Landmark Building
BLOW BLOCK
1312 - 9th Avenue SE, Calgary
Built By: David C. Blow
Built in 1911
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This boom period building has an interesting feature: the entrance to its upper floor is shared with the neighbouring Dougall Block. Both buildings were erected in 1911, and originally had offices on the second floor. Like many of the other historic buildings in the area, these were converted into residential suites in 1913. The original window openings were reduced in size when the exteriors were renovated in 1967-69.
David C. Blow, builder of Blow Block, was born in Mountain, Ontario in about 1868. He came to Calgary in 1903, and remained until his death in a duck-hunting accident in October 1931. He was a building contractor, and a cousin of Dr. Thomas Blow, a prominent eye, ear, nose and throat specialist in Calgary for forty years. Dr. Blow played a significant role in Alberta’s early economic and political development, was responsible for the construction of a number of downtown office block and served for ten years in the Alberta Legislature, commencing in 1913. Dr. Blow died in Calgary on December 27, 1932, and is buried in Union Cemetery.
In 1909, Dr. Blow played a major role in the movement to found a university in Calgary. Strathcona was awarded the provincial university in that year, but Blow was later instrumental in having the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art (later renamed SAIT, the Southern Institute of Technology) located in Calgary in 1916 at the Colonel Walker School. The façade was restored by the Inglewood Business Revitalization Zone and the Alberta Main Street Programme in 1999.
The Landmark Buildings and Places Database draws on the series of walking and/or driving tour booklets produced by Alberta Culture (now Alberta Culture and Community Spirit). The Heritage Community Foundation gratefully acknowledges the support of the Ministry through permission to reprint these materials online. Extracted from Calgary: Atlantic Avenue Inglewood: Historical Walking Tours. Heritage Inventory Program, Alberta Community Development, and the Old Town Calgary Society, 1999, with permission from Alberta Culture and Community Spirit. Visit the Alberta Culture and Community Spirit for more information.