Firm: Rule Wynn and Rule

Address: 5909 Elbow Drive SW

Date of final plans: April 1957

Status: standing as built

The origins of the McMahon house and property are difficult to discern. The house was, along with what became the Orville W. Matheny House, one of two estates along the south side of the Calgary Golf and Country Club. These lots may have been created as part of the unexecuted Glenmore Heights neighbourhood that was planned in 1945. I do not know who the original builders or owners of the two houses were.

The McMahon House was originally a small bungalow. Frank McMahon seems to have bought the house in the late 1940s. In 1948, he hired Rule Wynn and Rule to design a carport and bedroom addition. During this first addition, McMahon also added a pool and cabana, guest house, staff house, and stable.

After he remarried in 1956 to Betty Betz, McMahon rebuilt the house completely for his new wife, incorporating part of the original foundation. The result was a massive new mid-century ranch house. The McMahons only lived in the house for a couple years before relocating to Vancouver.

The property is roughly 314' wide and 363' deep. The living room is located centrally and exits on an elevated stone patio at the south. The master bedroom is in the southwest corner, and a den is at the southeast. The northwest wing holds the nursery with full bath. In the northeast wing there are two maids' rooms with a single bath and a separate living room. The Rule design features a glulam beam ceiling.

The McMahon House stands today as built, albeit with a few additions. It must surely be one of the most expensive properties in the city.