CC Snowdon Building Calgary

Presenting two photos of the CC Snowdon Building in Calgary, shot from the same spot and separated by over 100 years. There’s been change, as you’ll see, yet certain elements remain timeless. Even with the building that is our subject overshadowed by something much newer and to which its attached, it looks much as it did.

The Snowdon firm sold all manner of petroleum based products, but the today the building is used much differently. It’s now part of an office block. While some call the blending of the two a sacrilege (we’ve heard the talk), it’s perhaps the best possible outcome given the alternatives. They could have easily demolished everything or let it fall down on its own due to neglect and rot.

We’re on 11th Street SE and bordering on the residential community of Ramsay. This is one of the city’s more mature neighbourhoods and much of what you’ll see in the area goes back at least a century. Walk the streets and get taken back in time. Ramsay was quite run down into the 1980s, but has seen a rebirth of sorts and much improved.

The “Then” photo comes thanks to the University of Calgary archives and while dated ca1920, we think it’s a bit older. We’ll explain shortly.

While most photos used in this ongoing series are sourced by us presently, we welcome contributions from readers. We used to get a lot that way, but not so much these days. If you have a photo in an old family collection, for example, you think would work well this way, reach out and we’ll fill you in.

The CC (Campbell Camillus) Snowdon firm dates to about 1907 and moved to this property a few years later.

The core building, with the arched doorway, dates from 1911 (office plus warehouse) and added to in 1912 (more warehouse space – right side) and again in 1914 (garage – barely seen on the left in our photo). You’ll note the latter does not appear in the original pic, but the right side wing does, so this helps narrow down the date of the first capture.

So somewhere around 1913 seems to us a solid bet.

The whole complex is made of brick, with sandstone accents (keystones, sills and lintels), and the Snowdon building a pretty typical industrial structure of the era. It’s simple, but not totally plain. Structures on this side of the street back on to the Canadian Pacific tracks and were once lined with rail-served factories and warehouses. The railway is still there, but most of the other old buildings around have been repurposed and many others are gone.

The opposite side has always been residential, with 11th Street the dividing line between homes and industry along this stretch.

The Snowdon firm remained independent and family owned into about 1970. They offered a mind-boggling array of products and at various times sold fuel, oils, grease, paints, petroleum-based cleaners plus other chemical products. After being bought up, the business remained on site but the name phased out in the ensuing years and completely gone by the early ’80s.

The Snowdon firm had outlets in other Canadian cities and head honcho Campbell Snowdon a well respected business person and philanthropist. There used to be many other buildings/sheds and storage tanks on the property, but they’re all long gone.

Numerous vintage photos of the CC Snowdon plant were found while researching this piece and show the complex with much signage. Every flat service had something written on it. One advertisement reads “Velox Cylinder Oil”, another “Empress/Peerless Motor and Tractor Oils” and one more, “Sliptivity Axle Grease”. There’s more: “Numidian Special Auto Oil”, “Carbon-something(?) Disinfectant – Sheep & Cattle Dip” and “Keystock Grease”. There’s others but they’re too distant to read or the image is blurry.

In the early days, the plant functioned as a filling station and a huge billboard is seen out front. It reads: “Stop! Have your tank filled here. High grade gasoline.”

Old photos show differing signs in the same locations, depending on the date, so it appears new ones were painted over older examples all the time. What is seen today might to be some of the earliest examples (at least on some walls) and these were exposed at some unknown point during work.

The firm not only distributed products but also manufactured and refined on this property. They got a lot done given the modest size of their plant. Photos were found of the factory floor in the day and it appeared a chaotic, cramped and hazardous place of work. That’s how they rolled back then.

The building stood vacant for much of the 1980s and was damaged by fire later that same decade. The blaze pretty much destroyed the right-side warehouse and only a couple outer walls left relatively intact. These were later incorporated into the new addition and functions as a façade.

In more recent times the building housed an antique firm and piano shop.

That new office block dates from the 2010s and the two structures joined in such a away that the character of the older section was kept. There’s a marked contrast between the two and you can make of it what you will. Still, the Snowdon building survived and that’s reasons enough to cheer. It has a connection to the city’s industrial past, that few people know, and there’s not much like it left today. Even so, the Snowdon building remains a local landmark and it’s been historically recognized too.

A number of people in the old photo are seen posing on the steps but it’s not said who they might be or their involvement with the company. There’s three women and four men. Office staff, dignitaries, company big wheels or members of the Snowdon family? Who knows. One thing is for certain and it’s clear to see that hats were big business then. The ladies are wearing some elaborate ones.

For the most part the Snowdon building looks the same today as it did then and that’s remarkable given the time that’s passed. Here in this fast paced dynamic city nothing ever remains static it seems, yet here we are.

The old Snowdon section of the building is home to a coffee place today and the rest of the complex rented out as offices.

Lining up architectural elements in such close quarters for a Then & Now is not always easy. That the original was shot square on helps a great deal, but still it’s tough and the results never exactly spot-on. Nor should they ever be, even in spite of the voice inside us that insists otherwise.

It occurred to us – for next time – that should there be people in an old photo, as is the case here, we should step it up and duplicate that part as well. Call out for extras! Call out for extras! Anyone want to have some fun? It’s just a thought, but would that ever be wild and take these to the next level. We had this happen, once, but as a fluke and not due to planning. See it here and be amazed how well it worked: Serendipity @ The Rock (Frank Slide).

Thanks for doing a little time-travelling with us and please drop by often.

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They’re saying…

”Fantastic photos and really intriguing subjects. I’ve learned so much about Calgary and Alberta that I never knew, even though I’ve lived here all my life!” Tom Junkin.

More like this…
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Downtown Trout Lake British Columbia.
East Coulee Alberta then and now.

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Date of adventure: ca1920 or 1913-ish (depending) and April, 2021 (Team BIGDoer).
Location: Calgary, AB.
Article references and thanks: Hermis.Alberta.ca – Alberta Register of Historic Places, University of Calgary archives and City of Calgary.

The CC Snowdon Building Calgary over 100 years apart.

Old signage remains.

They dealt with all manner of petroleum products.

It’s now part a large office block.