We were transferred from Edmonton to Calgary in the fall of 1950 by Calgary Power Ltd. Our first residence was a rented suite at the corner of 10th St and 19th Ave NW. In the early spring of 1952 we saw a newspaper advertisement showing lots for sale in the Briar Hill by Glencoe Engineering & Construction Co Ltd. under Les Wade. Their office was located at 3-4 Kresge Building, 236 8th Ave W, Calgary. We soon checked out the available lots and found that all were sold from 19th St to 20a St and the first ones available were on 21st St. We selected 1511 (lot 9, block 13), as it was the furthest south of 16 Ave and likely to be the quieter than further north. The lot, 50’ by 130’, had another advantage, as it was 10’ deeper than the normal 120’. All lots on the 21st St were 130’ deep. We signed the Offer to Purchase on April 21st 1952 for the sum of $10,000 with a down payment of $2,000,
The building permit was on site in late July, construction began in August and the lot survey completed on August 26th. Most of our dealings during the selection of the type of house and the construction details were with Mel Crawford of Glencoe. Other than the corner lots, the choice was between a two or three bedroom home. We chose the 26’ by 40’, 1040 square foot three bedroom house.
The basic cost was $10,000 and an additional $300 could be spent extras.
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