OUR TOWN: Home with a Past, Sunnyside
the old saw “If these walls could talk” is generally used in regard to some landmark that has borne silent witness to remarkable, but private, events—the prime minister’s office, say, or, this being back-to-school season, the teachers’ lounge.
The phrase generally expresses regret that untold numbers of candid, revelatory moments have been lost to history. But as this home in Sunnyside demonstrates, the phrase needn’t be quite so wistful; all that is needed to make walls talk are three sheets of plywood and a can of paint.
In this case, the tale has something of a surprise and unwelcome ending, one not quite captured by the last entry. (Despite the sign’s forthcoming nature, it is a bit skinny on details.) “My good-bye” rather understates the drama attending the home’s demise, which came on the evening of April 8 when a fire rendered the structure uninhabitable. The story that ran in the Herald the following day noted that when the fire department arrived at 218 10A St. N.W. around 9 p.m., the home was engulfed in flames. The fire was put out quickly, but the homes on either side suffered some damage. And April 8 being a Friday, the neighbourhood’s bars, including the Kensington Pub at the end of the road, were in fine fettle. According to the Herald story, about 100 people put down their pints to contemplate the flames.
Many of the events chronicled on the plywood covering the windows will resonate with Calgarians of long standing. But a smaller sign in the front flower bed is a reminder that some critical events go unrecorded by history. It reads, “This home was built by David R. Adams, carpenter, in late 1910. He was a tenant until 1914 when he purchased the house from the owner, Mrs. Sarah E. Davidson.” The sign also notes that the home was used as the River Lee Bed and Breakfast, beginning in 2008.
Luckily, flames do not consume Trip Advisor reviews. We can therefore tell you that reviews for the River Lee Bed and Breakfast were generally glowing, with guests lauding the gourmet breakfasts and great location and “homey comforts.” But the reviews also serve as a reminder that one guest’s “great hostess” who was “generous with her time and suggestions” can be seen by another reviewer as being “intrusive and far too familiar.” In the same way, a reference to the “good shower and good-sized bathroom” is contradicted by the following complaint: “If I had known there was no bath (tub), I would not have booked.”
It all goes to show that, as with anything else—even maxims that have shaded into cliché—talking walls have to be approached with a grain of salt.