Boozing at the Palliser, chillin' at the library, calling the Devenish home: Jack Peach's Calgary circa 1912

CBC News | Posted: February 21, 2016 3:00 PM | Last Updated: December 31, 2019

Explore what the city's historical structures were like in their heyday

Image | 1912 Calgary

Caption: Take a step back in time with historian Jack Peach and learn about Calgary's elita circa 1912. (Glenbow Archives)

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This story was originally published on Feb. 21, 2016.

Image | Calgary at a Crossroads

(CBC News)

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Time for another trip down memory lane. Jack Peach takes us to three buildings that made Calgary hip and cool a hundred odd years ago.

Buildings you can still visit today — a place to wet your whistle, a place to call home and a place to explore the wonders of the world when our city was just a patch on the Prairies.

Jack Peach, legendary raconteur recorded these segments for the the CBC back in the late 1970s. Each based off his long memories of our city.

MORE JACK PEACH AUDIO | Calgary as you've never heard it
MORE JACK PEACH AUDIO | Stories of Calgary neighbourhoods as you've never heard them

The Devenish

Image | Devinish Building

Caption: (Glenbow Archives)

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Apartment living in all its 1911 glory. The Devenish, now home to shops, was once home to fashionable Calgarians offering 57 luxury suites and the very latest in high-tech gadgets like gas ranges and hot air dryers.

Media Audio | The Homestretch : Jack Peach on the Devinish Building

Caption: Calgary Historian talks about a beautiful apartment building off 17th Avenue.

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The Palliser

Image | Rooftop library

Caption: (Glenbow Archives)

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Roof-top sun rooms where early Calgary cocktail sipping sophisticates whiled away the hours, and an earthquake. The Palliser hotel is one of our city's best known landmarks. It's got a long history, but it didn't always look the way it does now.

Media Audio | The Homestretch : Jack Peach on the Palliser sun room

Caption: Calgary Historian recounts a time of decadence and indulgence atop the iconic Palliser hotel at the outdoor sun room.

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Memorial Park Library

Image | The Memorial Park Library 1912

Caption: (Glenbow Archives)

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Dusting off your imagination, Jack Peach tells us how what's called the Memorial Park Library represented the world of make believe and how it helped to launch his career as a writer.

Media Audio | The Homestretch : Jack Peach on the Memorial Library

Caption: Calgary Historian shares some of his earliest memories of the Centennial Library.

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CBC Calgary's special focus on life in our city during the downturn. A look at Calgary's culture, identity and what it means to be Calgarian. Read more stories from the series at Calgary at a Crossroads.