Why should you care about historic buildings?

There was emotional support but not enough financial support to save the Chinese National League Building. The 101-year-old symbol of traditional Chinese patriotism on 2 Avenue South was demolished on Nov. 29.
At an emergency meeting on Nov. 15, about 35 concerned citizens gathered at the Galt Museum & Archives to talk about the building’s fate. Among them was Barry Snowden, then-president of the Lethbridge Historical Society, who said it was the first time the society found itself in a situation where a building bearing a historic marker was about to become history.
Earlier in the year, during a windstorm, a brick section at the front of the building broke away and fell to the sidewalk below. A subsequent inspection determined the building was unsafe and in need of costly repairs that could have run as high as $600,000, more than the Chinese National League members were able to raise.
Since 2004, the Lethbridge Historical Society has been dedicating historic plaques at sites around the city that provide a concise account of the people and events that lend historical significance to a specific building. Seven plaques were dedicated in Chinatown along the 300 block of 2 Avenue South during the 2010 Historic Lethbridge Festival. Between the 1890s and 1940s, the area was home to a bustling Chinese community which often faced prejudice from the larger community.
The society has put up 32 plaques to date.
“And any one could have been the first to be threatened,” said Snowden.
“Despite the outcome, we need to find a way to deal with this generic problem.”
“Why should you care about historic buildings?” will be the question posed at the Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs meeting on Dec. 8. Belinda Crowson and Jean Johnstone will speak at noon at Country Kitchen Catering in the lower level of The Keg. The cost, including lunch, is $10. The meeting’s moderator is Kelti Boissonneault.
Among the meeting topics is the examination of some of the systematic changes that can be made to help protect historic buildings and processes to help owners protect built heritage on behalf of all Albertans. There will also be an explanation of what is being done to protect Alberta’s historic buildings today and what can be done to ensure their survival well into the future.
Crowson is the president of the Historical Society of Alberta, a volunteer organization founded in 1907 to preserve and share Alberta’s history. She also serves as the Lethbridge Historical Society representative on the City of Lethbridge Heart of Our City Revitalization Committee. In addition to her volunteer work, Belinda is the museum educator at the Galt Museum & Archives.
Johnstone was the first City of Lethbridge archivist and the first female city clerk and is now retired. She is past president of the Lethbridge Historical Society; past second vice-president of the Historical Society of Alberta; co-chairman of the Lethbridge Historical Society plaques & monuments committee and chairman of the newly formed Heritage Advisory Committee for the City of Lethbridge. This committee has been set up to evaluate and make recommendations to city council regarding the potential designation of historical properties.