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St. Regis (Grunwald) Hotel
Calgary
Other Names:
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Grunwald Hotel
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Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The St. Regis (Grunwald) Hotel, built in 1913, is a six-storey, Edwardian Commercial style structure located in downtown Calgary. The masonry and steel-frame building is distinguished by a highly detailed and ornamental terracotta façade. The building which is situated mid-block extends to the alley and fronts the street with a short façade.
Heritage Value
The St. Regis (Grunwald) Hotel, built 1913, exemplifies smaller-scale, Edwardian Commercial style design in Calgary and is one of only a few buildings in the city to feature a terra-cotta façade. The highly ornamental, terracotta-clad façade is classically detailed with reeded torus mouldings framing the windows, decorated spandrel panels and an overhanging cornice. The arrangement of the windows within a recessed vertical unit is highly characteristic of commercial architecture of the period and was intended to increase overall vertical prominence of the building. Alexander Pirie, a Calgary architect since 1904, was responsible for the design of the St. Regis (Grunwald) Hotel. Pirie is remembered in Calgary for his design of the Devenish Apartments (1911) which were widely considered to be among the finest apartments in the city.
The St. Regis (Grunwald) Hotel’s steel frame construction categorizes it with the first generation of Calgary buildings to employ this technology. Other materials used in construction including brick, concrete, metal-sash windows, and interior walls of gypsum blocks served to classify the hotel as a ‘fireproof’ structure which was greatly touted at the time of its opening.
In operation since October 1913, the Grunwald Hotel, which became the St. Regis in 1917, is significant as the second-oldest, continuously operating hotel in the city. It is also significant as one of only six hotels built prior to the First World War to survive in Calgary, and is the only building constructed in the city as a temperance hotel to remain. Built as moderately priced lodging for business travelers and semi-permanent residents, it was one of a handful of hotels to be built without a bar or that did not serve alcohol - despite prohibition not coming into effect in Alberta until 1916. Upon completion, the Grunwald was considered to be one of the best hotels in the city, offering 100 guestrooms and 50 bathrooms – each shared by only two guestrooms – a significantly higher ratio of bathrooms to guestrooms than was common in Calgary at the time. Additional appointments included a parlour, writing room and lounging room on each floor for the comfort of hotel guest and residents. While the St. Regis (Grunwald) Hotel was located off of Ninth Avenue, where the Canadian Pacific Railways station was located, and most hotels were concentrated, it remained convenient to the station, situated just two blocks to the north.
Planned in 1911, and built in 1913, the St. Regis (Grunwald) Hotel also reflects the immense development boom which occurred in Calgary prior to the First World War, reaching an apex between 1910 and 1913. The building was initially planned as an office building by real estate developer, Albert C. Johnson, to take advantage of the lucrative rental opportunities available at the time. It may have been changed to a hotel project in response to the slowing economic environment. As such, the St. Regis (Grunwald) Hotel was one of the last major commercial buildings to be constructed in Calgary, prior to the economic collapse of 1913 which ended Calgary’s first major boom.
Character-Defining Elements
The exterior character-defining elements of the St. Regis (Grunwald) Hotel include features such as its:
- six-storey, long, rectangular plan with light wells, a short façade and flat roof;
- steel-frame, concrete and brick construction;
- symmetrical façade, four bays in width with regular fenestration and rectangular paired (divided by a thick mullion) windows;
- glazed, white, terracotta-clad façade comprising, square tiles, reeded torus mouldings, spandrel panels, window sills, a bracketed modillion block cornice, a low triangular pediment and elaborately moulded upper-storey window heads;
- regular side and rear elevation fenestration with rectangular single and paired (divided by a thick mullion) windows;
- rear elevation fire escape doorways containing transom lights;
- rear elevation, iron fire escape; and
- centrally placed rooftop flagpole.
The interior character-defining elements of the St. Regis (Grunwald) Hotel include features such as its:
- floor plan above the first-storey, typical of hotel design, with central corridors flanked by an arrangement of guestrooms (100 guestrooms);
- guestroom doorway assemblies with transom lights;
- mahogany trim and mouldings in the corridors and guestrooms, including window and doorway casings, veneered doors, baseboards, picture rails, and fire-hose cases;
- brass or bronze guestroom doorknobs and hardware;
- original bathroom fixtures including long, deep, cast-iron tubs with original hardware such as porcelain-topped, nickel or chrome-plated wastewater valves
- cast-iron radiators throughout;
- corridor chutes with iron doors on each floor for laundry;
- elevator car with brass, Art Deco grills;
- double, iron-fronted ‘E. Leonard & Sons’ boilers (basement); and
- pink and black terrazzo flooring (basement).
Location
| Street Address: |
124 - 7 Avenue SE |
| Community: |
Calgary |
| Boundaries: |
Strata Lot 48, Block 42, Plan 1810979 |
| Contributing Resources: |
Buildings: 1
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ATS Legal Description:
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Mer |
Rge |
Twp |
Sec |
LSD |
5
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1
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24
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15
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11
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PBL Legal Description (Cadastral Reference):
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Plan |
Block |
Lot |
Parcel |
A (Calgary)
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42
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28-29
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Latitude/Longitude:
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Latitude |
Longitude |
CDT |
Datum Type |
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51.04656400680 |
-114.06146659800 |
Secondary Source |
NAD83 |
UTM Reference:
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Northing |
Easting |
Zone |
CDT |
Datum Type |
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Recognition
| Recognition Authority: |
Local Governments (AB) |
| Designation Status: |
Municipal Historic Resource |
| Date of Designation: |
2008/06/09 |
Historical Information
| Built: |
1913/01/01 |
| Period of Significance: |
N/A |
| Theme(s): |
Peopling the Land : Settlement
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| Historic Function(s): |
Commerce / Commercial Services : Hotel, Motel or Inn
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| Current Function(s): |
Commerce / Commercial Services : Office or Office Building
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| Architect: |
Alexander Pirie
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| Builder: |
McDougall and Forster
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| Context: |
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Additional Information
| Object Number: |
4664-0262 |
| Designation File: |
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| Related Listing(s): |
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| Heritage Survey File: |
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| Website Link: |
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| Data Source: |
City of Calgary, Heritage Planning, File No. 01-176 |
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