The Barron Building is an eleven-storey office tower located at 610 8th Avenue Southwest in

Calgary, Alberta Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...

, Canada. Designed by architect Jack Cawston and built between 1949 and 1951, it is one of Canada's foremost examples of

Art Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by Aerodynamics, aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In indu ...

architecture. In 2003, the Alberta Association of Architects recognized it as Significant Alberta Architecture.

History and Architectural Significance

Following the discovery of Leduc No. 1 on 13 February 1947, the city of Calgary rapidly became a centre for Canada's oil industry. Calgary businessman and lawyer Jacob Bell Barron (1888-1965) commissioned local architect Jack Cawston (1911-1967) from the firm Cawston and Stevenson to design a modern office tower that could accommodate oil companies establishing headquarters in the city. At the time, Calgary's skyline was dominated by

neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of t ...

, making the Barron Building one of the city's first expressions of

modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

. Other early modernist structures in Calgary include: * the Utilities Building (1939, 115 6th Avenue SW) * Alberta Government Telephones Building (1929, 119 6th Avenue SW) * Dmitri Skaken House (1947, 1131 Colborne Crescent SW) * Glenmore Water Treatment Plant (1933, 5300 19th Street SW). The building cost $1.25 million and was constructed by Larwill and Stevenson Construction Company. It officially opened in 1951, with original tenants including Sun Oil Company (Sunoco) and

Halliburton Halliburton Company is an American multinational corporation and the world's second-largest oil service company which is responsible for most of the world's fracking operations. It employs approximately 55,000 people through its hundreds of su ...

. From 1955 to 1969 the building was known as the

Mobil Mobil Oil Corporation, now known as just Mobil, is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil, formerly known as Exxon, which took its current name after history of ExxonMobil#merger, it and Mobil merge ...

Oil Building.

Design and Features

The Barron Building's

style is defined by streamlined and geometric forms, with the following architectural elements: * Materials: The exterior is clad in buff-coloured brick, with the central bay and upper floors featuring Tyndall limestone. The ground floor is finished in polished black marble. * Windows: The building's ribbon windows, influenced by

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , ; ), was a Swiss-French architectural designer, painter, urban planner and writer, who was one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture ...

, enhance its modernist aesthetic. * Uptown Theatre: The first three stories housed the Uptown Theatre, which included a mezzanine level. * Penthouse: A penthouse on the roof was originally occupied by Jacob Barron and expanded in the late 1950s to cover most of the roof, leaving a small balcony in the southwest corner.

Heritage Challenges and Transition (2000s-2010s)

By the early 2000s, the Barron Building experienced increasing vacancy, with its last tenant, the Uptown Theatre, closing in November 2011. In June 2012, the building was added to the Top Ten Endangered Places List by the Heritage Canada Foundation due to concerns about its deteriorating condition. In April 2014, Alberta Culture proposed designating the Barron Building as a provincial historic resource, which would have placed restrictions on exterior alterations. However, following discussions with the property owner, the designation was ultimately not pursued, allowing for potential redevelopment.

Redevelopment and Restoration (2015-Present)

Strategic Group
purchased the Barron Building in 2007, recognizing its historical and architectural significance. In 2015, the company announced plans for redevelopment, initially proposing a glass tower addition and the demolition of the Uptown Theatre. However, by 2022, the focus shifted toward

adaptive reuse Adaptive reuse is the reuse of an existing building for a purpose other than that for which it was originally built or designed. It is also known as recycling and conversion. The adaptive reuse of buildings can be a viable alternative to new con ...

, with plans to convert the building into 118 residential rental units with street-level retail, preserving key historic architectural elements. In addition to its architectural and historical significance, the Barron Building was also featured in HBO's ''

The Last of Us ''The Last of Us'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Players control Joel, a smuggler tasked with escorting a teenage girl, Ellie, across a post-apocalyptic United States ...

'', the largest television production in Alberta's history. Filming took place in and around the building in 2022, with the exterior dressed in post-apocalyptic set design to depict a ravaged Kansas City. The show's premiere in 2023 brought renewed attention to Calgary's historic downtown landmarks, including the Barron Building, further cementing its cultural legacy. After some delays, construction resumed in 2024, with work now progressing to revitalize the Barron Building as a modern residential and commercial space while maintaining its historical character.

References

* *
"Strategic Group concludes restructuring, says it has reduced debt by $1.02B"
''CBC Calgary.'' March 2, 2022. * * *
"Office buildings turn to apartments, bring downtown Calgary back to life"
''CBC Calgary''. June 17, 2019
"Calgary council ponders throwing a lifeline to Barron Building conversion project"
''CBC Calgary''. September 7, 2021
"Calgary's historic Barron Building gets a new lease on life"
''Calgary Citizen''. March 15, 2023
"Strategic Group officially launches downtown Calgary Barron Building conversion"
''Livewire Calgary''. March 15, 2023
"Calgary's historic Barron Building being converted to residential, retail space"
''Calgary CityNews''. March 17, 2023
"72 years after he helped create the Barron Building, Calgary carpenter returns to see its second act"
''Strategic Group''. March 31, 2023
"Rising costs stall historic downtown Calgary conversion project, contractors unpaid"
''Global News''. April 18, 2024
"Cost of Barron Building conversion doubles as engineering issues plague construction"
''Calgary Herald.'' August 19, 2024
"As Calgary's office conversion program reopens, initial projects remain under construction.
''Calgary Herald.'' September 30, 2024
"Update on the Barron building"
CBC Calgary Eyeopener. January 14, 2025 {{coord, 51.04606, -114.07458, format=dms, type:landmark_region:CA-AB, display=title Historic buildings and structures in Calgary