History

Although our block had fallen on sad times and was once deemed Calgary's Worst street; it is over a century old and is one of the few original standing blocks left in Calgary.

Our headquarters and office was once home to the Calgary Stock Exchange. When the CSE went bankrupt they sold to Senator James A. Lougheed in 1915.

Between 1916 and 1939 the block became known as The New Calgary Market and was designed to have separate business entrances. Some of the tenants included Wilson Stationary, Consolidated Oil & Stock Exchange, Rochon Ltd's Candy and Icecream Factory, Hinds Meateateria, Calgary's first Electric Lighting Company Ltd, Self Serving Grocery, and the Canadian Bible Society.

What transpired up until 1980 is unclear (Pool Hall, Arcade?), but as the LRT was constructed the train platform was on the South side of the street and the Express Café was constructed to feed the masses. As the hands of time went on, things changed and the street fell into a state of disrepair and neglect. Some properties were purchased in 2008 with the intention of doing a redevelopment and rejuvenation of the historical qualities of the block.

Due to a variety of reasons the Express Café closed in January 2012. Due to the repairs required it was expected to remain vacant however, Jonathan assumed a lease in October of 2012 to put forth his illogical, nonsensical, irrational and fun visual art displays in hopes of brightening and maintaining a presence to make the street safer and more agreeable.

To read more on the history of the Express Cafe please visit our blog post What is This Place