Calgary’s National Hotel is being reborn. Forgotten and neglected for many years it rises like a phoenix from the ashes. Most recently a haven for the downtrodden it will find a new life, being converted to condominiums and retail space. Now over 100 years old it’s nice to see that someone still loves “The Nash”.
Opening in 1908 it was nothing elegant, a working man’s hotel where a one could find clean and safe lodging at a reasonable cost, or as a place where one could enjoy a beer with friends and coworkers. It was typical of the era with single rooms and a common shared bathroom at the end of the hall.
Fast forward a half dozen decades or so and the world has changed. But the National has not. Retaining all its former “charm” the building is an anachronism in the modern world. Outside of perhaps some new paint (even that’s debatable), everything inside remained much as it was. Expect for the clientele that is.
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No longer for the working class, it was now home to the downtrodden, those with afflictions, addictions or mental health issues. Pick a vice, you could find it here. By then rooms were rented by the month, serving much as apartments as travellers no longer stopped here. The tavern or “beer parlour” was a seedy place, home hard core boozers and the like, all looking for a cheap buzz. Drinks were served in old ALCB glasses, scratched and stained from years of use.
This author has no precise information on when the hotel was closed, but it’s believed the late 1990s or early 2000s. Sitting empty since, over the years various owners announced grandiose plans to renovate the building, but nothing became of it. Until now that is. The current owners came on the scene in 2010 and bring with them the expertise and financing necessary to tackle the daunting project. It’s not a simple matter of repainting everything, instead every last brick, every last post, everything will need a complete rebuilding from the ground up. It’s a huge and expensive project.
The results look good!
Back in the late 70s and early 80s my folks were known to frequent The National. They loved a good dive bar, and in that respect it did not disappoint.
The structure has a sandstone foundation which was a pretty common feature of buildings in Calgary from that era. There were numerous quarries along the Bow River escapement west of downtown and many construction companies often used this readily available material. It’s wood framed with brick cladding and while a fairly plain looking structure, it still has its own unique charm.
The National is unique in that it still has its original livery stable attached to it. When constructed autos were a rarity and so visitors would need a place to to feed. water and house the horses they came in on. It’s assumed it served in this capacity for some time, perhaps into the 1920s or beyond.
I believe later it was used to house horsepower of a different kind, being used as a car garage for those visiting the hotel. By the 1970s and perhaps earlier, the building was being used by an auction mart. Later still I believe it was used simply for storage – I recall peaking in a window in the early 1990s and saw lots of dusty furniture and stuff stacked inside. On that visit the building was sagging badly but it seems to have been stabilized now.
The structure is used as a base for the TV show Canadian Pickers. Is anyone else tired of awful “reality” shows like this?
In the past a hotel livery stable was not an uncommon feature, however finding one today is a real treat and this author can think of no other old hotels that still have this feature. Interestingly there is another barn nearby, just a few blocks east. It’s quite large, relatively intact and will be the subject of another report. That makes two old barns within sight of downtown Calgary. What other city of this size can say that?
Seen on the grounds is an interesting fire truck. It’s built on a Dodge truck chassis which dates from the period 1939-1947. It marked for the Crescent Beach Swimming Club (Surrey BC) and must have been a show piece for that organization – given how it looks to be drivable and is in otherwise in fine shape and complete and intact, that makes sense. What it’s doing here, what’s its history and what purpose it serves now is not clear, but Connie and I are researching it as we speak. I have an interesting connection to the area around Crescent Beach. My mother and some aunts and uncles grew up at the Stewart Farm nearby. Now a historical site, it is also known as the Elgin Heritage Park.
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The National Hotel is located in the neighbourhood of Inglewood. Home to many historic buildings, the area is being slowly restored to its former glory and is no longer the depressed place it used to be.
If Calgarians reading this blog would like share there National Hotel stories, we’d love to hear from you. Use contact us link below.
