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Lethbridge

Gateway to Opportunity


Lethbridge was born in the late 1800s as a coal mining community known at the time as Coalbanks. The city is located 215 km southeast of Calgary above the steep Old Man River Valley. Before the arrival of settlers, the area was part of the summer hunting grounds of the Siksikaitsitapi (Blackfoot Confederacy) and a park in the river valley commemorates the defeat of a Cree war party by Kainai (Blood) and Piikani (Peigan) people and the Cree. The name Lethbridge was chosen early in the community's history in honour of William Lethbridge, an original shareholder in the Northwest Coal and Navigation Company - the first coal company to operate in the area. The community economy soon diversified into lumber when the Galt family, the owners of Lethbridge's first mine, developed a sawmill beneath the current location of the High Level Bridge. The community's growth skyrocketed after the Canadian Pacific Railway moved their Crowsnest line division point from Fort Macleod to Lethbridge. With the rise of agriculture in the area, the townsite moved out of the river valley onto the fertile lands of the prairie. After the Second World War, the people of Lethbridge increasingly used automobiles, allowing the city to develop further away from the city centre. Lethbridge's last coal mine closed in 1957, but the mine's tipple, water tower, and machinery buildings were left behind as a reminder of the city's coal mine origins.

We respectfully acknowledge that the city of Lethbridge is located on the traditional territory of the Siksikaitsitapi (Blackfoot Confederacy) who have shaped and cared for this land since time immemorial.

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 Lethbridge

Then and Now Photos

Wagons on Round Street


Wagons on Round Street Wagons on Round Street
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Glenbow Archives NA-3213-8

ca. 1907

Postcard view. Carriages and wagons, centre foreground. Hotel Dallas, centre.

The Post Office


The Post Office The Post Office
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Glenbow Archives PA-469-17

1907-1909

A postcard view of the old post office on 2nd Street.

A View Down Round Street


A View Down Round Street A View Down Round Street
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Glenbow Archives NA-1314-14

Feb. 5 1910

A painted advertisement is visible on the side of the buildings. The Union Bank of Canada is the closest building. People mill about on the sidewalks.

Hotel Dallas


Hotel Dallas Hotel Dallas
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Glenbow Archives PA-3689-578

ca. 1910

The Hotel Dallas is visible the on right of this 1910 postcard.

A French Arch


A French Arch A French Arch
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Glenbow Archives NC-2-192

ca. 1910

An arch erected over the intersection of 5th Street South and 3rd Avenee states a greeting in French, "Bienvenue a notre Premier Ministre". The uprights were full of coal to give weight and strength, and the arch was made of baled hay.

A Busy Day on 5th Street


A Busy Day on 5th Street A Busy Day on 5th Street
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Glenbow Archives

ca. 1907-1913

Pedestrians, cars, and streetcars share Fifth Street. The Starland Theatre stands on the right.

Starland and Streetcar


Starland and Streetcar Starland and Streetcar
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Glenbow Archives PA-3689-546

ca. 1907-1909

A postcard view of 5th Street traffic. Different kinds of vehicles shard the road such as a streetcar, horse-drawn vehicles and cars, while pedestrians weave between them. The Starland Theatre stands on the left.

The Royal Bank


The Royal Bank The Royal Bank
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Glenbow Archives NA-3774-136

ca. 1927

The Royal Bank opened May 25, 1910 in Lethbridge. The photo also shows Royal Beauty parlour and barber shop on the left.


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