From beltline.ca:
Quote:
This square plan, Queen Anne style house is an unusual architectural example still standing in the East Victoria neighbourhood of the Beltlne. Highly detailed, it's hipped roof, cross gables, patterned shingles and classical columns are intact.Constructed in 1905 by, founder of Sales Clothing Company and Board of Trade promoter, Enoch Samuel Sales, the residence represents the occupational diversity found in early Victoria.
Prior to the establishment of elite subdivisions, Victoria was the preferred choice of the managerial class. Sales resided at this address until 1931. In 1941, the house was suited to accommodate eight borders. A strong point of reference along 12th Avenue, this residence is a significant end post to Dafoe and Fairey Terraces and Victoria School. The house was later converted into apartments.
Plans are afoot for its restoration as part of a park to be located immediately to the west on top of the McLeod trail LRT tunnel at 12 avenue SE.
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https://beltline.ca/community/heritage/enoch
From "Historic Walks of Calgary" by Harry Sanders (2005):
Quote:
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This two-story wood frame house was another of Victoria Park's early high-class dwellings, originally the home of clothing merchant Enoch Samuel Sales (1860-1930), founder of the Sales Clothing Company. Sales was a militia captain, treasurer of the Alberta Rifle Association, and, according to his obituary, "one of Calgary's most famous rifle shots." He built this house by 1905, and here he died at the age of 70. It was later converted into apartments, which it remains.
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These two sources seem to disagree a bit on when Sales died. Also, both show their date. It may have still been apartments in 2005, and when the online source was written, the nearby park hadn't been built yet.
At that time, the private developer wanted to build a hotel on the current site, and the house would have been moved to the new park, restored, and possibly connected to the hotel to use as amenity space (hall/banquet, retail maybe, etc.). Moving the house to the park could have worked with or without the hotel.
This deal fell through and the park went ahead without incorporating the house.
CMLC then acquired the house later and plans for it hadn't materialized yet, but they wanted to keep and restore it.