Update: February 2013. We quickly heard back from the Crescent Beach Swimming Club, the prior owners of the truck, and they shared some history. It’s a 1942 and prior to being purchased by them it was stationed in the small town of Honeymoon Bay on Vancouver Island. It’s not clear however if the truck was purchased new by that town’s fire department or if they bought it used, the person who responded did not say (or perhaps did not know). The CBSC purchased the truck at auction in 1990 and put it on display, later selling it to the Canadian Pickers, whose base is the old livery barn shown in this report. Thanks to Heather at the CBSC for her help.
To see an equally interesting old hotel in Fort MacLeod Alberta, follow this link… The notorious American Hotel.
To see the abandoned Farmer Jones used car lot not far away, go here… Farmer Jones Carz.
Click the link below see that other barn mentioned, located a few blocks away… Old barn, big city.
If you wish more information on this place, by all means contact us!
martinprairies I lived at Seven Oaks a block away. It was built for working class people. I was told that they sometimes had building parties. People would bring a table to their fron door and the staircases were roped off for the safety of drinkers. Or so I was told.
I worked for the Silverthreads neighborhood improvement project – thank you Pierre Trudeau. The money was used to pay 4 people to do needed things to their houses. We painted rooms, did gardening, shovelling sidewalks. The worst snow was on New Years Eve that was so think had to shovel down to the sidewalk. There were two senior meeting places – the Silver Threads (our employer) and The National. Sometimes if we finished work early we would retire to the bar. I never went in there at night which was whole other experience. I recognized the barn on Canadian Pickers. Sometimes it was used for auctions or then or farmer’s market. Their was a good Army Surplus store just past the barn.
Canadian Pickers had me completely fooled. I thought they were legit. Albeit sometimes pretty GOOFY. However I was watching an episode – streaming it to my computer.They’d come across an antique Winchester carbine , greatly embelished with metal studs and leather fringe ala our Indian brothers of yesteryear. The Pickers had somehow determined that this particular firearm had once belonged to a somewhat noteable chief who’d died in the 1870’s. They were making a monumental deal of planning to return it to this chief’s band. While they were flipping it around on the counter it suddenly struck me that something wasn’t right with this gun.It just didn’t look like a Winchester from this chief’s era. I’d grown up with a friend whose father was a gun collector (over 400 firearms – mainly antiques). He had an almost complete set , from inception to the then present , of Winchester and Winchester Henry rifles/carbines.We used to frequently get tutorials from him. I used to soak these up like a sponge. After a few rewinds and freeze frames I finally got the “shot” I was looking for- the model #, 1894. So this chief who died in the 1870’s owned a gun that didn’t go into production till 1894 ! GREAT trick if you can pull it off. The few times I was in the neighbourhood I’d swing around to the Barn. I wanted to take a verbal “shot” at these guys and offer my opinion on any future antique firearm they might find – or,even easier, remind them that they can use that “Dangfanged new GOOGLIER thingy on the WWW Interweb!” Never found The Barn open. Also remember a Rick Mercer comedy skit parodying the Pickers finding a GREAT antique canoe. In Canadian Tire ! Oh Oh Canadian TV. Also used to enjoy watching Mantracker till I eventually realized that looking for a few scrapes in the dust , or broken twigs it might be a lot more efficient for the man on the horse to look for the film crew following the Prey .
The gun collector father was also a locksmith who used to sometimes take us on calls. I soon learned how to pick some locks(Yale) and even open some old model safes !
Your memories are a treasure! And so happy you’ve chosen to share them here. Reality TV is rarely that. Found the Pickers show to be cringe-worthy at best…other people’s mileage may vary. Found it funny that their store was NEVER open, except on filming days. It was not a business, but a set, and the “customers” actors. It was so transparent.
The National was “THE” Punk Rock place to be for a few yars in the 80’s. The music scene was amazing – but it didn’t last long – not sure why it faded away, but I do recall a few very memorable evenings from my youth spent there.
My folks loved the place back in the day. Myself, was only in once or twice at most. A little rough for me back then, but in hindsight I now look at the place with a smidgen of fondness.
Being in my 20s in the 80s, the Nash was the place to be to see up & coming and established non-mainstream bands. I was lucky to see 54-40, BB Gabor, The Dickies, Melvins, Grapes of Wrath and the like… Each time accompanied by a frisson of “what on earth is going to happen this time?”
