On June 29, 2021, Heritage Calgary unveiled the new plaque for the Madden (Huber) Residence with Gene & Irene Huber! Their 1911 Rosedale home, designated in 2020, is the first to receive a plaque from the auction funds raised for Heritage Calgary’s plaque program.

The auction, hosted by Levis Fine Art Auctions & Appraisals, listed historic pieces of city architecture that needed a new home after sitting in storage for years. The objects included sculpted concrete bison heads and crests from the Centre Street Bridge, as well as the painted tin sign and cornices from the Queens Hotel.

The auction raised $65,000 to fund the heritage plaque program. Beginning in 2021, any privately owned properties that have been formally designated as Municipal Historic Resources (MHRs) can obtain a plaque for their property at no cost to them, should they wish to celebrate and share the history of their property.

”We are so pleased that the Madden (Huber) Residence was the first recipient from our new plaque fund,” said Josh Traptow, Executive Director of Heritage Calgary. “We have been looking for ways to fund a plaque program for designated sites and thanks to the very successful heritage auction held earlier this year that is now possible. This is a small way for us to say thank-you to the owners for taking the step to designate the site, which really is to the benefit of all Calgarians.”

The Madden (Huber) Residence is a rare and substantial example of a Bungalow-style home built in Rosedale before the First World War. The residence has symbolic value as an example of the evolution of Crescent Road as a desirable suburban home for wealthier professionals and entrepreneurs during the early 20th century.

The community of Rosedale was slow to develop until its two main construction booms in the late 1920s and late 1940s. However, with its panoramic views of the city centre and Bow River valley Crescent Road evolved before the First World War as a scenic boulevard stretching from Centre Street west to 10th Street.

One of the earliest homes built on the street, the Madden Residence was among only a handful of dwellings located at the top of the escarpment by 1914. William Madden joined fellow realtors Luther Courtice and Arthur Baalim on Crescent Road, along with printer John McAra and newspaper publisher William M. Davidson. Among the more notable occupants of the Madden Residence were William L. Carlyle (1920), manager of the Prince of Wales' E.P. Ranch; Dr. R. Maitland Cook (1924-42), who briefly used the southwest room of the home as his medical office in the mid-1930s; and Dorothy Goldin (1943-45) daughter of Calgary's first Jewish settlers, Jacob and Rachel Diamond.

The residence was purchased by Gene and Irene Huber in 1970. Gene, a Professor Emeritus in Biological Sciences at the University of Calgary, and Irene started thinking about designating the home in 2014 after Heritage Calgary sent a letter to advise them that their home had been added to the Inventory of Evaluated Historic Resources.

“We thought having the home designated a historical resource would be an excellent opportunity to preserve the house for future generations,” said the Hubers. “Although fully modernized inside, we have kept the exterior façade. The interior room designs and finishings are in keeping with the time that it was built, so future generations will be able to observe the architecture of a Calgary house of the early 1900s.”

The plaque was unveiled to the community on the evening of Wednesday, June 29. Family members were able to attend the outdoor gathering with a program of remarks from Josh Traptow, Executive Director of Heritage Calgary, Gene and Irene Huber, and Angela Kokott, President of the Rosedale Community Association. Thanks to Gene and Irene, this important residence has been formally designated and will remain a wonderful legacy for the family, the community, and Calgary’s shared heritage.