Calgarians saddened by the demolition of the unique ‘cow house’

In a city of urban housing, Calgarians are saddened by the loss of one of the city’s most unique buildings, the cow house.

Just off 16 Ave NE on Edmonton Trail sat the beloved cow house. The building was demolished on June 14 as part of a development project taking place on the surrounding lots.

Built in 1900, the house is over 100 years old and has lived many lives.

From being a residential home to a consignment store, a tattoo parlour and a nail salon, the house has seen its fair share of residents.

Cera Jade was the last to run her business out of the cow house. She opened Obsession Spa in 2020.

Jade moved out in January 2022 due to the sale of the house and termination of her lease, but the cow house will always hold a special spot in her heart.

History of the cow house

According to the City of Calgary, the cow house was built in 1900, making the building 123 years old.

Its previous owner and Jade’s landlord, Michelle Mouat, had owned the house for over 20 years.

She bought the house for her business, What’s in Store, a consignment shop and costume rental.

Mouat told GayCalgary in 2005 that prior to her owning the house it was a residential rental. However, before becoming residential, Alberta Pest Control’s headquarters was in the house for a number of years.

What’s in Store operated for about 30 years, and Mouat was the fourth owner of the business. Prior to buying the property, What’s in Store was in a different building painted with the cow print.

When Mouat moved the store in the late 90s, the cow print followed it to its new location on Edmonton Trail.

“When I asked her why, she said it was because it's ‘Cowlgary.’ It catches people's eye,” Jade says.

After the closure of What’s in Store, a tattoo parlour called Ascending Koi opened a shop in the cow house for over 10 years.

Renovating and changing

Prior to the cow house, Jade operated Obsession Spa out of her home for 10 years.

“For someone who's moving a home business into a commercial location, you want that to be as least turbulent on your clients as possible,” she says. “When I found a place with the aspects that I already had going on in my previous location, it was just kind of perfect.

However, she says opening her commercial business in 2020 was a struggle.

“We were open for about two months before the first COVID shutdown happened,” she says.

Like many businesses, the doors of Obsession Spa continually opened and closed according to government guidelines.

However, seeing as Jade had begun renovations prior to opening, shutdowns gave her extra time to work on the cow house.

“I spent so many hours on that property, day in and day out. I know every stud, every nail… everything! There’s not an inch of the house that we didn't end up touching.”

Additionally, Jade had removed a tree from the property as the trunk was rotting which resulted in quite the surprise.

“One day, we were at the property doing landscaping and my dog, who doesn't typically dig, started digging in the stump,” she says. “We found an ancient statue and a little plaque thing that it sits on… embedded in the tree trunk.”

She took to Facebook to ask if anyone knew what the statue was or why it was in the trunk. However, she never got any answers.

The little statue now sits in her new salon, a reminder of their old location at the cow house.

Connecting the community

Not only did the businesses of the cow house serve the community, but a community garden was also located on the property.

Jade recalls that Ascending Koi built the garden with the church previously located next door.

“There was never an obligation for any new business to take that [garden] over, but that was one of the biggest selling features for us. It had all these opportunities where we could connect with our community,” she says.

In addition to the garden, Jade added a community pantry and clothing donation bin to the property.

Jade loved giving back to the community through the cow house’s prime location and large yard. She says Obsession Spa’s new location in a professional building is great, however, she misses running the garden and pantry out of the cow house.

Too far gone

Jade understands the demolition of the house as she became familiar with its many flaws while renovating.

“It had black mould in it, it had a lot of stuff that I spent months cleaning it out,” she says. “I would have loved to see it moved, but I really think it would have crumbled.”

Jades notes the house needed a complete overhaul of its structural work due to the hundred-year-old building not being properly maintained.

Although the cow house is gone, Jade hopes that someone else in the city will paint another to continue the tradition.

“It's just nice to see something unique in an urban city where so many neighbourhoods are developed very similarly.”