Historic Calgary?
Historic Calgary?
I’m originally from Montreal – a city steeped in history - with old architecture and lots of character. Things like Old Montreal, former factory zones turned into trendy loft living, fully bricked homes and historic Cathedrals come to mind.
Repurposing building use, maintaining soundness of architecture and safeguarding the City’s history is what amps up the “charm” factor and lends itself to being an evolving mix of old and new.
When we first relocated here 17 years ago, I was a little surprised by the “newness” of everything – buildings, downtown core, residential communities etc. This many years later, it is one of the things that is also appealing because our City is clean, sleek, urban and always in a new growth pattern. Depending where they’re relocating from, my “new to the city” clients often make the same observations.
As an “in transition” City, I appreciate the growth and newness but am equally pleased to know that there are increased initiatives to identify and preserve historically significant properties.
There are 746 properties on the Inventory of Evaluated Resources list and 45 protected by the City from demolition.
Many on the list are there strictly for their historic significance while others, also significant, are representations of prized architectural style and/or the era the property represents.
I’ve always been fascinated by architecture, the history or properties and how buildings can be repurposed to allow history to play a part in revitalization.
If you’re a buff as well, you might find the property bios in the link above chock full of details you may or may not have known before.
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