Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The Arthur Bishop Residence, built in 1912, is a substantial 2½ -storey residence clad in painted lap wood siding. It has a very steep side-gable roof and 2nd-storey front extensions under a cross-gable roof, and an enclosed front veranda with a central front entrance. It sits on a landscaped corner lot within a residential street and neighbourhood.
Heritage Value
The Arthur Bishop Residence, built in 1912, represents the founding and early development of Crescent Heights, one Calgary’s earliest residential suburbs, during Calgary’s first population boom (1907-1913).
Construction of the C.P.R. mainline through Calgary in 1883 brought an influx of pioneer and immigrant settlers. The city mainly developed south of the river, but interest in living on the north side grew when a wooden bridge opened at the site of the current Reconciliation Bridge opened in 1888, replacing ferry service offered since 1883. In 1906 entrepreneur Archibald J. McArthur bought 2 adjacent quarter sections of land on the North Hill, then subdivided portions of it and resold smaller parcels to be developed by others. To promote development of the North Hill, he, with shareholders, built the original wood Centre Street Bridge, a toll bridge, in 1907. The City bought it in 1912 and built the current bridge in 1916.
Cut off from most of Calgary by a steep hill and the river and surrounded by farmland, the Village of Crescent Heights, incorporated in 1908, developed separately. It soon had a village council with taxing authority, school and school board, town-fire hall, and 3 churches. Most major buildings were on 16th AV, and businesses and services along 1 ST, with other development clustered nearby. The area retained a rural character, with hen houses, barns, and large gardens. City directories list 6 households in 1908, 43 in 1909; and a population of about 750 in 1910. Most workers were in building or other trades. Surnames were mainly British. Desiring city services, residents pushed for annexation and Crescent Heights was annexed by the City in Jan. 1911. Streetcars served Edmonton TR and 16 AV by 1911, improving links with the rest of Calgary, and promoting residential and commercial development along the route.
This house was constructed in 1912 for Arthur Herbert Bishop, a carpenter, in what was then the hub of Crescent Heights. Bishop had also invested in property by buying several other adjacent lots in 1907, along with the ones for his own use. In 1909 he filed a subdivision plan for them with owners of other contiguous holdings (2511-W). While living here, Bishop worked as a sashmaker for Cushing Bros. lumber company, which by 1914 was one of the largest sash and door makers in the west.
This is a good example of a substantial house of the period built in a vernacular style from a standardized plan. It has fine interior woodwork, including moulded door and window casings, a grand staircase, and panelled doors.
The house is notable for its use in 1995-2000 as the Black Orchid Manor — one of the few gay-friendly BandBs in Calgary at that time. It was also the site of many social gatherings, offering a safe, welcoming place for gay men especially. The house was owned by Barry Gagliardi and shared with Ron Scheetz and Don Bastian. A tenant lived in a separate basement suite. Gagliardi was a high school drama teacher, Scheetz an operations manager for the Hudson’s Bay Co., Bastian a carpenter and wood artist. Bastian and Scheetz built many interior and exterior improvements. Gagliardi decorated with antique furniture and stained glass he made. The three men, who had a publicly known “thrupple” relationship, were influential in Calgary as out, activist gay men at a time when this was both uncommon and risky, personally and professionally. Bastian was honored for his activism, which included a booklet and workshops promoting safe sex in the Leather community. But he recalls harassment, such as being denied entry to the U.S. several times. The BandB was not successful, so the three moved to a smaller house. From 2002-13, Sheetz was co-owner of the Calgary Eagle in East Calgary, the city’s only Leather bar. Bastian (who built the interior) and Gagliardi (who cooked monthly dinners) were partners. The bar welcomed LGBTQ+ and straight patrons and did much fundraising for gay rights and HIV causes.
Character-Defining Elements
Character-defining elements of the Arthur Bishop Residence include, but are not limited to:
Exterior features:
- 2½ stories with full-width veranda (now enclosed); 2nd-storey centred front and back extensions; side bow window extension; full basement;
- steeply pitched side-gable roof with front cross-gable roof; hip roof with cap over rear extension; boxed eaves;
- wood construction; cladding (from late 1980s or early 1990s) of painted cedar lap siding on main body of house and shingles mounted on plywood on foundation; painted-wood door and window casings; plain painted-wood cornice, belt course, and cornerboards; foundation of terracotta hollow blocks with cobblestone interior retaining wall;
- fenestration pattern of off-centre front entrance; top window openings centred under gables; one-over-one sash windows with original storm windows (1st storey);
- veranda with plank flooring, tongue-and-groove ceiling and interior wall;
- stained-wood front door with oval inset of bevelled glass;
- interior red-brick chimney in stretcher bond with plan cap;
- moderate front setback on a landscaped corner lot; house straddles two lots and the property includes an additional unbuilt lot used as garden space; large back yard has a massive 100+-year-old black willow tree; and
- location within a residential street and neighbourhood primarily filled with single-family houses.
Interior features:
- Quarter-turn closed main staircase with plain balusters, moulded railing and string, moulded and fluted newel posts with side roundels and domed caps;
- wood plank floors (hardwood 1st storey, pine 2nd storey);
- stained- and painted-wood panelled doors, painted-wood moulded and fluted door and window casings, tall baseboards, crown moulding;
- stained-wood moulded mantelpiece with tiled fireplace surround and hearth; and
- leaded-glass window panes; door and window hardware.
Location