RUTLEDGE HANGAR

The Rutledge Hangar is a two-storey building situated on roughly 1.2 hectares of land in Calgary's Renfrew neighbourhood. Built in 1929, the hangar's exterior features a reinforced concrete foundation, concrete thrust buttresses, and an arched roof. Structures on the east and west ends of the building are more recent additions.

The heritage value of the Rutledge Hangar lies in its representation of early twentieth century construction techniques for airplane hangars. Secondary value lies in its association with the establishment of commercial aviation in Calgary.

Calgary's Rutledge Hangar embodies a common construction method for early twentieth century airport hangars in Canada. The building is defined by its 80 foot span "Lamella Arch" composed of dimensioned Douglas fir planks arranged in a pattern of diamond-shaped frames. This framing system rests upon a reinforced concrete foundation and is laterally strengthened by exterior concrete buttresses. The simplicity of the design and the basic building materials made construction relatively easy: erecting the hangar took only three weeks and was completed without any sophisticated machinery. Though lightweight, the "Lamella Arch" was provided with robust stability through the reinforcing concrete elements. The current appearance of the hangar includes several more recent additions, including the two structures located at the east and west ends of the original building. The Rutledge Hangar is the last known extant example of this method of hangar construction in Alberta.

Built in 1929, the Rutledge Hangar is the only remaining building from Calgary's first publicly operated airport, commonly known as the Stanley Jones Airport. The airfield was developed by the city in the late 1920s as growing prosperity stimulated a demand for commercial air transportation. The site would be distinguished by its runway lights to facilitate twilight landings - a first in Canada. Renfrew Air Service erected the Rutledge Hangar at the airfield in 1929, although public apprehensions about air travel and the onset of the Depression prompted the airline to discontinue operations only two years later. In subsequent years, the hangar served a variety of purposes. It was employed as part of a short-lived airmail service for the Prairies in the early 1930s and functioned temporarily as a training site for Royal Canadian Air Force flyers and technicians during World War Two. After the war, the hangar ceased to be used as an aviation facility.

Source: Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, Historic Resources Management Branch (File: Des. 1959)

The character-defining elements of the Rutledge Hangar include such features as:

- location;

- mass, form, and style of original structure;

- reinforced concrete foundation and concrete thrust buttresses;

- exposed dimensioned Douglas fir "Lamella Arch" framing system and roof decking;

- skylights roof pattern and rough openings;

- adjacent open space to the east of the hangar.