Hello Was listening to some blues and for the heck of it googled the National Hotel and found your site. When I lived in Calgary I used to enjoy the weekly jams they held there on Saturdays and Wed. nights hosted by Kelly J formerly of the Crowbars, and had the awesome experience of playing with him and Amos Garret..(Also played at the King Eddy too) Yes it was not a 5 star joint and the other side was a kind of dive western music bar, but it was great times for a while. I’d shoot down there after work, and had my regular spot at the bar and when I walked in, Donnie the bartender had a cold mug of beer at my usual seat ready and a game console for the trivia game on satellite that was once popular in bars..(if there were at least 5 players the top player got a free beer) I ended up as sort of an unpaid bouncer most nights helping the regular staff maintain order. Have only nice memories of the place. Kanes Harley Davidson was right across the road in the old liquor store and more than once we have a few of “the Boys” stop by and always asked the owner for permission to wear their cuts in the place. But times change and it seemed some didn’t pay the bills and stuff happens. But I will always have fond memories of the times I spent there Mike High Edmonton Ab.
Mainly I just wanted to say thank you for the info about the National Hotel. I recently learned that Chef Michael Noble is opening his newest restaurant there next fall, and I was looking for more information about the building through a Google search (because I, sadly, no longer live in Calgary). Just in case you don’t already know, the restaurant will be named The Nash, and there will also be a bar called Offcut I believe.
How neat that the livery is still there! On my next visit to Calgary I must go take a closer look at it, as well as the others that were mentioned. Funny how age and distance make the heart grow even fonder of the hometown I love 🙂
I used to drive past the Crown Surplus store on 11th Street on my way home from work (downtown at another historic Calgary business- Riley and McCormick). I also remember shopping in Crown Surplus store roughly 30 years ago with my dad who is an avid hunter, so I know it has been there awhile (perhaps before Inglewood became cool again) and I wish them all the best. Here’s hoping the traffic from the restaurant and bar might bring in new business for them!
I’ll have to check out that restaurant, it sounds cool. Yes, being away does make one yearn for Calgary. I recall going to Crown Surplus in the late 70s.
I am a real antique and collectable dealer and have been for decades and that TV show Canadian Pickers is nothing but a joke. It’s an insult to us in the profession. They are idiots who have zero idea what they are doing and they consistently overvalue things by several hundred percent. In the show their “store” is often so busy with customers there is no room to move, yet any time I have been there, the place has been like a ghost town with not a customer in sight. Supposedly valuable and in-demand antiques have been sitting collecting dust for years. They move very little from what I can see. Even on their Ebay auction site they have moved only twenty items in the last two years. Hardly a windfall they make it out be in the show. Without the production company paying the bills they would have been out of business long ago.
I have never watched the show and am not fan of that genre so I can’t comment much. However I have heard from others who have visited the Canadian Pickers shop and they’ve passed on some interesting observations to me. In one case a friend happened to be there on a filming day. In the hours prior to the cameras arriving not one other person walked into the shop, not one. The moment they shouted “action” the place was full of customers, all of who coincidentally streamed in from the nearby make-up trailer. Hmmmm…Fake? Naaaaaaw, couldn’t be!
I understand the nearby Crown Surplus guys have a few choice words for the pickers. I guess the support trailers and the cars of all those “extras” (the fake customers) used in the show block the streets and drive away their paying customers.
I know all about them! The Bell, The Occidental, The McLaren and others. In fact we stayed at The McLaren in the 1970s – what a dump. My parents just LOVED those old dive hotels.
Without sugar coating it my great uncle Hank was a wino. He used to drink at all the usual haunts a person of his affliction would hang out at. The King Eddy, The Queens, The Rock (ed. Shamrock), and of course The Nash. The latter seemed to be his favourite and he spent many a night upstairs in one of the dump rooms sleeping off a drunk. Other times he slept in the tank downtown, he really could care less. Rarely did he sleep at home, much to the chagrin of my poor tortured aunt. She used to send my dad and I on missions to track him down and bring him home, something we were rarely successful at. Sadly he died as a result of his excess drinking and seeing places like The National Hotel is a somewhat a bitter sweet experience for me. It’s nice that it’s being redone, but the last time I saw the inside of the place while trying to find my Hank, it was a depressing experience. It was the hotel of lost souls.
