroleum industry, and an active community member. In 1899 Cross married Helen "Nell" Rothney Macleod (1878-1959), daughter of North-West Mounted Police Colonel James MacLeod, and prominent social figure in Calgary.
Built in 1891 for civil engineer Matthew Neilson, this residence became the Cross family home in 1899. Ernest and Helen had seven children, though the eldest two died of illness in 1904. The first surviving son, James "Jim" Braehead (1903-1990), succeeded his father as brewery president and ranch manager. Mary Julia Dover (1905-1994), the eldest daughter, became a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Canadian Women's Army Corps during the Second World War; she also served two terms as Calgary Alderman, from 1949-1952 and 1957-1960. Margaret Shakespeare (1912-1979) settled in Vancouver, and John (1916-1991) went on to manage the A7 Ranche. Alexander "Sandy" Rothney (1914-2003) was vice-president of the brewery before establishing Rothney Farms, much of which he and his wife Ann donated as a conservation area just southwest of Calgary.
In 1973 the Cross family donated their home to the City of Calgary for use by the Parks and Recreation department, and by the Calgary Horticultural Society. The residence was later rehabilitated and reopened as the A.E. Cross Garden Café in 1991, and continues to operate as the renowned Rouge restaurant.
The Cross Residence has further symbolic value as a reminder of Inglewood's role as the first residential neighbourhood in Calgary, and its subsequent evolution as an industrial district known as "Brewery Flats." In 1882 NWMP Commissioner A.G. Irvine and Major John Stewart created the Calgary Town Site Plan in what is now Inglewood, subdividing lots in anticipation of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR)'s arrival. The town-site shifted after 1883, however, when the CPR announced that its station would be built west of the Elbow River. This residence is one the few estate homes that remains from Inglewood's early development phase. "Brewery House," as it was known, became a focal point for large dinner parties, polo matches, and other gatherings hosted by the Cross family. A.E. and Helen considered moving to the more exclusive Mount Royal neighbourhood, but they remained in Inglewood, instead enlarging the house and adding a garage to accommodate their changing needs. The prominence of the Cross Residence contrasted with the increasingly working-class character of the community. It recalls the significant influence of the brewery as one of the largest employers in the district, and the Cross family's broader impact on Calgary's economic and social life.
The Cross Residence is also significant as a landmark in Inglewood. Extending further west and north to the Bow River, the property once included livestock, a large vegetable garden, fruit trees, and a showpiece flower garden that became a local landmark. The residence remains well known in Inglewood because of its extensive lawn and gardens, its substantial massing, and its prominent corner location at the south end of the "Zoo Bridge."
Character-Defining Elements
Its two-storey wood frame construction with sandstone foundation;
Asymmetrical form and massing defined by two-storey projecting bays on south and east facades;
Gable ends over bays, supported by brackets in-filled with decorative panels, and embellished with scrollwork and finials;
Hipped roof with cross gables, ending in widow's walk with stylized lyre balustrade;
Wood drop siding cladding, with scalloped shingles in gables;
Original red brick chimney with heavily corbelled top and two secondary brick chimneys;
Fenestration style and pattern comprising: six, two-over-two double hung windows in each of south and east bays, with original wood casings and eared corners at top of window frames; one double-hung, one casement, and one tripartite ribbon window on east façade; and wood-frame, double-hung windows
ca. 1921 additions to house including north extension and west bay;
Original front door surmounted with two-pane transom; Interior features including hardwood flooring, dark fir trim and doors, carved fir newel posts and balusters on main stairway, brick fireplace with tile hearth and oak mantle, cast iron radiators, original plaster walls and ceilings, vault and vault door in basement, and other original hardware;
1937 garage located north of the residence, with front gable roof, exposed rafter tails, beveled wood lap siding with corner boards, four-pane fixed windows with wood trim, and two tri-panel doors; and
Spacious landscaped grounds to the west of the residence with mature vegetation, surrounded by segment of original fence on west boundary of property.
Location