Pulling at Threads: Stories, History, and the Rossmore Apartments
The Calgary Herald, June 25, 1912.
The above classified ad in the Calgary Herald on June 25, 1912 advertised apartments for rent at the recently constructed Rossmore Apartments. This brand-new multi-unit building was built during Calgary’s first great economic, development and population boom, which took place between 1909 and 1913. At this time, Calgary was one of the fastest growing cities in Canada due to its expanding role as the most important distribution and railway hub between Winnipeg and Vancouver. Rapid population growth created an acute housing shortage, and apartment buildings like the Rossmore were built to accommodate the influx of new residents. The boom peaked the year the Rossmore was completed in 1912 and by 1913 the economy began to decline. With the outbreak of World War 1 the following year, the boom years went bust.
The Rossmore Apartments were built to serve middle and upper middle class residents. It was built in a grand style, with a symmetrical façade balanced with bay windows and large verandahs. Its formal appearance was constructed using high-quality red-facing brick with sandstone detailing, and the wide cornice that followed the roof line highlighted its classical-revival style. For over 100 years this substantial, multi-unit building contributed to the historic red-brick streetscape along the west side of Second ST SW, between 15 and 14 Avenues.
Rossmore Apartments. Photo courtesy CivicWorks.
The story of the Rossmore Apartments – its construction and demise – is also Calgary’s story. Threads of history connect the original developer and architects to England and France and leads us to the stories of Calgary’s early residents and city builders. Its first residents included a department store manager, librarian, and insurance workers, as well as Janitor Arthur Bleackley, as indicated in the classified ad. A scan of the other buildings on this historic street, originally known at Hamilton Street until it was renamed Second Street in 1904, yields even more stories and paints a picture of what Calgary was like prior to the First World War. The Rossmore Apartments building was first identified as a historic resource in 1982 and listed on the Inventory of Evaluated Historic Resources, but was never legally protected through a municipal or provincial designation by-law. It was demolished in December 2023 to make way for another multi-unit residential building.
Alex. (sic) Martin, who established a successful hunting and sporting goods wholesale business in 1906 on 8th Avenue in what is now the East Village neighbourhood, commissioned the Calgary architectural firm of Holman & Gotch to build this impressive multi-unit residence, which was ready for its first tenants in 1912.
Alex Martin advertising his business in the Calgary Albertan, April 11, 1906, highlighting a visit from Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and son of Queen Victoria. Courtesy Newspapers.com.
1912 was a busy year for Holman & Gotch, as that year they also designed a residence for Titanic disaster survivor Albert Adrian Dick in Upper Mount Royal (Dick House) and another for John Hextall (Hextall Residence) for his garden suburb, Bowness, west of Calgary.
Architect Reginald T. Holman (1883-1919) was born and trained in England. He came to Calgary in 1907 and partnered with Lawrence M. Gotch (1882-1964) in 1910. When Gotch returned to England in 1914, possibly due to the slowing economy and/or the outbreak of war in Europe, Holman remained in Calgary and continued to practice alone. At a time when the city was growing rapidly, he recognized the need for speculative housing and also published plans for speculative house designs. He died at age 36 after a short illness in January 1919.
From Kettering, England, Laurence Mursell Gotch was nephew to Edwardian architect J. Alfred Gotch (1852-1942) with whom he apprenticed, and subsequently worked for. He moved on to London where he worked as an assistant architect and a lecturer before emigrating to Calgary in 1910 and partnered with Holman. After he returned to England, Gotch eventually partnered with Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, heralded as one of England’s greatest architects since Sir Christopher Wren. Among his more significant work, Lutyens established the English Garden style, and laid out New Delhi as the new capital of India. Linking back to Calgary, the cenotaph in Memorial Park is modelled after Lutyens’ cenotaph in Whitehall, London.
The Cenotaph, Whitehall, London, England. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, unveiled in 1920 as a memorial to WWI dead. Photo: Wikipedia.
The Cenotaph, Central Memorial Park, Calgary. In place since 1928, it marks the site of Calgary’s first Remembrance Day ceremonies held that same year to memorialize WWI. Photo: Heritage Calgary.
The developer of the Rossmore Apartments, Alex. Martin, originally settled in Cochrane and was a sharpshooter and a gunsmith. Upon selling his Cochrane Ranch he opened his sporting goods business, the eponymous Alex. Martin Sporting Goods, in 1906 and through it he sponsored numerous awards for sporting tournaments in Calgary.
In 1912, at the time of construction of the Rossmore Apartments, Martin was living in the red-brick house that once stood at the corner of 15 AV and 2 ST SW, on the lot directly south of the Rossmore Apartments. Built in a regular American Foursquare plan, it had seemingly dual facades, one facing 15 AV SW and the other 2 ST SW. Like the Rossmore, it was one of the few residences in the area with a brick façade, and complemented the red brick of the Rossmore Apartments, as well as the Alexandra Terrace that is still located on the north-east corner of this block. This house was also demolished in 2023, and its history has never been researched, so its story remains untold.
The home of Alex Martin until 1914, this building was located at the north-west corner of 15 AV and 2 ST SW. Google Street view, July 2009.
15 Ave SW was originally known as ‘Rose Avenue’ and the south façade of the house bore the address of 302 Rose Avenue prior to demolition. Google Street view August 2023.
By 1914 Martin and his family had moved to 1029 Hillcrest Avenue (the former Bishop’s House, demolished in 2013). Martin’s sporting goods store was flourishing, and the recent construction of the Rossmore would have been a good investment.
If you find yourself walking along the west side of Second street where the Rossmore Apartments and former Martin house once stood, remember to look down to see the dog prints that were embedded in the sidewalk in 1914 when it was first cast. Could these prints have been made by Martin’s dog? A recent upgrade to the sidewalk preserved these prints, but with the advent of construction they will likely be lost too.
Dog prints highlighted by snow. Look for them in the sidewalk in front of where the Rossmore once stood. Photo: Cynthia Klaassen.
The rhythm of the Rossmore Apartment’s bow windows repeated those that exist in the Alexandra Terrace, originally known as McNaughton’s Terrace. Located just north of where the Rossmore Apartments once stood, this half-block of multi-residential row houses was constructed in 1907. A substantial renovation in 1985 converted this building into offices, and further renovations in 1996 included a restoration of the brick and the addition of a turret to the south-east corner to mimic the original one on the north-east corner.
Apartment Block, Calgary. McNaughton’s Terrace. Glenbow archives: na-1314-11
When it was first built, the Alexandra Terrace marked the beginning of the first building boom and its earliest occupants were members of Calgary’s middle and upper-middle class. Past owners include Dr. James D Lafferty, a medical pioneer in Canada who helped found the Alberta Medical Association and the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Eric Harvie, a prominent Calgary businessman and philanthropist who founded the Glenbow Museum. Subsequent owners include members of the Singer and Belzberg families who were prominent in Calgary’s society and Jewish communities. The building still has commercial use as office condominiums.
Alexandra Terrace, also known as McNaughton’s Terrace, in 2023. Photo: Heritage Calgary
This streetscape will be irrevocably altered with the demolition of the Rossmore Apartments and the pending new construction, but stories from the people who lived and worshiped on this street persist, and curious minds can research and uncover their stories. Once the new construction is complete, look for the Heritage Calgary plaque to remember the story of the Rossmore Apartments.