I can completely understand what you went through. My family and heavy drinking were synonymous and I too have been inside The Nash while trying to track down someone. God, and I won’t sugar coat it either, what a dump. It was so depressing going in there. My folks too made the rounds of the various dive hotels you mentioned. Add the King George to that, plus The Cecil, The York, The St Regis, and the Town and Country in Forest Lawn. I am sure there were others. Thanks for your honest comments.
We used to do something called the "pointless challenge" 🤪 and miss those days. It was so much silly fun and often frustrating as heck. In these we'd invite people to send in random photos of obscure locations, but not give any information, and then we'd track where it was and shoot something similar.
Most of these came from old family collections, as was the case here. Anyone up to resurrecting the series?
In hindsight, why didn't we pose someone in our shot?
Pointless: “Devoid of meaning (or) senseless” Merriam-Webster.
If you like what we do and want to support this ongoing project (12 years now), go here: https://www.BIGDoer.com/help-the-society/ Thanks to Connie for making this post possible.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: ca1970 and 2014. Posted by Connie.
Captured on a cold, cold day many years ago. We've been passing this old house for decades and it's little changed in that time. At some point we expect to drive by and it'll be gone.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2017. Posted by Connie.
When retired old railway cars usually get cut up for scrap. Sometimes, however, they find their way into the hands of the general public or whomever. Flat cars make good bridges, and boxcars can be transformed into storage buildings and the like. Case in point here. We see them used like this often enough and in this case, it's part of a corral.
Incidentally, this boxcar dates from 1950 and this was found by tracing the old road number, which is still visible.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2017. Posted by Connie.
This central Alberta racetrack was never a commercial operation but instead just a fun place for car enthusiasts in the area to get together. Early '70s or thereabouts and it only lasted a few years. Even thought it's been abandoned for that long, there is no doubt what was here.
You know we like the the obscure stuff and this one fits the bill perfectly. Found by accident while backroad cruising and the history comes thanks to local car guy Mike.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2022. Posted by Connie.
On top of little Myrtle Mountain in the Kimberley (BC) Nature Park.
There's some good wilderness fun to be had here and nice views as you can see, but the real reason we came is mining history. The whole area near the ski hill was extensively worked over a century ago and we were looking for evidence of this. We didn't find much in the area searched, but it's a big chunk of property and we hope to return to cover more ground again soon. Of all the subjects we cover, mining related is a favourite.
Still, it was a good hike and that can't be bad. Look to the comments for more info 👇.
Exploring nature and history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2022. Posted by Connie.
It's a strange curiosity in south Kananaskis, there on a hillside and we have no idea who created it. We asked around and no one's completely sure about its history. In the past it showed the Canada 100 logo from 1967 but in 2017 someone changed it to reflect the country's 150th.
That's our friend Emily from DanOCan.com having a look.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2017. Posted by Connie.
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martinprairies I lived at Seven Oaks a block away. It was built for working class people. I was told that they sometimes had building parties. People would bring a table to their fron door and the staircases were roped off for the safety of drinkers. Or so I was told.
I worked for the Silverthreads neighborhood improvement project – thank you Pierre Trudeau. The money was used to pay 4 people to do needed things to their houses. We painted rooms, did gardening, shovelling sidewalks. The worst snow was on New Years Eve that was so think had to shovel down to the sidewalk.
There were two senior meeting places – the Silver Threads (our employer) and The National. Sometimes if we finished work early we would retire to the bar. I never went in there at night which was whole other experience.
I recognized the barn on Canadian Pickers. Sometimes it was used for auctions or then or farmer’s market. Their was a good Army Surplus store just past the barn.
Thanks for this little stroll down memory lane!
Canadian Pickers had me completely fooled. I thought they were legit. Albeit sometimes pretty GOOFY.
However I was watching an episode – streaming it to my computer.They’d come across an antique Winchester carbine , greatly embelished with metal studs and leather fringe ala our Indian brothers of yesteryear.
