5th Ave Hanna Alberta

The setting for this “then & now” is a quiet residential street in small town Alberta seen a century ago, and again present day. Admittedly it’s not the the most glamorous or spectacular subject we’ve ever picked for one of these posts. It’s just two rows of humble dwellings, in many ways little changed over the years, but one that strikes a cord with us. Here is where real people lived, those who raised families, who lived and died and loved, generation after generation once calling these very buildings their home. We’re taken back in time, here on this unassuming look down 5th Avenue in Hanna Alberta.

The “then” photo comes from our friends at Prairie-Towns.com, a great resource for old postcard views of life long ago on the Canadian Plains. The image is believed to be in the public domain. There is no date mentioned, but one can assume, knowing what we know, that it’s from roughly hundred years ago. We did a whole series of streets scene then & nows like this in town, but this was the only one we felt turned out well enough to publish. The rest were way off in alignment…as they say “it” happens.

The streets in Hanna were not paved with gold back then when the original photo was captured, but plain old dirt. Must have been a hoot when it rained, all that muck and horse poop churned into a thick slurry. Pavement and even sidewalks would come later. Hanna dates from the 1912-1914 period, concurrent with the coming of the railway, so when the “then” photo was captured it was all very much new with a real frontier ambience.

All the houses seen display a distinct working class vibe, understandable given Hanna was very much a railway town, a division point in fact. A lot of people relied on the CNR (earlier Canadian Northern) to keep food on the table but no one ever got rich from it (well no worker-bee). As such the structures are all pretty modest in nature.

Fast forward to today, well Spring 2019 when the now photo was captured (yes, we’re that behind in positing). A lot of things have changed since. There’s cement, pavement, that church, trees, NO mud, all manner of difference. Still the overall feel is similar, that of a working class neighbourhood sort of lost in time if you will. Some houses in the old photo are gone, but still there’s a couple that help us connect the two eras. The most notable are the second and third examples on the right hand side, in the old photo. There they are, much as they were if not a a little obscured. They look to be in good shape.

Fifth Avenue, when the town was new, would have been out in the burbs.

We get the attention of some curious dog-walkers. We show them the old photo and our new one and what we hope to do with them, on which they respond “why?” They don’t seem convinced as we explain further. ”What are you really up to?” comes the look. These local old timers have a chuckle at out expense and soon move on. I suspect they’ve lived in town most of their long lives (you can tell) and don’t see why we’re so bloody enamoured with Fifth Avenue this day. But it’s so special for us. Here’s two slices of time, two photographers, two images taken from pretty much the same location and angle and it’s freaking awesome. We know not the name of the person (or firm) who captured the old postcard, but to them we tip our hats. To stand there, almost exactly where they did, a hundred years removed is a rush.

Huge quantities of post cards were produced in the old days, so much so they’re still easily found now. Street scenes such as this were a common subject.

The church seen does not appear to be used currently even though it’s still kept up. It’s every bit the archetype of the small prairie house of worship, humble in design with a prominent castellated steeple. Data found suggests it’s from later in the 1920s and locals have told us it was formerly the Church of Christ.

Hanna is the main trading centre in Special Areas #2, and the most populous (by a long shot) with some twenty five hundred people calling it home. The railway, on which the local economy once relied, pulled out over a decade ago. Now it’s oil and gas, and some coal and farming on which most people make their living. There’s lots of retired people here too.

Many of the “then” photos used in these posts are sent in by readers. If you have an old photo from say a family collection showing a street scene such as this, or maybe similarly an old postcard, send it to us. We’ll then pay the place a visit and post about it here. It needs be your copyright. Most old postcards are in the public domain, by the way. Contact us if you need further help – we’re here for you.

As then & nows go, this one presented little in the way of problems and it was very easy to estimate the exact location where we needed to be. Some are harder than others, for a multitude of reasons, but this one came almost effortlessly.

Thank you for taking the time to view this post. We’d love to hear what you think. We may just pay the town a revisit to take another stab at the ones that didn’t work out. There has been instances of these taking multiples tries…given the low tech approach, it’s how it works. It’s a very imprecise thing we do, done on the fly, with no help from technology, that sometimes works and other times falls flat.

They’re saying…

”I always enjoy the photos and stories!! Takes me to places I’ve been or never been!!” Sylva Inman.

More like this…
Stettler Alberta Then & Now: Stettler Hotel – half a century apart!
Sandon BC Then & Now – our photos for both!
Superman 1978 – Earthquake! – a location from a popular movie.
Calgary Transit then and now – #7 South Calgary run – little changed!

If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by all means contact us!

Date of Adventure: April 2019.
Location: Hanna, AB.
Article references and thanks: Town of Hanna, Canadian Trackside Guides, Geoffrey Lester.

5th Ave Hanna Alberta, about 100 years apart.

This church appears unused.