Galt Gardens Through the Years

Photograph of Gurney's Museum in the former Board of Trade Building in Galt Gardens. The bandstand is on top of the building. Galt Museum & Archives, 19753500017.

Galt Gardens is one of the oldest green spaces in Lethbridge, established when the plans for the downtown were laid out over one hundred years ago. This area in the city core—between 1 and 3 Avenues and 5 and 7 Streets—was set aside by the Galt family in 1885 as a central square for the new urban centre. According to the gift agreement, no structures were to be built on the area. The only exception was a bandstand building which received approval from the Galts.

Over the years, the park was known by several names: The Square, Galt Park and Galt Gardens. In the 1880s, it was just an open space used as a transit hub for buckboards, wagons, carriages and stagecoaches. It was also used for sporting events such as cricket and baseball. The early twentieth century improvements converted the space into a proper park with manicured lawns, trees, benches and cement walkways.

The buildings facing the park were among the most important establishments in the city. Among them two hotels (the Lethbridge Hotel and Coalbanks), Hudson’s Bay Department Store, six different banks including Royal Bank and Bank of Montreal, Galt Company headquarters and numerous storefronts ranging from millinery to confectionary. The northern edge of the park was framed by the CP railyards and the railway station (now the Health Unit).

Front view of first Public Library building in Galt Gardens. Galt Museum & Archives, 19891068045.

The white bandstand (The Board of Trade Building) with its bell-shaped roof had been the iconic structure of the park up to the 1960s. Some folks still remember it as the Gurney Museum that housed an eclectic collection of curiosities such as a two-headed goat. The only other building that intruded into Galt Gardens was the Carnegie Public Library in the 1920s. The matter triggered a heated public debate at the time. Nowadays, this heritage building still occupies the southern part and houses the Southern Alberta Art Gallery.

In the 1930s, the park also housed the war memorial (cenotaph) commemorating Lethbridge’s contribution to the world wars. Later the monument was moved to City Hall. The most substantial later additions include the pergola structure in the southwest corner erected in the late 1980s and the water park built in 2017.