Today we’ll compare two similarly composed photos of Nordegg Alberta and they’re separated by many, many years. The first is from 1937 and the other 2024, which of course is ours. The goal of these direct Then & Now historic comparisons is to stand exactly where the original photographer did and channel their inspiration if you will. To view what they viewed, but as it appear today.
It’s an absolute thrill to do and when the shots line up well, it feels pretty nice.
In this post you’ll see just how much has changed in this once bustling coal mining town. It’s like night and day. Back then, Centre Street in downtown was full of buildings and alive with people, but now there’s almost nothing left. The old bank, a shell of a building today, is all that remains from the old photo. Every other building you see from back then is gone and relegated to the history books.
Centre Street Nordegg Alberta 87 Years Apart: a once busy street, now almost empty. Dollar Store History with Chris Doering & Connie Biggart (BIGDoer/Synd)
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Where people once shopped, banked and or watched a movie, is now mostly empty lots. They are all for sale (look at all those reality signs) and soon enough someone will snap them up. Expect homes and get-away cabins here in the future. Almost the entire area, once comprising the company town for the Brazeau Collieries in Nordegg, is up for grabs this way. The this section of upper Nordegg sometimes shows as a Brazeau on maps.
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All those new sidewalks too, but no reason to use them…yet.
Side streets, once the site of company houses for the miners, radiate out in half-circular pattern, and on some newer dwellings are already in place. What was formerly a model coal-town will be seasonal retreats, mostly for people from elsewhere. Now the area is for outdoor recreation enthusiasts.
If we revisit this comparison a few years hence, and what we suspect comes true, the change is likely to be equally dramatic.
Nordegg is in a “Garden City” plan, an urban design philosophy popular long ago which features a central business district, surrounded by streets laid out in concentric circles. Or half-circles, like Nordegg.
There were one or two buildings from the old days on Centre Street in recent memory that are now gone. They were holdovers from the time the coal mine operated, but were in poor condition and as a hazard they were demolished.
This resonated poorly with some folks: “What they did to that town is a crime against history.” – Dan O. “They’ve destroyed the history of Nordegg…” – Sandra B. It would appear that any of those buildings were post the 1937 photo, but still old.
But then there’s this to consider…
“I worked on many of the buildings that WERE in the picture and the cost of restoration and upkeep was getting out of hand, so most of them were torn down” – Laary McDonald.
The Brazeau Coal Mine operated to the south of this shooting position (so behind us) and was in business from the 1910s to 1955. When it closed, the town all but died. Many of the buildings in the community, residential and in the business district, remained in place for some time after, however. Over the years they were demolished or removed, till almost nothing remained.
The company did not remove the processing plant in 1955 it’s now an historic site you can visit. They kept it intact for a time in case demand for Brazeau coal returned, but that never happened. The site is an amazing time capsule and absolutely huge, so be sure to book a tour when in the area.
For the buildings in the old photo we know the following…
On the left side of the street and working down, there’s the Brazeau Hotel (partial view), the Nordegg Theatre & Community Hall, the Miner’s Club and the Lakeview Hotel furthest in back.
On the right side, there’s the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and recall, it’s last building left in downtown from the old photo. It lost the little entry porch and appears to be nothing more than a hollow box. That’s a pharmacy beside it and the Big Horn Trading, a company store, is up next, followed by the Post Office. A boarding house is the furthest down.
There’s meat market listed for downtown, of that era, but it’s lost behind the Miner’s Club.
There you have it, a well rounded number of services and shops downtown. And now there’s nothing, although in other parts of the community closer to the highway, there are stores, gas stations and eateries.
The Then photo is thanks to the University of Calgary archives (Harold Kidd collection) and it’s dated Wednesday May 12th, 1937. Kidd’s name appears on many Nordegg area images that extensive library of photos. We know Kidd lived in the town for some time and seemed to be an avid photographer.
“The fonds consists of…photographs from Nordegg, Alberta of trains, the train station, buildings, stores, street scenes, a dogsled, religious services, Indigenous peoples and ceremonies, Harold Kidd and Harold’s brother, Stuart Kidd.” – Archives Society of Alberta/Alberta on Record. We may use other of his images in these historic comparisons next time we’re in the area.
The date of the Then photo corresponds with the coronation of King George VI and Elizabeth. The flags seem in the old image and the number of people milling about suggests some sort of celebration in honour of this event. People seemed to admire and celebrate the monarchy more back then.
A number of vehicles appear in the old image, in front of Big Horn Trading, but they’re too small to identify reliably.
The modern building on the left in the Now photo is for town use (we think). There is more to Nordegg, only it’s not really visible from this view. Especially with the fog, it seems like a completely different place.
Behind our shooting position is the 1940s built Nordegg Community Church (former Catholic Church). It was not there when Kidd captured his image, but it is the only other building historic in nature remaining in old downtown Nordegg. It still sees use and looks gorgeous there in the morning fog. That fog made for a magical experience, but was fleeting and soon gone.
Shunda Mountain (left) and Coliseum Mountain (right) are prominent in back. The view of downtown of Nordegg has changed considerably, but those big hunks of rock in back are timeless.
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Date of adventure: May 1937 and August, 2024. Location: Nordegg Alberta. Article reference and thanks: Town of Nordegg, UofC Photo Archives, Nordegg Museum, Book – To the Town That Bears Your Name and all the Nordegg-knowledgeable followers on our Facebook page (Pat Callies especially).
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