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Last month, we revisited construction of the giant Calgary Courts Centre project. In this edition of Throwback Thursday, we venture across the street to its historic equivalent, formally known as Calgary Courthouse No. 2. The second courthouse built in Calgary — the first being established by the federal government — is the largest surviving courthouse from the first decade of Alberta as a province.
Since the late 1880s, Calgary had been designated a seat of the Supreme Court of Alberta. The functions of the court were initially restrained to a temporary facility until a permanent structure was built in the same downtown block it exists today, bounded by 6th and 7th Avenues and 4th and 5th Streets. After assuming control of the site from the federal government, the province commissioned a design for a larger courthouse.
Provincial architect Allan M. Jeffers was appointed to the task, but later resigned after finishing the building plans. Richard P. Blakey then took over and altered the blueprints by changing the interior layout and much of the exterior facade of the Neoclassical Revival style building. Though the government attempted to minimize costs, the development ended up as one of the most expensive construction projects ever undertaken by the Alberta government, and led to a moratorium on the construction of new public buildings.
The Supreme Court of Alberta moved into the new building in 1914, and would occupy the space until 1962, when it relocated to a more spacious facility where the 1888 building had stood. Courthouse No. 2 was then used as the home of the Glenbow-Alberta Institute and Museum until 1975, and an appellate court from 1986 to 2001.
The 1908-built Calgary Land Titles Building was located immediately east of the courthouse. The building was demolished in 1970 and its sandstone was used to repair other government buildings around town. Today, the view of the site from 7 Avenue SW is markedly different from the one presented in the archival photographs above. The site of the old Land Titles Building is now a park, while the use of the street has shifted to prioritize public transit. The courthouse is the only recognizable structure from the historical images that has survived, but is largely obscured by infrastructure for the transit corridor.
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