The Pickers had somehow determined that this particular firearm had once belonged to a somewhat noteable chief who’d died in the 1870’s. They were making a monumental deal of planning to return it to this chief’s band.
While they were flipping it around on the counter it suddenly struck me that something wasn’t right with this gun.It just didn’t look like a Winchester from this chief’s era.
I’d grown up with a friend whose father was a gun collector (over 400 firearms – mainly antiques). He had an almost complete set , from inception to the then present , of Winchester and Winchester Henry rifles/carbines.We used to frequently get tutorials from him. I used to soak these up like a sponge.
After a few rewinds and freeze frames I finally got the “shot” I was looking for- the model #, 1894.
So this chief who died in the 1870’s owned a gun that didn’t go into production till 1894 ! GREAT trick if you can pull it off.
The few times I was in the neighbourhood I’d swing around to the Barn. I wanted to take a verbal “shot” at these guys and offer my opinion on any future antique firearm they might find – or,even easier, remind them that they can use that “Dangfanged new GOOGLIER thingy on the WWW Interweb!”
Never found The Barn open.
Also remember a Rick Mercer comedy skit parodying the Pickers finding a GREAT antique canoe.
In Canadian Tire !
Oh Oh Canadian TV.
Also used to enjoy watching Mantracker till I eventually realized that looking for a few scrapes in the dust , or broken twigs it might be a lot more efficient for the man on the horse to look for the film crew following the Prey .
The gun collector father was also a locksmith who used to sometimes take us on calls. I soon learned how to pick some locks(Yale) and even open some old model safes !
Your memories are a treasure! And so happy you’ve chosen to share them here. Reality TV is rarely that. Found the Pickers show to be cringe-worthy at best…other people’s mileage may vary. Found it funny that their store was NEVER open, except on filming days. It was not a business, but a set, and the “customers” actors. It was so transparent.
The National was “THE” Punk Rock place to be for a few yars in the 80’s. The music scene was amazing – but it didn’t last long – not sure why it faded away, but I do recall a few very memorable evenings from my youth spent there.
That whole Punk phase was so interesting. And old dive hotel…what a strange venue for that. Thanks for commenting!
Another great post. One of my favourite spots in the city.
My folks loved the place back in the day. Myself, was only in once or twice at most. A little rough for me back then, but in hindsight I now look at the place with a smidgen of fondness.
Being in my 20s in the 80s, the Nash was the place to be to see up & coming and established non-mainstream bands. I was lucky to see 54-40, BB Gabor, The Dickies, Melvins, Grapes of Wrath and the like… Each time accompanied by a frisson of “what on earth is going to happen this time?”
Visiting the Nash was always an adventure!
Canadian Pickers has been cancelled and their store at the Nash has a for lease sign on it.
I not surprised. The store was simply a set for the show and not a real outlet. At least, that’s how it looked to me.
Hello
Was listening to some blues and for the heck of it googled the National Hotel and found your site. When I lived in Calgary I used to enjoy the weekly jams they held there on Saturdays and Wed. nights hosted by Kelly J formerly of the Crowbars, and had the awesome experience of playing with him and Amos Garret..(Also played at the King Eddy too) Yes it was not a 5 star joint and the other side was a kind of dive western music bar, but it was great times for a while. I’d shoot down there after work, and had my regular spot at the bar and when I walked in, Donnie the bartender had a cold mug of beer at my usual seat ready and a game console for the trivia game on satellite that was once popular in bars..(if there were at least 5 players the top player got a free beer) I ended up as sort of an unpaid bouncer most nights helping the regular staff maintain order. Have only nice memories of the place. Kanes Harley Davidson was right across the road in the old liquor store and more than once we have a few of “the Boys” stop by and always asked the owner for permission to wear their cuts in the place. But times change and it seemed some didn’t pay the bills and stuff happens. But I will always have fond memories of the times I spent there
Mike High
Edmonton Ab.
Awesome, thanks for sharing this!
Mainly I just wanted to say thank you for the info about the National Hotel. I recently learned that Chef Michael Noble is opening his newest restaurant there next fall, and I was looking for more information about the building through a Google search (because I, sadly, no longer live in Calgary). Just in case you don’t already know, the restaurant will be named The Nash, and there will also be a bar called Offcut I believe.
