Other Names:
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The American Woman’s Club of Calgary
West End Telephone Substation
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Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The 1910 West End Telephone Exchange Building is a long, rectangular, one-storey, gable-front building of solid red-brick construction with sandstone detailing. Its symmetrical Romanesque Revival front façade features a Roman-arched central entrance, surmounted by a gabled parapet. It is located on a residential street in the community of Beltline.
Heritage Value
The West End Telephone Exchange was the second of a pair of nearly identical structures constructed as part of the telephone exchange technology implemented by the newly formed Alberta Government Telephones (AGT) in 1909. AGT occupied the building upon completion in 1910, until 1932, when this facility’s operations ceased. The technological improvements in communication, which are associated with this resource, had a profound impact on the daily activities of residents of this part of Calgary.
Double-wall construction was employed to maintain optimal interior environmental conditions for the automated telephone equipment. A reference to “thermal bottle” construction has also been made in previous reports. The telephone exchange was purpose-designed and built to provide a highly controlled interior environment for sensitive electrical telecommunications equipment. This was a unique requirement for a building of its time, as electronic and communication technologies were in their infancy in 1910.
The building is exceptional in its use of quality materials including reinforced concrete foundation, pressed clay red brick, chiseled sandstone sills and lintels, and concrete parapet caps. The brick masonry at the building’s corners was corbelled to create a quoin effect. The top of the front and rear gable walls terminates in corbel tables which transition fluidly to the precast concrete parapet caps. Along the side elevations, corbelled brick cornices support the minimal overhang and roof gutters adding a modulated rhythm and detail to the long linear side walls. Sandstone was used for lintels and sills while the more durable precast concrete was used for parapet caps.
The building, designed by Allan M. Jeffers, is of heritage value as a very good example of modest, understated Romanesque Revival architecture. Appropriate scale and proportion are wonderfully achieved in this non-residential insertion into a residential community. Unlike its Inglewood twin structure which has no windows, the West End Telephone Exchange was designed and constructed with windows on all elevations except the north (rear) elevation. The rear elevation displays a Roman-arch entry with a semicircular transom light above the door. Unusual for sites with such a distinct street frontage, the design of the rear elevation was given as much attention as the front elevation. The doors, however, are wider than a typical residential door likely a result of the practical requirement of efficiently moving equipment and machinery in and out.
Born and trained in Rhode Island, Allan Merrick Jeffers (1875-1926) became Alberta's Provincial Architect from 1907-12 and Edmonton's City Architect from 1912-14. He designed a number of major Edwardian era public buildings including the Alberta Legislature.
From 1933 until 1938 it appears the building was vacant. In 1938 the American Woman’s Club of Calgary purchased the property and occupied the building continuously until at least 1991. The American Woman's Club (AWC) was formed in 1912 to enable wives of American businessmen, often only temporarily in Calgary, to meet. As well as being a social club, the AWC cooperated with other local organizations in philanthropic and civic improvement activities. Members raised money to support local charities and cultural groups through the sale of cook books, dances and other events. During the First World War, members formed a Red Cross department to aid local war work. The club was dissolved in 2007. The Calgary Boys Choir also used the facility from 1982 until at least 1991.
Character-Defining Elements
- form, scale and massing as expressed by its long, symmetrical, one-storey rectangular plan with short façade;
- medium pitched, front-gable roof; gabled parapets with stone coping and very tall, exterior red-brick chimney on east elevation with corbelled modillions;
- double wall construction with exterior masonry walls of red brick with common bond pattern and joined with red-pigmented mortar; concrete and terra cotta brick interior walls with void of approximately 46cm (18") to 61cm (24") within the two walls;
- fenestration pattern on all façades; windows comprising original single, wooden-sash single hung windows and wooden-sash multi pane basement windows; sandstone lintels and sills;
- additional exterior details such as decorative brick detailing including corbelled cornice under gable, quoining and corbelled modillions on side elevations; central front and rear entrance surmounted by Roman-arch and sandstone lintel (rear only); front entrance stairs with railings; and
- location on property with narrow setbacks on all sides.
Location