Description of Historic Place

Beaulieu National Historic Site of Canada consists of a large, late-nineteenth-century residence situated on spacious open grounds which span the eastern end of a city block in central Calgary.

Heritage Value

Beaulieu was designated a national historic site of Canada because it is apparently a lone, early survivor of an upper-middle class eclectic mansion on the Canadian Prairies.

Beaulieu is a fine example of a home designed in an eclectic Victorian style to accommodate the lifestyle and aspirations of an upper-middle class Prairie family, that of the Honourable James Alexander Lougheed and his wife, Isabella Clark Hardisty. Set within spacious, landscaped grounds, the house illustrates the then-fashionable robust, eclectic taste in design. Use of the finest materials and craftsmanship ensured that Beaulieu was both a comfortable family home and a glamorous stage for gatherings of Calgary's elite. As a rare survivor of this type of mansion in the West, Beaulieu is a landmark on the Calgary landscape.

Source: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada Minute, November 1992
Commemorative Integrity Statement

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of this site include:

- the extent and layout of the grounds with spacious grassed areas bisected by drive and walkway establishing formal orientation of the house to Thirteenth Avenue;
- separation of grounds from surrounding streets by surviving wall and gateway;
- the picturesque combination of Victorian architectural styles including the Chateau and Romanesque Revival evident in the use of heavily rusticated stonework, irregular massing and roofline with steeply pitched roofs and tall chimneys, and varied fenestration patterns;
- unaltered spatial orientation of the mansion's entryways: the main formal entry facing Thirteenth Avenue, the west family entry and porch, and the garden entry;
- interior layout of house surviving from 1891-1908;
- high-quality materials including sandstone exterior walls and rich interior woodwork;
- sophisticated workmanship including heavily rusticated exterior stonework, interior wood panelling, plasterwork, and Robert McCausland art glass;
- romantic exterior detailing including a balustraded porch, pilasters, and carved stone detailing.