This summer, the historic leaded glass piece, which was the iconic logo of the Parkside Continental, was restored to the address of that legendary Calgary gay bar at 1302 4 St. SW (now Shelf Life Books).
The piece was reclaimed and preserved by John Holt, a former co-owner of The Green Room, a secondary space that opened above the Parkside in the early ’80s. {He is also handy enough that he personally installed it at Shelf Life!}
The building at 1302 4 St. SW was built in 1972 by developer Oscar Fech, who also opened a restaurant there in the spring of 1973, the Continental Steak House. Later that same year, Oscar sold the restaurant to Vance Campbell, who rebranded the spot the Parkside Continental Steak House and made it gay in the evenings (to Oscar’s chagrin).
As the business developed (and got gayer), Vance and Parkside manager Rudy Labuhn were looking for an image for the corporate brand. They stumbled across an image in an art deco magazine and repurposed it for the Parkside. Vance remembers: “I used the logo on our vehicles, our other venues, on the staff uniforms of the Parkside Tropicana and Myrt’s Cafe in Vancouver, and at Myrt’s Cafe in Calgary. I recall asking my Calgary lawyer years ago to trademark the logo as ‘an art deco illustration of a man and woman dancing within a circle’ used for the expanding Parkside empire, which included Myrt’s.”
The leaded glass piece was commissioned when Vance and company renovated the Parkside and opened The Green Room on the second floor. It was installed at the top of the stairs adjacent to the entrance of The Green Room.
John Holt writes that the Parkside Continental was a raucous place. “The discotheque [was] busier past midnight, after patrons would finish with their “straight” lives. Thick blue air from cigarette smoke, thumping disco music, wild hair, skin-tight jeans, handkerchiefs signallying desires, spinning and spiralling on the dance floor. THE place to party.”
In contrast, John recalls: “The Green Room was a luxurious lounge with a white mahogany piano bar, a glorious fireplace, and bulletproof green sofas. It defined glamourous! There were drag performances every night of the week.”
When asked why John paid for the restoration of the glass panel and its installation at Shelf Life, he explains: “Many memories were created in the walls of this building; some clear, some faded, some lost. It has played a vital role in our community. I celebrate bringing this piece of the past to the present. It belongs to all of us.”
{KA}
Calgary Gay History 