The original St. Barnabas Church, a small wood frame building, was erected in 1906 on the north side of the Bow River, to be replaced by a second St. Barnabas in 1912, the cornerstone for which was laid on June 12, 1912. Somehow those careless Anglicans managed to burn their brick and stone church down in 1957. Saved, however, were the bell tower and most of the stained glass.
Undeterred, they got to work and on October 13, 1957, the cornerstone for the new church, which is also of brick, was laid. They've not yet managed to torch this church and it continues in use today. More or less as a memorial to the older church, the old Gothic Revival tower was incorporated into the new church, the new sanctuary being built on the east side of the tower. Later, the parish hall was built to the west of the tower, with a hallway attached to its west edge. The original cornerstones for the old church remain in a buttress of the tower. Very Gothic in its execution, the tower has a Gothic doorway on what is now its front side and twin Gothic belfry vent openings on each side, all framed in heavy bevelled sandstone. The lower part of the tower is supported by stepped sandstone buttresses, which, after the second step, become quoins, continuing to the crenellated parapet.
While definitely anachronistic in appearance, the inclusion of the tower into the more contemporary styling of the sanctuary and church hall sets St. Barnabas apart from all other churches in Calgary.
Following is text from a heritage plaque placed at the church by the Heritage Advisory Board of Calgary.
St. Barnabas Anglican Church Tower
The first Anglican church built in 1906 on the north side of the Bow River was a small frame structure, situated on the open prairie. By 1912 a larger church was needed and a traditional English-style brick and stone building, designed by Leo Dowler and James Stevenson, replaced the frame structure. Ezra Riley, a longtime resident, donated the cost of the new church in memory of his baby daughter and his parents, Thomas and Georgina Riley, who were early homesteaders in what is now north-west Calgary. Their tombs remain in the churchyard. Fire destroyed most of the church in 1957, but the tower and most of the stained glass windows survived. A new church, built the following year, incorporated these remaining features.
Plaque Placed by the Heritage Advisory Board of the City of Calgary, 1995