ROYALITE BUILDING

Firm: Rule Wynn and Rule

Address: 615 2 Street SW

Date of final plans:

Status: demolished

Of all the architectural losses in downtown Calgary, one of the most unfortunate was that of the Royalite Building. The building's history was doubly sad by the fact it was never completed. Rule Wynn and Rule's design called for 12 storeys (including a unique top floor), although only six were ever built.

The Royalite Building had two parts: a 123' by 113.5' tower, and an 86.5' by 60.5' store. Behind the store there was a parking lot and ramp to the underground garage. Rather than the severe curtain wall style emblematic of the era (seen, for example, on the Petro-Chemical Building), the Royalite Building employed a hybrid pre- and post-War vocabulary.

The model shown in the images below includes the full 12-storeys included in the original design.