Landmark Building
BRADLEY'S WESTERN WEAR
123 -3 Avenue West , High River
Built in 1900
'); "Bradley\")
In 1880 Levi and J.W. Bradley moved with their parents from Muskoka, Ontario to a farm near Bowness, west of Calgary. Levi quickly found employment driving teams of horses doing grade work for the Canadian Pacific. He and his brother eventually moved to Calgary in 1898 to learn the leather business at Hutchins and Riley. After a two year apprenticeship, "J.W." moved to High River and opened the town's first harness and leather shop. In 1902, Levi joined the business. As late as 1905, Henderson's Directory listed the Bradley Brothers as the only harness makers in the area. Levi and J.W. were proud to claim to have made the first hand-stitched harnesses for horse teams used by the homesteaders and ranchers in the district.
Bradley's Western Wear successfully weathered the changing fortunes of the harness and leather goods trade and, until its recent sale, had the honour of being High River's oldest family-run business still operating out of its original building.
This wood-frame building with its boomtown front was built in 1900. The log lean-to was built some years later. The boomtown front (or false front) was an attempt by small-town merchants to make their simple shed and gable roof buildings appear larger and more important, like the flat roof buildings of eastern cities. The false front also offered a large area for the merchant to advertise his wares.
The Landmark Buildings and Places Database draws on the series of walking and/or driving tour booklets produced by Alberta Culture (now Alberta Culture and Community Spirit). The Heritage Community Foundation gratefully acknowledges the support of the Ministry through permission to reprint these materials online. Extracted from A Walking Tour of High River. Heritage Inventory Program, Alberta Culture, and Town of High River, with permission from Alberta Culture and Community Spirit. Visit the Alberta Culture and Community Spirit for more information. Visit the Alberta Culture and Community Spirit for more information.