The City of Calgary, The City Clerk’s Office, Corporate Records, Archives of Calgary
Hours: Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (except statutory holidays).
Location: 313-7 Avenue SE, Calgary, AB T2P 2M5.
Contact: (402)-268-8180; archives@calgary.ca
Access: Open to the public. Fill out registration before visiting.
Website: http://www.calgary.ca/CA/city-clerks/Pages/Corporate-records/Archives/Corporate-Records-and-Archives.aspx
The Archives of Calgary was established in 1981 with a limited mandate. The Glenbow Institute initially served as a repository for the city of Calgary’s historical records from 1973 until the establishment of the Archives. Many of the records were returned to the City of Calgary by 1987.
As the official repository of all civic records for the City of Calgary, the Archives acquires, preserves and makes these records available to City staff and the general public. The holdings consist of over 3500 metres of records, including the operational records of the civic administration, council minutes, bylaws and contract agreements, documenting decisions and policies of City Council, civic business units and agencies, civic functions, reports, studies, briefs, photographs, maps, assessment records, voters lists, and municipal handbooks.
The Archive is home to the Board of Commissioners fonds (1909-1975). The fonds contains 94.6 meters of textual records. The Board of Commissioners is the highest administrative body in the City of Calgary, established in 1905. The records can all, with the exception of the Convention Centre files, be described as correspondence or subject files.
The Archive also houses the City Clerk’s Department fonds (1884-1975). The Town Clerk of Calgary was the first civic official appointed at the first meeting of the Calgary Town Council on December 4th, 1884. The fonds consists of Council minutes, by-laws, agreements, drawings, plans, correspondence, and some artifacts, in the form of 4900 maps, 762 photo prints, 218 microfilm reels, 60 ledgers, and 48 scrapbooks.
Holdings also include the Engineering and Environmental Services Department fonds (1889-1990). The fonds contains 220.13 meters of textual records, including correspondence, memoranda, reports, legal agreements, mechanical drawings, maps, a few field notebooks, and some photographs. The fonds is divided into 6 series: Series I contains a collection of miscellaneous individual items and small series, before 1938. Series II consists of the Annual Reports of the Department. Series III, the largest accumulation of the Department’s records, consists of correspondence (including accompanying reports, drawings, maps, legal agreements, brochures, and photographs) filed in the City Engineer’s office from 1949. Series IV consists of photographs. Series V, the Safety Files, consists of the records of the Training and Safety Officer, 1967-1974. Series VI includes the acquisition and early development of the Water Works (1899-1902), and correspondence of the Superintendent of Water Works (1915-1931).
The Archive also holds the Fire Department Fonds (1875-1968). The fonds contain 14.39 meters of records, including 116 photo prints, 104 ledgers, 8 film reels, and 2 scrapbooks. The records are divided into the following series: Series I: Chief’s correspondence, records, reports, orders etc., 1899-1970. Series II: Miscellaneous correspondence and records, 1919-1954. Series III: Union dispute briefs, 1932-1950. Series IV: Union minutes, records, agreements, etc., 1919-1957. Series V: Calgary Federation of Civic Employees, 1917-1952. Series VI: Calgary Trades and Labour Council, minutes, 1947-1952. Series VII: Canadian Labour reports, 1947-1951. Series VIII: Miscellaneous union records and correspondence, 1929-1952. Series IX: Convention proceedings, 1919-1958. Series X: Annual Reports, 1908-1971. Series XI: Pension fund papers, 1932-1943. Series XII: Salary and pension records, 1934-1950. Series XIII: Workmen’s compensation correspondence and form, 1921-1949. Series XIV: Volumes – 100 Journals and Record Books, 1885-1968. Series XV: Oversize – Card Catalogues, Blueprints, Volumes and Scrapbooks, ca. 1911-1955.
The Archive also holds the Land Department fonds (1884-1988). The fonds consists of 113.8 meters of records documenting all of the Department’s functions except housing. Additionally, the Archive contains the Parks and Recreation Department fonds (1905-1981). The fonds contains 131.59 meters of records dating from 1905 to 1981, with material from the 1960s and 1970s predominating. The records consist of 2200 photo prints, 1256 photo negatives, 500 slides, 60 drawings, 15 video cassettes, 10 film reels.
Additionally, the Archive houses the Calgary Transit fonds (1909-1975). The fonds consists of 30.2 meters of Calgary Transit records, dating back to the year of its establishment, 1909, and include records created after 1972, when Calgary Transit became part of the Transportation Department. Included are records created under its previous names: Calgary Transit System, Calgary Municipal Railway, and Calgary Electric Railway.
The Archive houses various notable records including those of the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics’ Organizing Committee (OCO’88), making Calgary the first host city to have an official Olympic Archive. The collection is divided into 12 fonds: A full inventory of the holdings is available in PDF form on the Archive’s website.
The Archive also houses the records of annexed municipalities, including the Village of Crescent Heights (1908-1911, 1.0 meters), the Town of Bowness (1911-1964, 5.0 meters), the Town of Forest Lawn (1934-1963, 5.0 meters), and the Town of Montgomery (1958-1963, 5.0 meters).