Lougheed House ahead of its time
It boasted hot water when that was a rarity
If you subtract the Beltline’s soaring condominiums and the financial skyscrapers looming in the distance, it’s easy to imagine yourself in the 1890s at Lougheed House.
On Saturday, it was even easier to imagine being in that bygone era, as kids played croquet on the lawn and Lougheed House staff offered free admission and tours to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the historic residence.
Here are five facts about the historic property from the executive director of the Lougheed House Conservation Society, Kirstin Evenden.
1. The inner-city location of the Lougheed House used to actually be on the outskirts of Calgary.
Sure, its location on 13th Street S.W. may be steps from Calgary’s Red Mile, and its surrounding roads may be lined with fancy SUVs, but back when the Lougheed family acquired the one hectare property, the land was as far from Calgary by horse-drawn carriage as people today would consider Cochrane or Strathmore.
2. Sir James Lougheed, the builder and owner of the house, was originally a Torontonian.
Sir James Lougheed was actually born in Brampton, Ont., and studied at the University of Toronto and the Osgoode Hall Law School before he moved out west to Calgary. He arrived here in 1883, just as the Canadian Pacific Railway had been completed to Calgary, and built the Lougheed House in 1891 for his growing family. Lougheed himself was a businessman and politician, specializing in real estate. One of his sons, Peter Lougheed, served as premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985.
3. When built, the house was fitted with modern luxuries such as running hot water and electricity.
Running hot water was the real pride of this house at its inception, to the point where it was actually built to boast the rare amenity.
“If you go in the house, you’ll notice the hot and cold water pipes are out on the outside of the walls,” said Evenden. “That was a way to show people that you actually did have hot and cold running water in your house. It was fairly new, and an innovation in the day.”
4. Not only the house, but the entire property has been preserved over the past 125 years.
Evenden says some of the sidewalks are bigger than they originally were, but by and large the entire property, including the park and garden that surrounds the Lougheed House, has been preserved over 125 years.
“The entire site is as it was, apart from maybe some trees that were planted differently,” said Evenden.
Perhaps the biggest difference is that the park is no longer filled with domestic animals such as the horses and chickens the Lougheed family kept on their property.
5. The staff like to occasionally dress up, but on Saturday they were all dressed the part to celebrate.
If you somehow have a hard time imagining yourself at the turn of the last century while on the grounds and in the house itself, the Lougheed House staff have you covered by wearing replicas of early 20th century clothes.
Evenden herself was wearing a long-hemmed blue dress, with an intricate white lace design and a genuine straw hat adorned with decorative flowers. Men on staff wore long-tailed suits, and Mayor Naheed Nenshi even traded his usual necktie for a bow tie when he spoke at the anniversary event.