Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The C.C. Snowdon Oils Factory and Office comprises an office and warehouse complex built in three phases between 1911 and 1914. The three one-storey structures that make up the complex were built as an office and warehouse at its centre (1911), an oil and grease warehouse on the south side (1912), and a garage and office at the northwest corner (1913-14). The complex is located at the centre of a former industrial area in the Ramsay community, immediately adjacent to the Canadian Pacific Railway lines.
Heritage Value
The C.C. Snowdon Oils Factory and Office represents an important pioneer enterprise that was established in Calgary in 1908. Campbell Camillus Snowdon (1881-1935), founder of the company, established the business after settling in Calgary as the western manager of the Canadian Oil Company around 1907. Snowdon first occupied a site several blocks to the north of the subject site, and started to construct the existing complex late in 1910.
The C.C. Snowdon Oils Factory and Office was the site of significant industrial, manufacturing and employment activity during its years of operation from 1911-83. The C.C. Snowdon company is said to have been one of the first oil manufacturing and refining businesses to be based in Western Canada. Originally the site housed company offices as well as the manufacturing and refining of lubricating oils, grease, coal oil, gasoline, paints, disinfectants; later, other chemicals, soaps, polishes and cotton waste rounded out the line of company products which were sold under trademarks that included Velox, Sliptivity and Numidian. In addition to the existing brick buildings, the site once boasted numerous sheds, warehouses, tanks and a storage yard. The property’s location on a siding adjacent to major CPR lines allowed for easy product shipment. It was from this base that the company expanded to Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Vancouver.
As a result of this enterprise C.C. Snowdon became an esteemed, widely known Calgary businessman and leading philanthropist and; therefore, the property is also significant because of its close association with this prominent Calgarian. Notably Snowdon was also locally known for his Mt Royal Garden, a city beauty spot which he opened to the public.
The Snowdon family had sold off the business by 1970 with the company becoming a subsidiary of Liberty Resources, which in turn became part of Turbo Resources, a major Canadian energy business. Notably Turbo’s early growth was through acquisitions, with C.C. Snowdon being one of the first. The Snowdon acquisition gave Turbo its initial position in chemical and cleaning product sales. The Snowdon name remained within the company portfolio until the late 1970s when it became known as Bramco Industries.
The remaining brick building, consisting of three joined structures, built 1911, 1912, and 1913-14 made up the core of the facility. Built as offices, warehouses and manufacturing space, it was the most substantial building on site in terms of size and quality. Constructed of load-bearing red brick, the building is valued for its stylistic and functional design attributes. While utilitarian in purpose, the building was nicely finished with quality red-brick facades, sandstone detailing, an arched entrance and a pressed-metal cornice. It now survives as one of the few remaining industrial buildings in the area, making its functional design a rarity in the community.
The property also symbolizes the historical development and character of the area. The property is located within the eastern boundary of the present-day Ramsay community, once known as East Calgary. The site was part of a concentration of industrial uses in the vicinity which defined the area. Adjacent industries included the Burns Abattoir and Stockyards, Canada Cement Co., and Royal Crown Soap Works. Milling companies and the Calgary Brewing and Malting Company were situated to the northeast. Immediately to the north of the C.C.Snowdon site was the Westeel metal works and other oil company warehouses. This concentration of industry within East Calgary helped solidify Calgary’s status as an emerging Western-Canadian industrial centre prior to the First World War.
The building’s singular character, modest but attractive architecture, distinctive ghost signage on all facades, and prominent location on a busy street has served to make the building a landmark in the community.
Character-Defining Elements
The character-defining elements of the C.C. Snowdon Oils Factory and Office include, but are not limited to its:
- One-storey, flat-roof form; three rectangular building sections (from 1911, 1912, and 1913-14) connected to form an irregular plan;
- Masonry construction comprising red-brick facades with expressed piers;
- Rough-faced sandstone detailing comprising window sills and lintels and doorway keystones (1911 and 1913-14 building sections); concrete lintels (1912 building section);
- Existing painted ‘ghost’ signage;
- Pressed-metal roofline cornice with ‘C.C. SNOWDON’ lettering (1911 building section);
- Fenestration (window opening pattern and arrangement); wooden, one-over-one, hung-sash windows (1913-14 building section); wooden-sash windows with a single-light hopper transom over a fixed, single-light sash (1911 building section);
- Numerous double-width doorways; central doorway of 1911 building section with inset, wooden, tongue-and-groove assembly wall containing a single door with transom light and wood casings; central doorway of the 1913-14 building section with wooden assembly comprising seven-part transom light, and a single-glazed door and sidelights with paneled tongue-and-groove bases ; and
- Industrial context adjacent to a railway siding and rail line.
Location