Old CN Train Station in Calgary (with Calgary tower)
The heritage value of St. Mary's Parish Hall lies in its association with the early history of the Roman Catholic Church in southern Alberta, its adaptive reuse as a station by the Canadian Northern Railway, and its impressive sandstone architecture with classical detailing. The foundations of Roman Catholic life in southern Alberta were laid in 1873, when Father Constantine Scollen of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate established Our Lady of Peace mission near present-day Calgary. A modestly populated, French Catholic community developed around the mission site. With the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway's transcontinental railway to Calgary in 1883, concerns arose among members of the Oblate order about the settlement's French Catholic community being submerged in a sea of Anglo-Protestants. In an attempt to preserve Calgary's French Catholic character, famed missionary Albert Lacombe travelled to Ottawa and secured two quarter sections of land in 1884 in the "Mission" district. Incorporated in 1889 as Rouleauville, this area became the heart of French Catholic culture in the Calgary area. The streets of Rouleauville were named after Oblate missionaries and lined with the magisterial St. Mary's Cathedral, the convent of the Sisters, Faithful Companions of Jesus, and several schools. In 1905, the Catholic community built St. Mary's Parish Hall to accommodate recitals, concerts, and theatrical performances. The hall became a centre of French Catholic cultural life and also accommodated the religious services of Calgary's Ukrainian Catholic community and the functions of several societies and organizations. Lacombe's dream of a French Catholic enclave in Calgary was never realized. In 1907, Rouleauville was annexed to the City of Calgary; four years later, the Church sold St. Mary's Parish Hall to the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR)... ()
Size: 5616px × 3744px
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Photo credit: © zumi / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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