Editor’s note: The banner image above, awarding of a Dominion Day track trophy at the Blairmore Bandstand, is courtesy of the Crowsnest Museum and Archives.
Written by: Ronald Kelland, Historic Places Research Officer
A well-known landmark in the Crowsnest Pass has recently been designated as a Provincial Historic resource and is now listed on the Alberta Register of Historic Places.
On your drive through the Crowsnest Pass, if you were to pull off Highway 3 and travel down the streets of the communities that make up the municipality you will see historic buildings that harken back to the boom periods of these coal mining towns. One structure that you may miss is a small bandstand in the community of Blairmore situated in a green space between 20th Avenue and the Canadian Pacific Railway line. It may be an unassuming structure, but the Blairmore Bandstand is one of the most significant sites in the Crowsnest Pass – a community landmark and a symbol of hard-won workers’ rights and the labour movement of the 1920s and 1930s.
The Blairmore Bandstand is typical of such structures. Built of wood, the bandstand consists of a raised, circular platform with railings and interior benches under an eight-sided, peaked roof with flagpole. Bandstands were once a common and important fixture in many Alberta communities. Associated with Victorian and Edwardian Age beliefs about the healing and restful benefits of urban green spaces, education and wholesome entertainment, bandstands were often the centrepiece of urban parks, where they were used for public events such as concerts and speeches. Being situated in publicly accessible spaces also leant their use as rallying points for social movements and protests.
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