The Greenhill Hotel Blairmore AB is Timeless

The Greenhill Hotel has been a prominent landmark in Blairmore Alberta for just over a century now. This structure, distinctive with its columns and barn-like gambrel roof, is quite a standout. It’s located between the road and railway tracks and noticeable not only by its design but by location. You can’t miss it.

It hasn’t functioned as a hotel in the traditional sense for a while now (more in a moment), but the tavern is still a going concern. The dispensing of liquor have always been the best part of this hospitality business anyway. The Greenhill Tavern has served up libations for pretty much its entire history and continues to this day. It’s a classic beer parlour in every sense.

The Greenhill Hotel opened in 1921 (one report says late-1920) and built by or for West Canadian Collieries, who operated a large coal mine named the Greenhill close by. Why would a mining firm need or build a hotel? Well, they required a suitable place to house visitors, dignitaries, investors, company directors, government officials and the like or to hold meetings. Seems like a good enough reason.

The hotel came on the scene in the middle of prohibition in Alberta so for the first few years had no bar. A drinking establishment was always a good money maker but the dispensing of booze was verboten at the time.

It’s suggested space for this purpose was set aside in anticipation of those laws being repealed. The rumblings were already being heard even with it under construction and everyone knew the restrictions would end soon enough. This happened in ’23.

In the old days, it would not be surprising to catch miners dropping in for a cold one after work. There were lots in Crowsnest Pass. These fellows worked hard and many played hard. West Canadian Collieries could get some of those wages back.

The miners are gone and we mean long gone – West Canadian’s Greenhill Mine and others the firm owned in the area were closed in the 1958-1962 period. That era saw the closing of many Pass mines but a few remained in business afterwards. By the early ’80s, the last closed and it’s been mostly quiet on that front ever since.

Note how little the appearance of the Greenhill Hotel has changed over the years. Everything seen in the first picture is pretty much the same in the second, with some minor exceptions. Colours are different, but otherwise it’s almost like time has stood still.

We’ve seen photos of it going back even further (1920s) and surprisingly, it even looks the same back then. See for yourself, here with this earlier Then & Now, shot on the last day of 2015: Crowsnest Pass then and now – Greenhill Hotel.

So as the years passed, the drinks flowed, the miners partied, got hammered and fought and of course the whole time the hotel provided accommodations to visitors passing through. The main highway used to run right out front, but it’s long since been rerouted.

Later, the room end of the business trailed off and by then were often rented out more as social housing. For longer term residences and sometimes for society’s cast offs. Single old guys for example. In more recent times the upper floors was a residence for the hotel owner/manager.

In more recent times, rooms were not offered at all here. They were just too run down and needing work.

New owners took over soon after this visit and both upper floors are now being renovated into apartments to be rented out. There’s a big housing shortage in the Pass and this will no doubt help.

The namesake mine where the hotel gets its name was located a bit north of here. In the past, one could likely see the big coal processing plant from the hotel’s second floor balcony.

The Greenhill and other West Canadian mines in the area were the lifeblood West Blairmore (a company town of sorts) and provided work for many. When they closed the community and even the Pass as a whole was dealt a large blow. The Greenhill was the biggest and most noteworthy WCC mine but there were others.

Ads for the Greenhill Hotel seem scarce but we did find some phone directory entries. Through most of the 1960s, their ad read:

ACT Approved Accommodation, with pride, sleep where sleep is safest.

Are we to understand that sleeping in Blairmore might otherwise be dangerous? What aren’t they telling us? Giant marauding bears? Gangs of roaming bandits? Little old ladies with a mean streak? Miners out of work and with an axe to grind? We’re curious what it means.

ACT = Associated Canadian Travellers, an advocacy group.

In the 1980s, the ads read (in all caps):

GREENHILL HOTEL
MODERN TAVERN
CENTRAL LOCATION
LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
DANCING
AMPLE FREE PARKING
COMFORTABLE ROOMS
CABLEVISION

By the 1990s, is changed a bit but still all caps:

GREENHILL HOTEL (1987) LTD.
CENTRAL LOCATION
COMFORTABLE ROOMS
CABLEVISION
MODERN TAVERN
COUNTRY & WESTERN MUSIC
COLD BEER & LIQUOR SALES
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
VIDEO LOTTO MACHINES

There’s been a liquor store within cross proximity to the hotel for some time. It’s still there and can be seen in both photo in behind the hotel. Once a government run Liquor Control Board store (the LC), it was privatized when the province got out of the retail end of the business in the early 1990s. It’s suggest the Greenhill Hotel owned it at times.

West Canadian Collieries sold the Greenhill just after World War Two and since then it’s had a series of owners. We’ve know two and visited twice for the Beer Parlour Project (more on this in a second) and the photos here are from that first visit. You’ll note some work was being done to the one entrance at the time.

The Beer Parlour Project is a multi-year production with film photographer Rob Pohl. We’re going around to small town hotel pubs and documenting a day-in-the-life. It’s still a work in progress and there’s a long way to go and we’re releasing more details all the time. It’s going well and one heck of a good time.

The old photo comes thanks to the The Barry Gfeller Collection @ Main Street USA and for this we send our thanks. Barry (deceased) spent his holidays roaming the US and Canada, photographing interesting architecture. That’s his thing…his only thing it seems.

He kept tight records and it’s confirm this photo is from 1981 and May of that year to be exact. Looks like they had a late snow dump.

If you have or know of an old photo or postcard, either one you own (your copyright), or in the public domain, that you think would make for a good Then & Now, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us for more info.

Cars seen in Barry’s photos are mostly from the big three North American makers, with a couple Japanese imports in the mix. One or two appear to be from the late 1960s perhaps and the rest 1970s.

A first generation Ford Courier (made in Japan by Mazda) is seen in close in and this one looks to be a 1974-1976 model. They’ve all since run out their last miles, but back then, all were normal and everyday. Is that Mike’s truck out front? Chris’ stepfather and he was known to frequent the establishment when passing through.

Know more: (new window): The Greenhill Blairmore Alberta.

They’re saying…

“OTBPwC&C is a brilliant concept. Thank you for enriching our lives with so many engaging and entertaining posts. Five stars all the way.” Erin Bay.

The Greenhill Hotel in this earlier Then & Now captured from a different angle: Crowsnest Pass then and now – Greenhill Hotel.

More from the area…
Bellevue & The Frank Slide ~55 years apart.
Saskatoon Mountain.
Autocar Coal Hauler.

Something to say and no one to say it to? Go here: Contact Us!

Date of adventure: 1981 (original) and 2022 (Team BIGDoer).
Location: (West) Blairmore Alberta in the Municipality of the Crowsnest Pass.
Article references and thanks: The Greenhill, The Barry Gfeller Collection – Main Street USA, Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis, plus Hermis.Alberta.ca – the Alberta Register of Historic Place.

The Greenhill Hotel 1981 & 2022 (original Barry Gfeller).

Here since the early 1920s.

It’s little changed over time.

Getting some work done.

Captured during a Beer Parlour Project shoot.