The 1905 Project

Built in 1914, Kipling Square operated as a wholesale grocery house within the Beltline's warehouse district. The building helped feed the city by importing and storing food that arrived through the 10th avenue train – product was received through the front of the building, processed, and then loaded onto trucks through the back.

WHAT’S IT LIKE NOW?

In 1979, the building was transformed into Kipling's Restaurant and today acts as an office space that hosts numerous local businesses and entrepreneurs.

In the early 1920s, 11th avenue was home to one of Ford Motor Company’s warehouses. A few years later, a General Motors building was built across the street from the 1922 Ford building to symbolize dominance and competition in the auto industry. It was built in a similar style and scale, practically mirroring the Ford building on the west side of 8th street.

WHAT’S IT LIKE NOW?

The dealers operated out of the 11th avenue buildings until the 1950s. Today they are home to many local businesses and prominent restaurants.

In 1913 the Ohio-based paint company Sherwin Williams Co. took residency in the Warehouse District of Calgary. The three-story red brick building stored paint and varnish for over 50 years. It was later home to a furniture store and The BLOX’s Heaven’s Fitness (1992-2004) which is now located down the street.

In 2005, the building underwent a renovation, adding a curved glass and steel extension on top of the building- creating an architectural juxtaposition between modern and historic designs.

WHAT’S IT LIKE NOW?

Today, the 7th street building is home to many businesses and retailers.

In 1912 Calgary's Beltline helped build the story of one of Canada's oldest corporations by housing stock for the city's new Hudson's Bay Co. department store on 8 Avenue SW. The large five-storey building housed products for HBC for over 20 years before it was sold to Safeway Stores Inc. and acted as a warehouse for groceries in the 1930s.

WHAT’S IT LIKE NOW?

For many years the 5th avenue building was occupied and owned by some of Calgary's most influential businesses. Today, the loft-style units are home to both residents and businesses.

Built in 1927, the President Apartments was home to many wealthy residents of the Beltline - it was considered a prestigious address and was important in maintaining the street's dominant character. The building was built on land owned by Martin Kavanaugh of the Iroquois Nation. At various points in its' lifetime was home to George B Fay, a co-founder of Western Canada Greyhound Lines and Ted Mayhew, manager of the Queen's Hotel.

Today, the building holds most of its original character, including the arched upper windows, balconettes, and stucco cladding.

Following a large house fire in 1885, Calgary's volunteer fire department was formed, and a fire engine was ordered. Unfortunately, it stood locked away in a CPR Freight due to political gridlock. When the Great Fire burned, volunteer firefighters and locals created a firebreak by tearing down former Mayor George Murdoch's harness shop. In the end, 18 structures were lost during the Great Fire, leading to 2 primary outcomes: a bylaw being put in place that all significant structures within the fire limit must be built with fire-resistant materials (brick or stone) and the construction of the first fire hall.

Sandstone became the building material of choice because it is a plentiful local resource. Sandstone became so integral to Calgary's early identity that it would earn the moniker "Sandstone City."

Harnam Singh Hari was the first Indo-Candian to set foot in Calgary. In 1908, he resigned from military service and began to plan for his future abroad. Immigration into Canada was severely restricted, and there was no knowing whether he would even be allowed to disembark the ship that would take him to Canada. His fate lay in the hands of Willian Hopkinson. Hopkins was raised in India, moved to Vancouver in 1908, and hired by the Canadian and US Governments as an immigration inspector and interpreter.

Singh presented his case to Hopkinson for immigration by arguing that he deserved special consideration due to his military service. His plan worked. He first set his sights on Vancouver. In 1910 he stowed away in a freight train on his way to Calgary but was discovered in Banff. He had no option but to walk the rest of the way.

Within a year in the city, he was able to purchase a modest home with 2 1/2 acres of land. He began to breed livestock as a business. His fortune grew to 5,000 acres of land where much of Calgary is now built.

Born in Calgary in 1906, Maxwell Bates started painting very young; a popular piece of his “In the Kitchen” was painted when he was only 15.

Bates studied art at the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art in Calgary from 1926–1927. He then moved to England to persue his career in the arts, where he supported himself as a vacuum salesman while exhibiting his artwork at the Wertheim Gallery. He returned to Calgary in 1946.

Bates' art has been showcased at art galleries worldwide, including in the Winnipeg Art Gallery and the Vancouver Art Gallery. In the 70's the University of Calgary presented him with an honorary doctoratem and in the 80's he was made a Member of the Order of Canada.

In the early 20th century, the Alberta Goverment Telephoneswarehouse (now Telus) was built on 11th avenue. The building had a bustling social culture and was built with hardwood floors on the second floor for company dances, dinners and events. It has had very little done in renovations, so it has kept its original style and look over 100 years later.

The J.I. Case Threshing Building was built in 1907 along 10th avenue. The building had a trademark "Old Abe" eagle on the globe on the roof corner, which has now been preserved and kept by the Glenbow Museum.

What it's like now?

The brick trim building was home while originally home to Machine Co. of Racine Wis, was eventually modified and renovated for other small businesses and restaurants. It's now home to The BLOX's own Oyster house, Rodneys!

Born in England on November 14, 1889, Elaine Catley was a Canadian poet and writer. Emigrating to Calgary, Canada, in 1920, she wrote poetry that appeared in the Calgary Herald while writing six volumes of work. A 25-year member of the Canadian Authors Association, she went on to found the Associations poetry group.

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Bob Edwards immigrated to Canada, settling in Wetaskin before ending up in Calgary. He created The Chinook, a newspaper known for its content that poked fun at politicians, well-known figures and Calgary residents. Edwards was elected into Alberta's general election as an independent candidate. He worked to advocate for the ready availability of beer and the prohibition of more potent alcohol.

To this day, the Calgary Eye Opener show on CBC is named after Edwards newspaper.

Oh, Canada! In 1911, this was Dr. George Francis Gilman Stanley’s family home, where he spent his childhood years. Dr. Stanley was a prominent Canadian figure serving as an infantry training officer before going overseas to be a historian in the Historical Section at the Canadian Army Headquarters in London. His accomplishments include being the first-ever chair in Canadian history, receiving the Guggenheim Fellowship, and bringing forward the original design for the Canadian flag.

My current research process involves photographing architecture showcasing themes of decay and abandonment. These neglected spaces often seen as "eyesores" are prevalent in my current body of work where I attempt to call attention to derelict structures or spaces. 

 The documented photographs are then used to make my paintings by manually transferring the pigments from the prints onto another surface such as canvas or wooden panel. The process is often unpredictable lending itself to chance formal characteristics within each piece of work.

Combining these images with more imaginative formal elements is another theme that can be found within my work. I currently use the theme of clouds, colour fields or brushstrokes to give more attention or visual interest to the documented structures.

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Absurding the norm and introducing the weird into an environment, whether in illustration or live action animation, Jarett’s work brings strange life to image. Using self-contained narrative, these illustrations embrace small moments of discovery and exploration. Jarett has been featured as the cover artist of The Believer Magazine, and his illustrations have appeared in Reader's Digest Canada, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Ringer, and Maclean's Magazine, to name a few publications. In the past Jarett has contributed animation for Juno Award and Much Music Video Award nominated music videos. Within his hometown of Calgary he has contributed various public art installations, including being selected as the 2021 Centre City Banner Artist. Currently Jarett sits as a board member for Quickdraw Animation Society.

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