Heritage Calgary uses a value-based method to assess a site’s heritage value. This system is used nationally and identifies historic places according to values attributed through an evaluation process. These values examine the activities, events, people, and symbolic value of a place, as well as the design, construction, style, and potential landmark values. Many of these values are subjective and can overlap.

Sites can be nominated through the Heritage Calgary website at the link below. Upon receiving a nomination, Heritage Calgary will conduct a preliminary assessment of the site, which is reviewed by the Heritage Planning Team to confirm research compatibility. Heritage Calgary hires professional researchers to document and confirm a site’s values using a City Council approved Evaluation system. Research contracts are issued quarterly and reviewed and edited before final approval by the Heritage Calgary Board.

To nominate a site for the Inventory of Evaluated Historic Resources, please COMPLETE THIS FORM.

The Inventory of Evaluated Historic Resources is the cornerstone of Heritage Calgary’s mission to embrace and keep space for the stories of this place. It is a list of sites that have been identified as possessing significant heritage value, and whose preservation is considered to be to the greater benefit of Calgarians.

Inclusion on the Inventory is a formal acknowledgement of heritage value, and in most cases does not extend legal protection to the property, nor does it regulate the property. It is, however, the first step toward obtaining legal designation if a property owner wishes to pursue that. 

Municipal legal designation falls under the purview of the City of Calgary and is managed through municipal bylaw. Legal designation includes the character defining elements of a particular site that are considered to be of heritage value. It prevents the demolition of a building and guides the property owner as to how to make sympathetic alteration. In exchange for agreeing to protect character defining elements, property owners may be eligible to receive incentives, and/or grant funding to assist in the restoration, rehabilitation, or preservation of the property.

Watch this video recording of our October 2023 “Demystifying Heritage” event to learn more about the differences between the Inventory and designation.

To be listed on the Inventory a resource must meet one or more of the following value criteria:

1. Activity – A resource may be directly associated with an activity that has made a significant contribution to the broad pattern of municipal history. (i.e. The Big Four Building located in Stampede Park has activity value for its contribution to the commercial and cultural realms in Calgary and is used year-round for exhibitions and events)

2. Event – Events include unplanned or planned gatherings that mark local watershed moments, official recognition of something, or the celebration of an activity or cultural practice. (i.e. The Olympic Saddledome has strong associations with the XV Olympic Winter Games held in Calgary in February 1988. During the Olympics the Saddledome was the principal venue for ice hockey and figure skating competition)

3. Institution – Institutions are organizations founded for educational, religious, charitable, leisure or social purposes, etc. (i.e. Bridgeland School)

4. Person/people – A resource must be directly associated with the life of a significant person in the municipality’s past. (i.e. Violet King’s childhood home in Sunnyside. King was the first Black female lawyer in Canada)

5. Style – A resource must embody the distinctive characteristics of a style and exhibit the execution of a design’s intent in a prescribed or prescriptive. (i.e. Bank of Montreal building is a fine example of Beaux Arts style architecture)

6. Design – A resource must exhibit a contrived intent or preliminary plan in the arrangement of its functional and artistic elements that does not merely replicate an established style or pattern; rather, it is unconventional or original in its plan and execution. (i.e. The 12 Avenue Elbow River Bridge represents one of four historic Parker-Camelback truss bridges in Calgary built between 1905 and 1912)

7. Construction – A resource must embody the distinctive characteristics of a period or method of construction or exhibit innovative or locally unique construction. (i.e. Rideau Towers is significant for its construction value as the earliest and largest building to utilize a suspended lift slab technology in Calgary)

8. Landmark – A resource must be particularly prominent or conspicuous or have acquired special visual value that transcends its function. A landmark contributes to the distinctive character of the municipality. (i.e. The Calgary Tower is significant as the preeminent landmark in Calgary)

9. Symbolic value – A resource must have acquired special sentimental or symbolic value that transcends its function. The resource has collective meaning in the municipality that is not immediately apparent to the uninitiated. (i.e. The Eau Claire Smokestack is the sole remnant of the Calgary Transit System garages which stood on the site from 1947 to 1988)

To qualify for the Inventory, resources must also have integrity with respect to location, design, environment, materials, workmanship, and association, and must not have had major changes that have destroyed or compromised their essential character. In the case of private homes, changes that may disqualify a property could be a change to the original footprint, a re-configuration of windows and doors, use of updated materials on the exterior, a significant addition, and/or soffits and fascia that cover up the building’s original character defining elements. For this reason, a pre-screen visit is required to determine a site’s eligibility.

Heritage Calgary contracts professional researchers to research a resource’s history and complete an Evaluation form. The completed Evaluation is reviewed and approved by Heritage Calgary and The City of Calgary’s Heritage Planning Department to ensure accuracy and integrity. Completed Evaluations are approved by the Heritage Calgary Board before they are listed on the Inventory.