Heritage Community Foundation Presents
Alberta Online Encyclopedia

Landmark Building

AGT BUILDING

119 - 6th Avenue SW, Calgary
Designed By: Peter Rule
Built By: AGT
Built in 1930

The AGT Building

The Alberta Government Telephones (AGT) Building was erected during the course of the construction spurt of the late 1920s. Little was built in the city during the recessionary years of World War I, or the subsequent decade. However, in 1928 and 1929 a number of projects were begun, including the Calgary Public Building, the Bank of Nova Scotia, the Bank of Montreal, the Eaton’s Store, and the Bay addition. The onset of the Great Depression curtailed further ventures, and the next period of significant construction activity did not begin until 1949 and the Barron Building.

Considered very modern, the AGT Building featured such innovations as the first automatic elevators in the province, and improved fireproofing, It was designed by the English architect Peter Rule, who had practiced with the prominent firm of Magoon and MacDonald in Edmonton prior to World War I, before he was hired by AGT – ostensibly as a building inspector, but also as a designer. He is noteworthy because along with his two sons, he later established the firm Rule Wynn Rule & Rule, which played an important role in the development of modern architecture in Alberta.

The building exhibits several stylistic influences and references. The geometric decoration is Art Deco in character. Another influence seems to have been the early skyscrapers of New York and Chicago, whose influence can be seen in the use of ornamental brick piers (notice how they taper and become chamfered as they rise), and the sculpted stone block that top them. The cast metal spandrels and rectilinear detailing on the windows are decidedly Modernist. The entire effect of this sophisticated building recalls the Art Nouveau work of the Scottish architect Charles Rennie MacIntosh.




The Landmark Buildings and Places Database draws on the series of walking and/or driving tour booklets produced by Alberta Culture (now Alberta Culture and Community Spirit). The Heritage Community Foundation gratefully acknowledges the support of the Ministry through permission to reprint these materials online. Extracted from Calgary: Stephen Avenue and Area Historical Walking Tour. Alberta Culture, n.d., with permission from Alberta Culture and Community Spirit. Visit the Alberta Culture and Community Spirit for more information.


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