Chinese National League (Ho Lem Block)

On June 14 the Heritage Calgary board approved the following site to be updated to the Inventory of Evaluated Historic Resources. Learn more about this site below.

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Chinese National League (Ho Lem Block) – 109 2 AV SE (Chinatown)

The Chinese National League (Ho Lem Block) is associated with the beginning of the Chinese National League movement in Alberta by providing support to China and society members with affordable housing, classes in English and public speaking, fellowship, and a reading library. (Institutional Value, Community Significance)

Ho Lem, Sr. (1870-1960), builder and namesake of the Ho Lem Block, is significant as a prominent and well-respected community leader who helped establish and sustain the third and current Chinatown. An entrepreneur, philanthropist, and one of the ‘big four’ of Chinatown (with C.H. Poon, Mah Yet, and Harry Lee), he was the first Chinese member of the Canadian Manufacturer’s Association, the first Chinese Elder in the Knox United Church congregation, a member of the Canadian Club and the Calgary Board of Trade, and a key fundraiser in building the Chinese United Church. (Person Value, City Wide Significance)

The Chinese National League portion of the original Ho Lem Block is a well-preserved example of the Edwardian Commercial style in Chinatown. Faced in red brick, the building exemplifies the modest building features of ground-floor storefronts with two large display windows, a recessed entry, stone trim and accents, and a pediment raised parapet with a pressed metal cornice that extends the full width of the building. (Style Value, Community Significance)

The Chinese National League (Ho Lem Block), built in 1911, is significant as one of the early buildings constructed by Chinese-immigrant owners to establish Calgary’s current Chinatown. The building represents the economic progression of Chinese-immigrants in establishing and sustaining Chinatown as a community within the city of Calgary. (Symbolic Value, Community Significance)

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