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Butters Residence
Calgary
Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The Butters Residence is a 1½ storey, Arts and Crafts-style, sandstone bungalow constructed in 1912. The house features a half-timbered and rough-cast-stucco upper storey, a front veranda and rounded corner turret. The property is located in the inner-city area of Elbow Park adjacent to other pre-World War One-era houses.
Heritage Value
The Butters Residence reflects a period of great development in Elbow Park, when from 1911-14 the earliest homes in the community were built. The house was one of six houses constructed on a speculative basis by Joseph Howard, a contractor, who built five other sandstone houses in the immediate vicinity. It shares a distinctive block known as the “Glencoe Triangle” with two of the other homes built by Howard; the three other houses stand in a row across Glencoe Road SW. Each set of three houses was designed with a river-rock fence. The river-rock fences, and other architectural similarities, make these six houses a unique grouping.
The house is an excellent and unique example of Arts and Crafts-style architecture in Calgary. The use of local sandstone in its construction imbues it with a refined, vernacular character, while imparting a substantial quality uncommon to most other homes of its scale. Residences erected in Elbow Park were more typically constructed of wood or brick, making the Butters house all the more exceptional.
The picturesque appearance of the exterior is defined by the rounded corner turret, its rough-faced stone finish, half-timbered and rough-cast-stucco upper storey, and gambrel roof. The front of the home features a half-width front verandah with balcony above. The Arts and Crafts-style design also distinguishes the interior which retains its beamed ceilings, paneled staircase balustrades and leaded-glass cabinets.
The first owner of the property, from completion in 1912 to 1922, was real-estate broker William H. Butters of Butters and McCallum Real Estate, a firm located in the Lougheed Building, although it appears that Mr. Butters never lived in the house. Dr. W. Merritt rented the house from 1913-1919 and; thereafter, other renters lived in the house until about 1950. At that time Stu Aiken, the long-time, well-known manager of the adjacent Glencoe Club, became the first owner-occupant of the property, with his family residing in the house until about 1992.
Character-Defining Elements
The exterior character-defining elements of the Butters Residence include but are not limited to its:
- Rough-faced sandstone lower-storey finish, foundation, and stair walls laid in irregular courses; half-timbered and rough cast-stucco upper-storey, and bay window;
- 1½-storey form with rounded corner turret and bay window protrusions;
- Gambrel roof with overhanging gables (and moldings), shed roof (front) dormer, hipped-roof, bell-cast (rear) dormers; wooden, tongue-and-groove soffits; two stone chimneys;
- Integral, half-width front verandah with wooden tongue-and-groove ceiling and open balcony above; and
- Fenestration (design and arrangement of window openings); leaded-glass staircase window sashes.
The interior character-defining elements of the Butters Residence include but are not limited to its:
- Elements of the original layout including the form of the principal first-storey rooms and upper-storey corridor;
- Open staircase with paneled balustrade and newel posts;
- Beamed ceilings and picture rails in the principal rooms;
- Leaded-glass cabinet doors; and
- Corniced, wooden window and door casings; and
- Upper-storey doorways with paneled wood doors and hopper transom lights.
Location
| Street Address: |
637 - 29 Avenue SW |
| Community: |
Calgary |
| Boundaries: |
Portion of Lots 1 to 4, Block C, Plan 1553R |
| Contributing Resources: |
Building: 1
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ATS Legal Description:
PBL Legal Description (Cadastral Reference):
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Plan |
Block |
Lot |
Parcel |
1553R
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C
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pt. of 1-5
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Latitude/Longitude:
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Latitude |
Longitude |
CDT |
Datum Type |
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51.0280 |
-114.0799 |
Digital Maps |
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: |
2014/01/27 |
Historical Information
| Built: |
1912/01/01 |
| Period of Significance: |
N/A |
| Theme(s): |
Peopling the Land : Settlement
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| Historic Function(s): |
Residence : Single Dwelling
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| Current Function(s): |
Residence : Single Dwelling
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| Architect: |
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| Builder: |
Joseph Howard
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| Context: |
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Additional Information
| Object Number: |
4664-0307 |
| Designation File: |
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| Related Listing(s): |
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| Heritage Survey File: |
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| Website Link: |
www.calgary.ca/heritageinventory |
| Data Source: |
City of Calgary Heritage Planning File 08-223 |
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