. harvey block

1913

1006 12 Avenue SW

Merchant John W. Chittick (1866-1945), who had earlier built the nearby Chittick Block (J.W.C. Block), constructed this typical two-story brick building in 1913 and named it for his son Harvey.  The city’s booming economy crashed that year, but the Turner Valley oil boom the following spring brought a dramatic, albeit brief, recovery.  Calgarians bought oil shares as it they were going out of style, and a robbery in the Harvey Block caught the Albertan’s attention.  “Ponoka Pete” was the newspaper’s characterization of the “bonehead burglar,” referring to the mental hospital in that central Alberta town.  The thief broke into William McCoy’s apartment and stole cut glass, linen, and silverware, “but overlooked a nice fat bunch of oil stock certificates which might have put him on easy street for the rest of his life.”  Fat chance.  Within months the boom faded and many of those stock certificates became worthless, except as wallpaper. 

(From Historic Walks of Calgary, Harry Sanders, 2005 (Red Deer: Red Deer Press), pp. 260-261)

This small two-storey building, presumably developed in 1913 by an unknown Mr. Harvey, was owned by John W. Chittick, a dry goods merchant who possessed the revenue properties.  The building represents the less affluent apartments that were erected in the Beltline area during this period.  The building was subsequently adapted to provide a retail store on the ground floor, and was raised three feet this time so that suites could be constructed in the basement.

(From Calgary Heritage Authority, Summary 02-107)

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