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Blairmore Bandstand
Crowsnest Pass - Blairmore
Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The Blairmore Bandstand is a small, ten-sided wooden structure with a circular base, open sides with simple wooden railings, and a polygonal roof supported by wooden posts and surmounted by a small flagpole. The bandstand is located in a landscaped municipal park in the Crowsnest Pass community of Blairmore. It is prominently placed between Blairmore’s main street - 20th Avenue (formerly known as Victoria Street and Tim Buck Boulevard) - and the Canadian Pacific Railway right-of-way and at the head of 130th Street (formerly 6th Avenue).
Heritage Value
The Blairmore Bandstand has heritage value as an excellent example of a once common structure in many Alberta communities. It is also significant due to its close and symbolic association with the Crowsnest Pass labour movement.
Bandstands became popular in the Victorian Age, when they were associated with social movements aiming to improve urban conditions. Civic parks and green spaces were central to these movements as they were accessible to all people regardless of social class or financial situation. Performing arts, particularly brass bands, were also seen as having moral and therapeutic benefits and many communities and organizations established amateur bands. Competent brass bands were seen as essential to a community’s image and they were featured prominently at parades, outdoor concerts and other civic events. Small structures, typically called bandstands, were erected in many parks as an outdoor venue for performances by these bands. Although there are many variations in design and ornamentation, most traditional bandstands were circular or polygonal in design. An elevated platform with open sides and railings allowed the performers or speakers to be seen and heard by the audience, which could encircle the structure. A roof, usually conical or pyramidal in style, protected the performers from precipitation. Most bandstands were simple wood structures with minimal ornamentation while those in larger urban areas were often constructed of metal, were elaborately decorated and featured ornate umbrella or domed roofs. By the 1930s, many Alberta communities had at least one bandstand, typically located in a municipal park, near the main street or railway, or on the exhibition grounds. As societal preferences for public entertainment changed, many of these bandstands were either demolished or deteriorated due to neglect. Today, there are few extant remaining examples of Alberta’s bandstands.
The Blairmore Bandstand was commissioned by the town council in June 1921 and was completed by mid-July. It is located within Blairmore’s main commercial district, in a small park between Victoria Street (20th Avenue) and the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks. The bandstand is a simple wooden structure, built of milled lumber with no significant ornamentation. It has ten sides and a raised, circular platform, which is enclosed by a wooden railing with cross-braces. The cross-brace railing pattern is repeated in the detail at the top of each side, just under the roof. Access to the platform is gained via three wooden steps and a break in the railing at the northern-most side. Interior bench seating is provided by planks attached to the five southern-most sides by wooden brackets. A shingle clad, polygonal roof with exposed rafters and wooden posts covers the bandstand. Decorations, such as flags, bunting and strands of electric lights, can be attached to or draped from the wooden flagpole projecting through the roof peak. Like bandstands in other communities, the Blairmore bandstand played a prominent role in the town, being used as the site of musical performances, rallies and as either the muster point or the end point for parades and races. However, the significance of the Blairmore bandstand transcends this common function. The coal mines of the Crowsnest Pass were notoriously dangerous and the region was a site of significant labour unrest and union activity. The bandstand was used as a site for speeches by strike leaders, union organizers, labour-oriented politicians and communists as well as being a rallying point for demonstrations and marches, notably a May 1932 strike rally at the bandstand that culminated in a significant clash between striking miners and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Due to these momentous events, the Blairmore bandstand is an iconic symbol of the Crowsnest Pass labour movement and the unrest of the 1930s.
Source: Alberta Culture, Historic Resources Management Branch (File: DES 2306)
Character-Defining Elements
Key elements that define the heritage value of the Blairmore Bandstand include, but are not limited to, its:
· Situation in a municipal park between Blairmore’s main thoroughfare and the CPR right-of-way and across the street from Blairmore’s main commercial district;
· method and materials of construction, being predominantly easily-replaceable, standard milled lumber;
· wood construction and simple design with minimal ornamentation;
· raised circular platform;
· ten open sides, formed by posts and railings with a break allowing access at the north side;
· three entry steps at the north side;
· railings with cross braces on nine of the sides as well as the entry stairs;
· railing design, -repeated in cross-braced panels beneath the roof;
· polygonal, shingle-clad roof with exposed rafters;
· simple wooden flagpole protruding through the peak of the roof;
· wood lattice skirting around the base of the structure; and
· plank benches, supported by simple, wood braces, on the five southernmost sides of the bandstand’s interior.
Location
| Street Address: |
13001 - 20 Avenue |
| Community: |
Crowsnest Pass - Blairmore |
| Boundaries: |
Lot 4, Block 1, Plan 0813536 |
| Contributing Resources: |
Structure
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ATS Legal Description:
PBL Legal Description (Cadastral Reference):
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Plan |
Block |
Lot |
Parcel |
0813536
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1
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N/A
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Latitude/Longitude:
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Latitude |
Longitude |
CDT |
Datum Type |
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49.6075622 |
-114.4375156 |
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NAD83 |
UTM Reference:
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Easting |
Zone |
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Recognition
| Recognition Authority: |
Province of Alberta |
| Designation Status: |
Provincial Historic Resource |
| Date of Designation: |
2023/02/07 |
Historical Information
| Built: |
1921 to 1921 |
| Period of Significance: |
1921 to present |
| Theme(s): |
Building Social and Community Life : Social Movements
Developing Economies : Labour
Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life : Learning and the Arts
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| Historic Function(s): |
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| Current Function(s): |
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| Architect: |
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| Builder: |
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Additional Information
| Object Number: |
4665-1421 |
| Designation File: |
DES 2306 |
| Related Listing(s): |
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| Heritage Survey File: |
HS 29290
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| Website Link: |
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| Data Source: |
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