Landmark Building
CALGARY BREWERY
1537 - 9th Avenue SE, Calgary
Designed By: Otto Wolf, and Childe and Wilson
Built in 1892
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The Calgary Brewing and Malting Company Ltd. was founded in 1892 by A.E. Cross and Herbert Samson (a rancher from High River), John Lineham (a Calgary lumber dealer and developer), William Roper Hull (a rancher and developer from Calgary), Duncan MacPherson (a rancher from High River), and William Cochrane (a rancher from Mosquito Creek), among others. Mr. Cross was the company president. Master Brewer martin Broderick was lured from the Montreal Brewing Co. to be head brewer for $14 a week.
Plans from Otto Wolf, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania engineer specializing in brewery design, were used for the malting kiln and malting room. A local architectural and engineering firm, Childe and Wilson, oversaw construction and probably designed some of the brewery buildings not covered by other designer’s drawings. James T. Childe later became the City of Calgary Engineer; John Llewellyn “Deafy” Wilson had designed the A.E. Cross House.
The first documented tasting of beer from the Calgary brewery was on St. Patrick’s Day, 1893. To satisfy rising demand and to circumvent rigid advertising regulations dating back to a period of alcohol prohibition which ended in 1891, a soft drink producing component was added in 1894 under the name of Calgary Beverage Ltd. This afforded the Brewery an opportunity to publicize themselves by advertising their soft drinks.
During the Brewery’s initial years of operation, beer was delivered by three teams of horses and wagons. The popular brew, famous for its buffalo head label, was originally sold in tall bottles with cork stops. From 1916 to 1924 Alberta again had laws restricting the sale of alcoholic beverages. Many hotels, which relied on their bar trade to remain viable, went out of business. The brewery was not affected, however, because it operated under federal charters and could remain open, selling its beer outside the province.
The Brewery was a major contributor to the development of Inglewood. It supplied jobs to local families, and was one of Alberta’s first industrial plants to introduce pension plans, and sickness and accident insurance for its employees. Records show that during the first 50 years of operation, fewer than 20 people left the company for reasons outside of military service or retirement. When workers did enlist for military service, they were put on temporary leave, paid the difference between their military pay and their regular brewery pay by the company for the duration, and guaranteed jobs when they returned.
In times of recession or depression, employees were given projects such as constructing fences and landscaping elaborate gardens to keep them working. In 1902, brewery workers constructed and operated a fish hatchery with the co-operation of the Alberta Department of Lands to stock area streams and lakes. During the Depression, J.B. Cross – A.E. Cross’ son – had trout ponds built to give his employees work. A shanty very similar in age and type to the Hunt House was saved ad moved to the Brewery grounds in the 1930s. Today, the log exterior retains its original appearance.
Community spirit was fostered in other ways. The Brewery gave Calgary western Canada’s first salt-water aquarium in 1960, the largest in a non-coastal location in North or South America. In 1972, the aquarium was moved to Quebec. A museum, called the Horseman’s Hall of Fame, was maintained by the brewery to keep the memory of the early days of life on the range in Alberta alive. Te connection was a natural one, since A.E. Cross was himself a rancher, and one of the Big Four who started the Calgary Stampede in 1912. During the 1950s and 1960s, the Calgary Brewery served beer pancakes from a chuckwagon in front of the Palliser Hotel as part of their Stampede celebrations. The Hall of Fame was closed in 1975, and its artifacts and displays were moved to the Glenbow Museum. Part of the Brewery site was donated by the Cross family for the Inglewood Swimming Pool in 1963, the first indoor community pool constructed in Calgary.
In 1961, the Brewery was sold to Canadian Breweries Ltd. After more than one ownership change, Molson Breweries took control in 1989. In 1992, Molson’s temporarily reintroduced a Calgary lager beer made the original way to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the brewery. The beer was sold under the Calgary Brewery buffalo head label. The Brewery was closed and mothballed in October 1994. Since then, the plant has had several owners.
Many of the early buildings which remain have either been altered or are extensively masked by exterior cladding or renovations. However, some interesting features can still be seen. Not the carved stone buffalo head on the south façade of the 1907 sandstone and brick administration building.
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.