Landmark Building
BLAIRMORE COURTHOUSE
13437-20 Avenue, Blairmore
Designed By: R.P. Blakey
Built By: Abercrombie and Watson
Built in 1923
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The Alberta Government had intended this building to serve as a jail, barracks and offices for the local Provincial Police detachment. An increasing number of bootlegging violations and the murder of an RCMP constable in 1920 prompted the government to incorporate courtroom facilities in the west section of the building. The Courthouse was designed by R.P. Blakey, an architect with the Department of Public works. In January 1923 the tender was awarded to the Calgary contractors Abercrombie and Watson, at a bid of $29,740. It was the first courthouse to accommodate both police and court facilities in Alberta. When the Alberta Provincial Police force was disbanded in 1932, the barracks were converted into more office space.
The Courthouse is constructed of hollow brick tile with rough-cast stucco walls. It sits on a concrete basement and has an overhanging roof with hipped gables on the north, east and west elevations, and a main facade broken by distinctive parapets. Note the decorative brick trim and facing around the windows. The Courthouse is now the home of the Crowsnest Pass Ecomuseum Trust.
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 Crowsnest Pass Historical Driving Tour: Blairmore. Alberta Culture and Multiculturalism, The Crowsnest Pass Ecomuseum Trust, and the Coal Association of Canada, 1990, with permission from Alberta Culture and Community Spirit. Visit the Alberta Culture and Community Spirit for more information.