Alberta Register of Historic Places

Odd Fellows Temple / Calgary Chamber of Commerce

Calgary

Other Names:

Alberta Odd Fellows Temple
Calgary Chamber of Commerce Building (Oddfellow's Temple)
I. O. Olf. Building
I.O. Olf. Building
Independent Order of Odd Fellows Building
IO Olf. Building
Odd Fellows' Temple

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place
The Odd Fellows Temple/Calgary Chamber of Commerce is a four-storey, red brick and sandstone commercial building in the Edwardian Classical style of the pre-First World War era. It is located on five city lots in Calgary's downtown business district.

Heritage Value
The Odd Fellows Temple/Calgary Chamber of Commerce is significant as a rare surviving example of the Edwardian Classical style in downtown Calgary. It also represents the significant role played by fraternal organizations such as the Old Fellows in Calgary's community life in the early to mid twentieth century.

The Odd Fellows Temple/Calgary Chamber of Commerce was designed by David McIlroy, who was also responsible for such prominent Calgary landmarks as the Lougheed Building and First Baptist Church. As with the Grain Exchange and the Palliser Hotel, the application of the classical style to the "tall building" demonstrated the city's confidence during its boom period. The Odd Fellows Temple/Calgary Chamber of Commerce is a landmark and retains an excellent degree of architectural integrity.

The International Order of the Odd Fellows was introduced to Alberta by Calgary's first mayor, George Murdock, with the founding of Lodge No. 1 in 1884. Such fraternal organizations were a community response to the turbulent experience of urbanization and industrialization. The Odd Fellows represented an important source of social and financial support, and identity and status, for the influx of immigrants to Calgary. The Odd Fellows Temple served as the headquarters for the provincial lodge and a variety of men's and women's (or Rebekah) lodges. The fourth floor was used for Odd Fellows ceremonies and functions; other social and fraternal organizations (such as trade unions, public health and religious organizations) occupied the third floor. The Odd Fellows Temple was built in part in response to the newly independent Alberta Odd Fellows, who gained autonomy from the Manitoba Grand Lodge in 1905, and thus reflects the nascent provincial identities emerging within the old North West Territories.

Source: Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, Historic Resources Management Branch (File: Des. 740)

Character-Defining Elements
Character-defining elements of the Odd Fellows Temple / Calgary Chamber of Commerce include such features as:

Exterior and structural:
- unusual degree of load-bearing structural capacity in steel frame and poured concrete;
- red-brick facade;
- fenestration pattern;
- piers on ground floor with Ionic capitals; sandstone pilasters on the upper three floors, with three on south facade carved with Corinthian capitals;
- 2 ornate capitals on south facade;
- metal string course (between the ground and first floors) and a sandstone string course (between the third and fourth floors) dividing the building visually into three sections that approximate the different original uses; (retail/office/Order meeting space);
- sandstone lintels;
- recessed doors on the east facade;
- re-created street level storefronts of double glazed display windows, and overhead transom panels in patterned glass;
- stained glass windows;
- broad stone cornice and round-arched windows on fourth floor;

Interior:
- partially restored woodwork;
- tiled floor in the entrance and lobby; tile forming "IOOF" insignia;
- fourth floor layout, including main hall and adjacent regalia room;
- interior features of fourth floor including plaster pilasters, decorative mouldings, wooden cornice, and large panelled sliding doors;
- original interior doors and transoms.

Location

Street Address:	106 - 6 Avenue SW
Community:	Calgary
Boundaries:	Portion of Lots 21 to 25, Block 30, Plan C
Contributing Resources:	Building: 1

ATS Legal Description:

Mer	Rge	Twp	Sec	LSD
5	1	24	15	11 (ptn.)

PBL Legal Description (Cadastral Reference):

Plan	Block	Lot	Parcel
C C C C C	30 30 30 30 30	25 24 23 22 21

Latitude/Longitude:

Latitude	Longitude	CDT	Datum Type
51.047637	-114.063260	GPS	NAD 83

UTM Reference:

Northing	Easting	Zone	CDT	Datum Type

Recognition

Recognition Authority:	Province of Alberta
Designation Status:	Provincial Historic Resource
Date of Designation:	1987/10/16

Historical Information

Built:	1912 to 1912
Period of Significance:
Theme(s):	Building Social and Community Life : Community Organizations Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life : Architecture and Design
Historic Function(s):	Commerce / Commercial Services : Office or Office Building Commerce / Commercial Services : Shop or Wholesale Establishment Community : Social, Benevolent or Fraternal Club Community : Social, Benevolent or Fraternal Club
Current Function(s):
Architect:	David McIlroy
Builder:
Context:	HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE The Odd Fellows' Temple was built in 1912 to provide a permanent meeting place for several Calgary lodges of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The Order, which originated centuries earlier in Great Britain, was introduced to Alberta in 1884 when George Murdock, Calgary's first mayor, founded Alberta Lodge No. 1. The Order attracted some wealthy members, including R.B. Bennett, who remained a member of Alberta Lodge No. 1 all his life, as well as many working and middle class people. Women participated in the Rebekah degree, which began meeting in the temple when Esther Rebekah Lodge No. 1 was founded in 1907. Erected during Calgary's pre-war building boom, the Old Fellows' Temple was intended to pay for itself through revenue earned from the commercial premises on the first three floors. The top floor was devoted to the activities of the order itself, and the main hall and other facilities were an ideal setting for the solemn ceremonies, practical business, and social gatherings which were all a part of Odd Fellowship. The Temple was designed by David McIlroy who also designed the Lougheed Building and First Baptist Church during this period. Like many other commercial buildings of this era, the four-storey Odd Fellows' Temple displays elements of the Edwardian Classical style.

Additional Information

Object Number:	4665-0559
Designation File:	DES 0740
Related Listing(s):
Heritage Survey File:	HS 25906
Website Link:
Data Source:	Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, Historic Resources Management Branch, Old St. Stephen's College, 8820 - 112 Street, Edmonton, AB T6G 2P8 (File: Des. 740)