How neat that the livery is still there! On my next visit to Calgary I must go take a closer look at it, as well as the others that were mentioned. Funny how age and distance make the heart grow even fonder of the hometown I love 🙂
I used to drive past the Crown Surplus store on 11th Street on my way home from work (downtown at another historic Calgary business- Riley and McCormick). I also remember shopping in Crown Surplus store roughly 30 years ago with my dad who is an avid hunter, so I know it has been there awhile (perhaps before Inglewood became cool again) and I wish them all the best. Here’s hoping the traffic from the restaurant and bar might bring in new business for them!
I’ll have to check out that restaurant, it sounds cool. Yes, being away does make one yearn for Calgary. I recall going to Crown Surplus in the late 70s.
I am a real antique and collectable dealer and have been for decades and that TV show Canadian Pickers is nothing but a joke. It’s an insult to us in the profession. They are idiots who have zero idea what they are doing and they consistently overvalue things by several hundred percent. In the show their “store” is often so busy with customers there is no room to move, yet any time I have been there, the place has been like a ghost town with not a customer in sight. Supposedly valuable and in-demand antiques have been sitting collecting dust for years. They move very little from what I can see. Even on their Ebay auction site they have moved only twenty items in the last two years. Hardly a windfall they make it out be in the show. Without the production company paying the bills they would have been out of business long ago.
I have never watched the show and am not fan of that genre so I can’t comment much. However I have heard from others who have visited the Canadian Pickers shop and they’ve passed on some interesting observations to me. In one case a friend happened to be there on a filming day. In the hours prior to the cameras arriving not one other person walked into the shop, not one. The moment they shouted “action” the place was full of customers, all of who coincidentally streamed in from the nearby make-up trailer. Hmmmm…Fake? Naaaaaaw, couldn’t be!
I understand the nearby Crown Surplus guys have a few choice words for the pickers. I guess the support trailers and the cars of all those “extras” (the fake customers) used in the show block the streets and drive away their paying customers.
There are many old school hotels like this in Lethbridge. You should pay it a visit some time and I am sure you’d find it fascinating.
It’s on my to-do list!
Although not strictly “in sight of downtown, another old barn within the city limits that has been retained is in Shawnessy, just south of Fish Creek.
I was never in the Nash, but I was in some of those other dives in the late 90s, when I first came to town, like the St. Regis. Sad places.
That makes three barns in the city limits and it makes one wonder how many others there are? Perhaps a project for a slow day.
Oh yea, I remember the Regis too. For some strange reason these dive bars and hotels were a magnet for my folks. They are sad places indeed.
If you like old hotels you should take a trip to Winnipeg. The old part of downtown near the rail yards is chock full of them.
I know all about them! The Bell, The Occidental, The McLaren and others. In fact we stayed at The McLaren in the 1970s – what a dump. My parents just LOVED those old dive hotels.
In the 1980s as I recall, there were a series of murders here or more so suspicious deaths.
Without sugar coating it my great uncle Hank was a wino. He used to drink at all the usual haunts a person of his affliction would hang out at. The King Eddy, The Queens, The Rock (ed. Shamrock), and of course The Nash. The latter seemed to be his favourite and he spent many a night upstairs in one of the dump rooms sleeping off a drunk. Other times he slept in the tank downtown, he really could care less. Rarely did he sleep at home, much to the chagrin of my poor tortured aunt. She used to send my dad and I on missions to track him down and bring him home, something we were rarely successful at. Sadly he died as a result of his excess drinking and seeing places like The National Hotel is a somewhat a bitter sweet experience for me. It’s nice that it’s being redone, but the last time I saw the inside of the place while trying to find my Hank, it was a depressing experience. It was the hotel of lost souls.
I can completely understand what you went through. My family and heavy drinking were synonymous and I too have been inside The Nash while trying to track down someone. God, and I won’t sugar coat it either, what a dump. It was so depressing going in there. My folks too made the rounds of the various dive hotels you mentioned. Add the King George to that, plus The Cecil, The York, The St Regis, and the Town and Country in Forest Lawn. I am sure there were others. Thanks for your honest comments.