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King Edward Hotel
Calgary
Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The King Edward Hotel, built in phases between 1905 and 1910, is a modestly finished pioneer-era structure consisting of two distinct sections which are three and five stories in height. The Edwardian Commercial style brick building occupies a corner lot in the East Village area of Calgary on the eastern edge of downtown.
Heritage Value
The King Edward Hotel, which dates to 1905, is significant as the second oldest extant hotel building in Calgary and was the oldest continually operating hotel in the city until its closure in 2004. Apart from the luxurious Palliser Hotel, the King Edward survives as the only hostelry to recall Ninth Avenue’s status, prior to World War I, as Calgary’s ‘Hotel Row’. During this period, Ninth Avenue was lined with hotels and restaurants because it was also the location for the Canadian Pacific Railway (C.P.R.) station, land titles office, and immigration hall. As a medium-priced hotel, the King Edward was popular with working-class travelers, as well as cattlemen and ranchers. With the development boom that occurred in Calgary between 1910 and 1913 the King Edward’s 105 rooms also became a short-term home to the influx of working men seeking residential accommodations.
The King Edward Hotel is also significant for its colorful history as a well-known Calgary drinking establishment. In the hotel’s early years, it was an important component of ‘Whiskey Row’, as Ninth Avenue was alternatively termed, due to the street’s numerous hotel bars. During this period, the hotel bar was popular with both travelers arriving and departing from the nearby C.P.R. station as well as the large number of working men who populated the area. During the prohibition era (1916-24) the hotel gained notoriety for its reputed bootlegging operations and was the subject of numerous liquor law violations. After prohibition, the King Edward’s reputation remained closely associated with its bar, which continued to be a well-known, working-class venue. During the management tenure of Homer Meeks (1946-62) the hotel’s bar reputedly became the first desegregated bar in the city, winning the patronage of Calgary’s black community. In the early 1980s the King Edward Hotel became one of Canada’s first blues bars, proclaiming itself ‘Home of the Blues’. It gained a national and international reputation attracting ‘A’ circuit bands and performers from the USA and Canada. Legendary blues musicians such as B.B. King, John Hammond, Pinetop Perkins, and Otis Rush performed at the King Edward during this time, as well as rock star Brian Adams. When the King Edward closed its doors, the hotel was considered to be Canada’s oldest blues bar.
The King Edward Hotel exemplifies pioneer-era and Edwardian commercial architecture in Calgary. The earliest, three-storey section of the hotel was built in 1905 and is typical of early twentieth century design and construction in pioneer-era Alberta. This section of the structure retains much of its original exterior character including its brick façades, segmental arched windows and a simply detailed metal cornice. This portion of the King Edward Hotel was one of several wood-frame and brick-veneer hotels of its period to be built in Calgary, but survives as the last remaining example. The five-storey extension constructed behind the original portion of the hotel reflects not only the increased demand and economic development to occur within the city, but also the evolution of design in Calgary. The five-storey section of the hotel, constructed in phases in 1907, 1909 and 1910 is characterized by its solid larger scale, its differentiated fenestration and detailing, and is more reflective of later Edwardian-era design. Like many early Calgary buildings the King Edward displays sandstone detailing, most of which was quarried locally.
The King Edward Hotel is a strong contributor to the only surviving group of historic buildings in the East Village. This group of buildings, which includes the Hillier Block (1910) and St. Louis Hotel (1914) serves to recall the East Village’s historic character and appearance. With its prominent corner location, the King Edward is the most visible of these buildings, lending it landmark status.
Character-Defining Elements
The exterior character-defining elements of the King Edward Hotel include such features as its:
- compound plan consisting of three and five-storey sections with flat roofs;
- chamfered corner and corner entrance (three-storey section);
- brick facades and its load-bearing (five-storey section) and brick on wood-frame construction (three-storey section);
- straight, brick parapets (three-storey section);
- regular fenestration with segmental-arched windows (three-storey section) and rectangular windows (five-storey section), sills, and one-over-one, wooden-sashes throughout;
- simply detailed, galvanized-metal, roofline cornices and friezes;
- rock-faced sandstone detailing comprising the lintels and window sills (five-storey section); and
- illuminated 1950s or 1960s-era sign, in the form of a sword, suspended above the corner entrance.
Location
| Street Address: |
438 - 9 Avenue SE |
| Community: |
Calgary |
| Boundaries: |
Strata Lot 1, Block 129, Plan 1213110 |
| Contributing Resources: |
Building: 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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07
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PBL Legal Description (Cadastral Reference):
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Plan |
Block |
Lot |
Parcel |
A (Calgary)
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59
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21-23
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Latitude/Longitude:
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Latitude |
Longitude |
CDT |
Datum Type |
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51.04444045750 |
-114.05356359200 |
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: |
2008/12/09 |
Historical Information
| Built: |
1905/01/01 |
| 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): |
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| Architect: |
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| Builder: |
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| Context: |
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Additional Information
| Object Number: |
4664-0271 |
| 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. 03-118 |
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