Calgary Heritage Initiative forums

newsposter · Joined: 06 Nov 2005 Posts: 1812

[b]Updated December 2011 - see the bottom posting.

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St. Louis Hotel and Hillier Block across the street to be designated and protected as municipal heritage sites.

Sherlock77 photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/sherlock77/

News about the sale, pending closure and new plans related to the St. Louis Hotel. News stories from Sept 20, 21, 2006

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=5c9bb4e2-f6af-4f5f-a17a-df8b50e88505&k=34404

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/city/story.html?id=344ba136-5f93-4c9d-b3ae-ebb0c80d8536

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/city/story.html?id=807d637b-e66d-4a90-a0f4-27560b5217dd

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/columnists/story.html?id=9dbabe46-c19e-41fd-829e-e2d6318b9798

Excerpt:

The venerable St. Louis Hotel, in the heart of the dog-eared East Village and once a favourite tavern of Premier Ralph Klein, will become city property. Aldermen signed off on a plan Tuesday to buy the hotel, three other buildings and a parking lot on 8th Avenue S.E.

..."The plan is that this would be a strategic purchase for the city that would be incorporated in the overall master plan for the East Village area," Mayor Dave Bronconnier said. "It is a heritage site and we would like to see the St. Louis preserved and expanded (through the private sector)."

... (the property includes) an adjacent building and the Hillier Block and parking lot across the street...

Note: the St. Louis and the Hillier Block are both on the municipal inventory of potential historic sites.

Some photos of the St. Louis, courtesy Sherlock77
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sherlock77/1621619/

newsposter · Joined: 06 Nov 2005 Posts: 1812

It's so long, St. Louis
Closing date set for downtown watering hole
Peter Green, Calgary Herald
Published: Sunday, November 05, 2006

After weeks of speculation, the official end of the St. Louis Hotel has been set in stone -- sort of.

On Dec. 2, if all goes according to plan, the doors of the venerable downtown watering hole and hotel will shut for good, says the institution's owner.

"I'll be happy and sad, but because of what's happened to the area, it's turned into a pretty tough atmosphere to work in," said Morris Blitt, who has run the St. Louis for the past 30 years

Full Story: http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/archives/story.html?id=2f834407-a59e-48ce-a57e-2ae2ae1846e8

New December 2006:
Last Days of the St. Louis, photoessay Swerve magazine
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/swerve/story.html?id=884b21b4-20e9-4377-8440-c903aedc0f20

newsposter · Joined: 06 Nov 2005 Posts: 1812

One possible future of the block with the St. Louis. Image from the East Village Area Redevelopment Plan.

And an Urban Campus concept - the St. Louis survives:

newsposter · Joined: 06 Nov 2005 Posts: 1812

It's great to be able to report some news of the old St. Louis Hotel in East Village. Thanks to CMLC for starting to prepare this building for its future. Here is a link to the CTV story, Dec. 1 2010. Make sure to watch the video:

http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20101201/CGY_hotel_redevelopment_101201/20101201/?hub=CalgaryHome

Here is a cross-reference link to the main "East Village thread"
http://www.calgaryheritage.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=839#839

newsposter · Joined: 06 Nov 2005 Posts: 1812

A bit of an update, the Hillier Block is being prepared as the new home of the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation, who hope to move there by mid-2012. They are seeking a restaurant/pub type tenant for their current home, the Simmons factory building. See the Simmons thread for more on that.