Historic legion in downtown Calgary struggling with rising costs, declining membership

CBC

2 days ago

An upcoming emergency repair has put the historic No. 1 Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion in Calgary in a difficult financial spot, with a steep bill coming just as the hall contends with piling building costs.
The branch, which sits on Seventh Avenue S.E. in central Calgary, faces a roughly $42,000 bill for an emergency roof repair that's scheduled to start on Monday, said legion branch president Philip MacAulay. While the province's heritage fund is kicking in a little more than $10,000, the legion is still on the hook to cover the rest of the cost.
The branch's financial problems are complicated by needed repairs to its air-conditioning system that MacAulay said will cost another $15,000, as well as a leak four months ago that cost around $10,000 to fix.
Further down the road lies a three-to-five-year project to renovate the rest of the roof after the emergency repairs, which MacAulay projects will cost the branch upwards of $270,000, not to mention all of the building's windows are original to the building and in need of replacement or updates, which will bring further costs to the building.
The branch is looking to the community for support now to afford its maintenance and repair costs, and to try to keep the historic building's doors open.
"It is a provincial and city historic site. It's been around for 103 years, there's a lot of history in it and I think it's worthwhile saving. We lose too much of our history," MacAulay said on The Calgary Eyeopener on Wednesday.
The building is opening for breakfast and lunch each day of the Calgary Stampede to try and drum up business. But the building has been hit hard by declining membership and foot traffic for years now, the branch president said.
The building opened in 1922 as a memorial to honour people who served in the First World War. When construction began, the Prince of Wales at the time broke sod on the land, and in its history Queen Elizabeth II visited the building twice, MacAulay said, underlining the site's connection to the British royal family.
The building was officially recognized as a provincial historic resource in 1983.
When he worked at the legion hall 40 to 50 years ago, MacAulay remembers all three floors being busy from 10 a.m. until 2 a.m. the following morning. The building rarely sees that kind of activity now.
"I realize, yes, some of it has to do with the economy and the city and all the rest, but all you can do is try," MacAulay said. "I would hate to see a historic building like this just go by the wayside."
Allen Wright, the vice chair of hospitality with the Legion, is also a Calgary Stampede volunteer who often uses the hall to take a break during the event. He said he supports the legion because his father and uncle served in the military and wants to see the site remain open despite the difficult road it faces.
"It's an actually fascinating building," Wright said.
"Because of the cost of having to do renovations here … it's a struggle. The membership is getting older."
Membership has largely been in decline since shortly before the COVID pandemic shut the hall down for an extended period, and it now sits at a little over 300 people, MacAulay said. He added the remaining members usually only visit on Fridays if they come out to the building at all.
But MacAulay identifies the branch's biggest issue as the lack of businesses around it on Seventh Avenue.
Hotels that used to sit near the hall like the York, St. Regis and Calgarian are all gone, leaving largely unused sites in their place. In the case of the York, MacAulay said they've heard talk of a new building going up in its place for more than a decade, with no progress yet.
WATCH | List of repairs growing for Legion No. 1:
Legion No. 1 in downtown Calgary in need of urgent repairs and a lot more customers
9 hours ago
Duration 1:40
These are tough days for Legion No. 1 in downtown Calgary. The list of repairs is growing while the number of people going there is shrinking. Staff have been hoping to get a boost from this year's Stampede but there's no sign of that yet.
Throughout the year, the No. 1 branch typically makes its income through a darts league it hosts from September to May, the Sled Island music festival in July, professional wrestling events roughly once a month, and any outside functions it can bring in like weddings, celebrations of life and events organized by CJSW, the University of Calgary's campus radio station.
"We make money during the year, but we don't make the kind money that would [cover this]," MacAulay said.
"Anything we can do to keep the place going, we try to do that."
The problem isn't specific to the No. 1 branch, as legion branches across Canada have faced difficulty keeping the lights on due to inflation, maintenance costs and aging membership.