What is a Statement of Significance?
Written by Asia Walker, RPP MCIP
Heritage Resources & Research Coordinator
Heritage Calgary
The Upshall (Corson) Residence, 1911. From the Inventory of Evaluated Historic Resources, 2020.
The Statement of Significance
The Inventory of Evaluated Historic Resources is a repository of information about the history of Calgary – what the city once was, and how it evolved into the urban landscape we know it as today. Each of these sites, landscapes, and buildings (also known as “resources”) have undergone a rigorous investigation into their quality, their integrity, and their intangible (that is, beyond what we can see) heritage relevance by a qualified researcher. The resource is then formally evaluated by Heritage Calgary’s Evaluations & Research Committee, and deemed to have heritage value – and, as such, to the greater benefit of all Calgarians.
The key component of a historic resource evaluation is the Statement of Significance (or “SoS”). This statement is the concise, consolidated argument that details why a resource has historical relevance and should be included on the Inventory. The Statement of Significance is broken into the following sections:
Description: This is a “snapshot” paragraph that introduces the reader to the resource. It often includes basic information about the resource’s form, style, appearance, context, date of construction, construction material, and any important or unique identifying features it may have.
The Black Block, 1904. From the Inventory of Evaluated Historic Resources, 2020.
Heritage Value: This section provides the reader with detailed information about the historic, aesthetic, scientific, and social values that a historic resource possesses. This information is based on the nine criteria of significance that a resource with historical relevance may have:
Activity: A resource must be directly associated with an activity that has made a significant contribution to the broad pattern of municipal history. Activities include occupations, pursuits, and leisure practices of a few or many local individuals that were continuous and commonplace or ordinary.
Event: A resource must be directly associated with an event that has made a significant contribution to the broad pattern of municipal history. Events include unplanned instances or planned gatherings that mark local watershed moments, official recognition of something, or the celebration of an activity or cultural practice. They may be one-time occurrences (a watershed moment) or may occur with regular frequency e.g. (annual sports tournament).
Institution: A resource must be directly associated with a significant institution in the municipality’s past. Institutions are organizations founded for educational, religious, charitable, leisure or social purposes, etc.
Person/People: A resource must be directly associated with the life of a significant person in the municipality’s past.
Style: A resource must embody the distinctive characteristics of an architectural style and exhibit the execution of a design’s intent in a prescribed or prescriptive manner.
Design: A resource must exhibit a contrived intent or preliminary plan in the arrangement of its functional and artistic elements, including its massing, materials and architectural components, that may incorporate elements of previous design but does not merely replicate an established style or pattern; rather, it is unconventional or original in its plan and execution.
Construction: A resource must embody the distinctive characteristics of a period or method of construction or exhibit innovative or locally unique construction. Construction pertains to the structure of a resource and to the techniques used to build that resource.
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.
Symbolic: A resource must have acquired special sentimental or symbolic value that transcends its function. The resource has collective meaning in the community or, more broadly, the municipality that is not immediately apparent to an “outsider” (that is, to the uninitiated).
Central Memorial Park Library (1910), c1930-37 photo, Glenbow Archives nd-24-88.
Character Defining Elements: This section includes a technical description of the original, historical, and significant physical features of the resource including specific architectural, design, construction, landscape and contextual features. For a building, some commonly required features that may be mentioned might include:
Form, scale and massing (e.g. two-story, rectangular, side hall plan)
Roof – form, materials and details (e.g. hipped roof with lower cross gable and exposed, decorative purlins)
Materials – construction and exterior materials (e.g. wood-frame, common bond brick veneer)
Windows (fenestration) – window materials and profile (e.g. four-over-four, wooden-sash windows)
Ornamental features, interior items of note, and elements of the landscape/surrounding context
The character defining elements are arguably the most important part of a Statement of Significance, as they often make up the content of the bylaw of a resource that is seeking formal designation as a Municipal Historic Resource (MHR) by the City.
The Inventory has no statutory influence on what an owner can or cannot do with their property, and as such one may think any old building may qualify as a candidate for the Inventory. However, there are many buildings and sites that, while essentially still an “old building”, have lost their heritage integrity over time through extensive exterior renovations or additions to the building. Heritage Calgary and the researcher must act with a critical eye when evaluating buildings to ensure there are no imposters or unqualified resources that make their way onto the Inventory.
Further, revising old Statements of Significance can overturn what we previously assumed about a building. A resource with connections to a person once thought strong enough to name a resource after them may be disproven with access to more research materials as archives become more readily available online or even just made available to the public.
Many resources on the Inventory are being re-evaluated to ensure their integrity is still intact and to ensure the best information possible is being archived for future generations. To review what a Statement of Significance looks like once an evaluation is approved, take a look at the Inventory resources below:
Central Memorial Park Library, Beltline: https://www.calgary.ca/content/www/en/home/pda/pd/heritage-planning/discover-historic-calgary-resources.html.html?dhcResourceId=357
Black Block, Inglewood: https://www.calgary.ca/content/www/en/home/pda/pd/heritage-planning/discover-historic-calgary-resources.html.html?dhcResourceId=414
Battalion Numbers, Signal Hill: https://www.calgary.ca/content/www/en/home/pda/pd/heritage-planning/discover-historic-calgary-resources.html.html?dhcResourceId=255
Upshall Residence, Mount Pleasant: https://www.calgary.ca/pda/pd/heritage-planning/discover-historic-calgary-resources.html?dhcResourceId=636
Asia Walker is the Heritage Resources and Research Coordinator of Heritage Calgary. She holds a Master of Planning degree from the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Environmental Design (EVDS) and a BA (Hons) in English, also from the University of Calgary. Asia’s interests lie at the intersection of heritage preservation and modern development, urban design, social infrastructure, and storytelling. She strives to lay a foundation for the exploration of all forms of heritage – our buildings, our landscapes, our ancestors, and our traditions. Previously, Asia has worked at B&A Planning Group, the Town of Banff, and as an independent planning and engagement consultant for the Lougheed House, a National Historic Site. She serves as the Co-Chair for the Mount Pleasant Planning Committee and volunteers with Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Calgary. Elsewhere, Asia is a local actor, a sommelier-in-training, an avid traveller, and cycling aficionado. As a fourth generation Albertan she pledges allegiance to the mountains over the prairies, but holds space for both in her heart.