The Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Calgary is a centre for performing arts, built in celebration of the province’s 50th anniversary (or “Jubilee” year) in 1955. Now close to sixty years old, the building is still a busy place and hosts many events throughout the year, and in in fact...
This post has been retired and an updated version can be found here: SAIT Heritage Hall (Built Early 1920s). See you there! They’re saying… “Great people and great articles! I am honored to know both Chris & Connie and to also have collaborated on photo trips or helped with research....
For this “then and now” post, a two-parter, we visit Central Memorial Park to look at Calgary’s Cenotaph, the Boer War Statue and Memorial Park Library in behind. The originals that we’ll try to duplicate are from a couple old postcards provided to us by a reader of this blog...
It’s the spring of 1989 (I think) and after working for months on end without break, I take a couple days off from my job in Vancouver BC to visit the sunny Okanagan. I spend one afternoon in Kelowna where I explore the railway in town. What, no relaxing on...
In this report we take a look at the CPR’s former Beiseker Alberta train station which now houses that town’s offices along with a library and museum. Celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2013, the building is in fine shape and sits only metres from where it was built. The railway...
The former Riverside Iron Works site in the historic neighbourhood of Ramsay has found a new lease on life and some of the old buildings are being converted into offices and studios. Once a ratty old factory, gritty and dirty, parts have been cleaned up and remodelled and look as...
The elevator seen here, the tallest thing for kilometres around, sits at a farm north of Fort MacLeod Alberta. An old building, some says it dates from the 1910s, the current owners think the 1920s, the structure was moved here, from a nearby town, way back in the 1970s. What...
Located close to the historic site for which its named, the Buffalo Jump Arts and Crafts store not far from Gleichen is abandoned and forgotten and close to collapse. Empty and open to the elements, it’s only a matter of time before it’s gone. This structure is located along the...
For this Calgary then and now report, we take a look at the circa 1910 Louise Block and 1909 Bell Block located just south of downtown near the old warehouse district. Sitting alongside northbound MacLeod Trail, a busy artery into the core, thousands of cars a day pass by the...
For this then and now series we look at the St George’s Island (or Zoo Island) Bridge in Calgary. The first view is from an undated postcard and the second was shot by us recently. In spite of our angles being off a bit, we can see that the bridge...
In this report we look at a vintage postcard that shows 1st St SW in Calgary (undated – probably 1910s), and we return to that spot to see how it looks today. Of those buildings seen in the original image only one remains intact, although a second, the church at...
Being so tiny, Boler trailers can fit nearly anywhere and when not being used they can often be found tucked away in back yards or in alley parking spots. Or as we see here, you can put it in an out of the way area at the the end of...
To the motorists driving by on busy MacLeod Trail, it’s the Big Yellow house in Victoria Park just off downtown Calgary. Surrounded by parking lots and condo towers, it sits alone and looks terribly out of place and in fact it’s the only house left in the immediate area. It’s...
For this adventure we’re accompanied by fellow history explorer Jon Dirks and together we examine an old forgotten Buffalo Jump not far from Gleichen Alberta. Know as a Pishkun (or Piskun) this was once a place of great importance to the Blackfoot People. Today it’s quiet, save for the noise...
Alexandra School is located just east of downtown Calgary in the historic neighbourhood of Inglewood. Just over a century old, the building looks good, in spite of some ugly additions, and today is used as a community centre. The “then” image is from an old post card dated 1908 and...
This post has been updated and can be found here: Mewata Armoury Downtown Calgary. To see other Calgary then and now series we’ve created, click these links… Waiting on the Queen (Calgary 1973). Calgary Then & Now: Ogden Bus Loop. Calgary Then & Now: From Tom Campbell Hill. If you’d...
It’s been an amazing record year for Boler spotting and as of the writing of this report, we’ve seen fifty two so far. Included in that is out latest find, the “shades of grey” Boler found in Calgary in December of of 2013. They just keep coming and and we...
The Devenish Apartments are an amazing piece of architecture and they have been a well known Calgary landmark for just over a century now. Made of stunning deep-red brick and contrasting grey sandstone, the building stands proud and looks just as good as it did when it was built in...
The two pictures seen here, taken in 1992 and 1997 (or maybe 1998), show a rare and unusual arrangement – a duplicate set of grain elevators serving two parallel rail lines. The track passing by, belongs to the CNR and CPR and is located in the tiny town of Irricana...
We used to do something called the "pointless challenge" 🤪 and miss those days. It was so much silly fun and often frustrating as heck. In these we'd invite people to send in random photos of obscure locations, but not give any information, and then we'd track where it was and shoot something similar.
Most of these came from old family collections, as was the case here. Anyone up to resurrecting the series?
In hindsight, why didn't we pose someone in our shot?
Pointless: “Devoid of meaning (or) senseless” Merriam-Webster.
If you like what we do and want to support this ongoing project (12 years now), go here: https://www.BIGDoer.com/help-the-society/ Thanks to Connie for making this post possible.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: ca1970 and 2014. Posted by Connie.
Captured on a cold, cold day many years ago. We've been passing this old house for decades and it's little changed in that time. At some point we expect to drive by and it'll be gone.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2017. Posted by Connie.
When retired old railway cars usually get cut up for scrap. Sometimes, however, they find their way into the hands of the general public or whomever. Flat cars make good bridges, and boxcars can be transformed into storage buildings and the like. Case in point here. We see them used like this often enough and in this case, it's part of a corral.
Incidentally, this boxcar dates from 1950 and this was found by tracing the old road number, which is still visible.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2017. Posted by Connie.
This central Alberta racetrack was never a commercial operation but instead just a fun place for car enthusiasts in the area to get together. Early '70s or thereabouts and it only lasted a few years. Even thought it's been abandoned for that long, there is no doubt what was here.
You know we like the the obscure stuff and this one fits the bill perfectly. Found by accident while backroad cruising and the history comes thanks to local car guy Mike.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2022. Posted by Connie.
On top of little Myrtle Mountain in the Kimberley (BC) Nature Park.
There's some good wilderness fun to be had here and nice views as you can see, but the real reason we came is mining history. The whole area near the ski hill was extensively worked over a century ago and we were looking for evidence of this. We didn't find much in the area searched, but it's a big chunk of property and we hope to return to cover more ground again soon. Of all the subjects we cover, mining related is a favourite.
Still, it was a good hike and that can't be bad. Look to the comments for more info 👇.
Exploring nature and history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2022. Posted by Connie.
It's a strange curiosity in south Kananaskis, there on a hillside and we have no idea who created it. We asked around and no one's completely sure about its history. In the past it showed the Canada 100 logo from 1967 but in 2017 someone changed it to reflect the country's 150th.
That's our friend Emily from DanOCan.com having a look.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2017. Posted by Connie.
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