Calgary's 113-year-old Ogden Block demolished to make way for Green Line LRT; city to salvage bricks

The 113-year-old Ogden Block in Calgary was demolished on Wednesday, November 4, to make way for the future Ogden Station on the Green Line LRT, ending years of efforts to preserve it. The building, at 7044 Ogden Road SE in the southeast community of Ogden, was built in 1913 and was one of Calgary's oldest buildings.

Once a Chinese laundry, later a veterans' hospital

Historic records show the Ogden Block originally housed the Hong Lee Laundry, a rare Chinese commercial building outside Calgary's Chinatown, before it was converted into a veterans' hospital and eventually residential properties. "We had real hopes to save that building, and there were many periods where it looked like we might be able to," said Bonnie Warbeck, chair of the Milligan Ogden Heritage Group. "It's such a shame, it's such a loss to the community, a profound loss, and it's a loss to the city as well." She noted Ogden has lost three significant heritage buildings in about the last eight years: "When we lose those buildings, we lose our community's story as well."

Offered for $1, no takers; bricks to be salvaged

Earlier this year, preservation seemed possible: the City of Calgary offered the Ogden Block for sale for $1 and pledged up to $50,000 toward relocation costs for any interested buyer. But the deteriorating condition of the structure, combined with the significant expense of moving it, meant no offers were received before the sale period expired. While the building itself is gone, the city says some of its materials will be preserved: Wendy Tynan, director for the Green Line LRT project, said a brick conservator will check the quality of the bricks to inform what can be done with them. "We're preserving those options and we're really looking forward to being able to tell that story after," she said. Demolition work began on November 2 and is expected to take up to three weeks.

Warbeck hopes the loss of the Ogden Block will spark a broader conversation about balancing growth and heritage preservation in Calgary.