Description of Historic Place

Located at Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake, Hangar 1 is an economical structure of impressive scale and dynamic form. Unique among the five hangars on the base, it is a large, box-like structure with a double cantilevered roof. Its distinguishing features are its high and wide doorways and its five-storey control tower that faces the runway. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

Hangar 1 is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values.

Historical Value
Hangar 1 is a very good example of a building that illustrates the theme of Canada’s National Defence and the commitment of the Canadian government, in the 1950s, to international military preparedness. It was constructed as one of the 21 original buildings of the base, which was designed and operated as an independent community until 1996, when it became part of the municipality of Cold Lake.

Architectural Value
Hangar 1 is an excellent example of a functional building designed according to a standard plan. It reflects the Department of National Defence’s preference, in the early 1950s for functional, economical and conservative designs. It is considerably larger than the base’s other five hangars, and more box-like in its form. It demonstrates good-quality workmanship and appropriate use of materials.

The Environmental Value
Oriented north-south, Hangar 1 is situated at the inside corner of the L-shaped arrangement of runways along which five smaller hangars are located. It is the base’s most visible building and is a familiar landmark identified from the runways and beyond, as well as from the air. It reinforces the present character of its post-war military training base setting. Its north elevation terminates the long vista of the community’s main street.

Source: Aircraft Hangar No.1, Cold Lake, Alberta, Heritage Character Statement, 00-007.

Character-Defining Elements

The character defining elements of Hangar 1 should be respected.

Its functional, economical design and high quality construction, for example: its massive scale, and its box-like form, with a double cantilevered roof and five-storey air traffic control tower on the south elevation; its original materials, in particular the Canadian produced Trafford tile cladding (asbestos cement panels) on all elevations, and the stucco panel on the north elevation; its high, wide doorways that span its east and west elevation, and their raised central sections for particularly high aircraft; its arrangement of windows and doors on its north and south elevations; its structure and interior finishes, including the Warren Truss system, the reinforced concrete slab, and the windows and balconies of the adjacent support spaces; its interior arrangement, which clearly distinguishes between its two main functions.

The manner in which the Hangar 1 maintains a spatial relationship with the runways, the other hangars and the rest of the base, and reinforces the visual military character of its base setting within the community.

Heritage Character Statement

Disclaimer - The heritage character statement was developed by FHBRO to explain the reasons for the designation of a federal heritage building and what it is about the building that makes it significant (the heritage character). It is a key reference document for anyone involved in planning interventions to federal heritage buildings and is used by FHBRO in their review of interventions.

Reasons for designation
Aircraft Hangar No. 1 is a `Recognized' Federal Heritage Building because of its historical, architectural, and environmental values:

Historical value
Hangar No. 1 at 4 Wing Cold Lake, a post-war base for training military personnel in air weaponry, is associated with Canada's national defence and the commitment of the Canadian government, in the 1950s, to international military preparedness. It was constructed in 1954 as one of the 21 original buildings of the base, which was designed and operated as an independent community until 1996, when it became part of the municipality of Cold Lake.

Architectural value
Hangar No. 1 was constructed according to a standard plan that reflects the DND's preference, in the early 1950s, for functional, economical, and conservative designs. It is considerably larger than the base's other five hangars, and more box-like in its form. It has a flat roof with finlike extensions along its east and west elevations, which possess very wide, high doorways; the original doors were recently replaced. The north elevation, facing the base, and the south elevation, which faces the runways and features a five-storey control tower (added in 1975), have functional arrangements of doors and windows. The building is mostly clad in asbestos cement panels, with some stucco features. The interior, spanned by a Warren truss system, is composed of two spacious, lofty hangars, separated by a two-storey office and service core with a wide central corridor. Two-storey support spaces are also located at the ends of the hangars.

Environmental value
Hangar No. 1 is the base's most visible building because of its immense scale, its five-storey control tower, and its strategic location. Oriented north-south, it is situated at the inside corner of the L-shaped arrangement of runways along which five smaller hangars are located. In addition to being prominent from the runways and beyond, as well from the air, Hangar No. 1 is visible from within the base as its north elevation terminates the long vista of the community's main street. Due to its high-security function, most civilians know only its exterior.

Character-defining elements
The following character-defining elements of Aircraft Hangar No. 1 should be respected:

Its illustration of Canadian military defence and the federal government's commitment, since the Second World War, to international defence preparedness:
- Its continued use, for over 50 years, for the purpose for which it was designed: the repair, maintenance, and storage of aircraft used for air weaponry, and related administrative, service, and training activities.

Its functional, economical design and high-quality construction:
- Its massive scale, and its box-like form, which is relieved by finned extensions along the east and west elevations and the five-storey air traffic control tower (1975) on the south elevation.
- Its good-quality workmanship and appropriate use of materials.
- Its original materials, in particular the Canadian-produced Trafford tile cladding (asbestos cement panels) on all elevations, and the stucco panel on the north elevation.
- The high, wide doorways that span its east and west elevations, and their raised central sections for particularly high aircraft.
- The arrangement of windows and doors on its north and south elevations.
- Its interior arrangement, which clearly distinguishes between its two main functions: wide, high, open hangars for parking, repairing, and maintaining aircraft, and related two-storey office, work, and service spaces organized around a wide central corridor between the two hangars, along their south walls, and along the north wall of Hangar A.
- Its structure and interior finishes: the Warren truss system, the reinforced concrete slab, the windows and balconies of the adjacent support spaces.

Its high visibility and its spatial relationships with the runways, the other hangars, and the rest of the base:
- Its prominence - due to its immense scale, its strategic location, and its air traffic control tower - from the air, the runways, and the rest of the base.
- Its comfortable relationship with the L-shaped arrangement of runways and hangars that forms the base's high-security zone.