Calgary’s third-oldest building continues its modern hobby as a posh production set for a new television series.
The Lougheed House joined parts of Heritage Park and Inglewood-based bookstore, The Next Page, in setting the stage for Netflix’s new 12-episode Korean romance show, Can This Love Be Translated?, which premiered on Jan. 16.
Starring South Korea’s Kim Seon-ho and Go Youn-jung, the limited series tells the fictional story of how the professional relationship between an actress and her interpreter blossomed into endearment, “in which much is left unsaid,” as Netflix described it.
“Lougheed House is thrilled to be featured as a location in this new series,” said executive director Shannon Murray.
“It speaks to the universal appeal of the house and its ability to resonate with audiences far beyond Calgary.”
From Westerns to documentaries and Hallmark movies, this is not the first time the Lougheed House has served as the backdrop for a production. Communications manager, Fiona McTaggart, said Billy the Kid was famously shot here, and that the same scout put the property on Netflix’s radar.
Despite US President Donald Trump’s threats to impose a 100 per cent tariff on films shot outside America, Calgary’s industry has been steadily growing. According to Calgary Economic Development, the city ranked fifth among the best places to be a filmmaker in 2025. Moviemaker Magazine said the city had recently moved up to fourth.
McTaggart said that this series is not expected to be the last show filmed at the century-old site.
“It’s a great source of revenue for the organization, and it’s a really neat way to share Calgary’s heritage, even if it’s not necessarily being talked about in the film,” she said.
Important piece of the past
Located at 707 13 Avenue S.W., locals likely recognize the building by its creamy sandstone exterior, while museum-goers might remember the mansion’s rich wooden finishings and sparkling mica-infused wallpaper.
For a house built in 1891, McTaggart said it once was, and always will be, an “architectural marvel.” When asked why filmmakers are flocking to shoot here, she said it’s simple: The building is gorgeous.
“It’s hard to find something that is still standing in the same way and looking the same that it did 135 years ago,” said McTaggart.
Around that time, one of the original family members to inhabit the house, Edgar, was born. Today, he’s known as the father of Peter Lougheed, who went on to be Alberta’s premier for 14 consecutive years until retiring in 1985.
The house left the Lougheed’s hands long before then, however. In the late 1930s, the city took possession of the family’s belongings and sold them. Its vacancy later served as a barracks for the Canadian Women’s Army Corps and YWCA boarding house during the Second World War.
By the early 1990s, the province had purchased the property in poor condition. To prevent demolition, it was declared a historic site and renovated to near-original condition.
The good, the bad, and the ugly
In 2005, the Lougheed House Conservation Society reopened the home as a museum. This was intended to highlight Calgary’s history, which, according to the landmarks website, is littered with instances ignored by rose-coloured glasses.
Racialized immigrants who arrived in the city at the turn of the twentieth century were often challenged by white settlers, both in person and through policy. The Lougheed House and its patrons were not innocent in this.
Just blocks from the building, one of the city’s earliest Chinatowns emerged in the downtown community of Beltline in 1901. But as the population grew, so did real estate values, and landlords were quick to evict new Canadians.
About a decade later, the father of the Lougheed family, James, owned the Grand Theatre, where segregated seating for “coloured” and white patrons was strictly enforced.
McTaggart said being completely transparent about where the site started is essential to ensure that history does not repeat itself, especially since James’ wife, Isabella Hardisty, was Métis herself.
For a non-Western television show to have been filmed at the Lougheed House, McTaggart considered this a full-circle moment signifying growth and inclusivity.
“There’s always been a diverse community living and working here,” she said.
“It’s really neat to be blending this local Alberta past with an international production and international audience with a Korean film.”
