Landmark Building
CALGARY CITY HALL
704 Macleod Trail SE, Calgary
Designed By: William Dodd
Built By: Calgary City Council
Built in 1911
','Calgary City Hall', 'Source: Stephen Avenue and Area Historical Walking Tour <br />(© Alberta Culture and Community Spirit)'); "Calgary City Hall")
Calgary City Hall, praised as “the most modern city hall west of Toronto,” was once the centre of a raging controversy. In 1907 Calgary City Council authorized $150,000 for the construction of a building to house administrative offices, a courthouse and a jail, replacing the original 1895 Town Hall. When the lowest bid for the project came in at $190,000, interior features were scaled back, and the project was begun. In March of 1999, with the original funds exhausted and the building only partially complete, the supervising architect and designer of the building, the renowned architect William Dodd, approached Council for more funds. The resulting war of words filled newspapers for many months to follow.
The contractor claimed that Dodd owed over $19,000 for work already completed; an independent appraisal firm from Seattle determined that the contractor had actually been overpaid. William Dodd was lampooned in editorial cartoons, and ratepayers resoundingly refused to approve another $77, 000 to finish the building. By December of 1909, construction had been halted and Dodd fired as supervising architect. Finally in May 1909, at the urging of the Calgary Herald, residents approved the necessary funds. Leader of the Opposition, Robert Borden (Prime Minister of Canada during 1914-1919), officially opened City Hall with a gold key June 26, 1911. The total cost of the building was $500,000.
The City Hall features highly textured sandstone, round-arched windows, a steeply pitched roof, and a modest use of ornament. A 70-foot central clock tower rises above the building, the roof of which is decorated with parapet dormers, balustrades, a dentillated cornice, and lanterns. The design resembles the Richardsonian Romanesque style, which was popular around the turn of the century. Originally, cannons decorated either side of the front staircase and later a fountain was placed in front of the building. In 1912, in an attempt to defy local climatic conditions, 210 palm trees were imported and planted around the grounds. The results were not surprising: by 1935 only one survived. It had been moved inside, and tended by secretaries, had grown to four feet from its initial twelve inches.
Calgary City Hall was designated a Provincial Historic Resource in 1978, was recognized by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada in 1984 for its national historic and architectural significance and designated by the City of Calgary as a Municipal Historic Resource in 1990.
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: Stephen Avenue and Area Historical Walking Tour. Alberta Culture, n.d., with permission from Alberta Culture and Community Spirit. Visit the Alberta Culture and Community Spirit for more information.