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The future of a rare Art Moderne landmark will be decided by owner and developer Strategic Group, which unveiled plans in 2015 to redevelop the property into a retail and office hub. But the proposal to add a glass extrusion on the north and east sides of the 1951-built structure, initially targeting 2017 completion, has not yet yielded any tangibilities. The weak demand for office space may push Strategic to rethink the merits of the project, and in the meantime, the multifarious 8th Avenue complex stands as a shell of its former self.
The Barron Building was conceived as a method of securing Calgary's connection with the petroleum industry. When oil was discovered near Leduc in 1947, lawyer and impresario Jacob Barron jumped at the opportunity to meet the forthcoming demand for office space. Despite Edmonton's proximity to Leduc, it was the development of the Barron Building that helped catch the attention of the province's big oil players, solidifying Calgary's status as the centre of the oil patch.
Architect Jack Cawston was commissioned to design a modern office tower for the block, when at the time, the city was dominated by sandstone edifices and ornate examples of neoclassical architecture. The 11-storey terraced massing — clad in polished black granite sheets, buff-coloured brick, and Tyndall limestone — represented a departure from the prevailing idiom.
A lover of theatre, the building provided Barron with the opportunity to insert a first-rate movie house in the base. He did just that, cutting the ribbon to the city's first major cinema in three decades. The Uptown Theatre occupied the first three floors of the building until its closure in 2011 — its signature marquee has since been taken down — while the floors above were devoted to office space. A penthouse on the uppermost storey was once lived in by Barron. The structure was a pioneering example of the mixed-use typology city planners strive to replicate.
After solicitation by the City, Alberta Culture moved to declare the 8th Avenue SW facade a provincial heritage resource, which would have allowed interior alterations to be made. The City later rescinded their request upon satisfaction that the building's principal architectural elements would be preserved under the redevelopment scheme proposed by Strategic Group.
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