Main Street Beiseker Alberta 110 Years Apart

The only connection between the old and new photos is the the train station way back there in the distance. Otherwise, all the other buildings in that earlier view are gone. Still the town, Beiseker Alberta (a little NE of Calgary) has that same feel to it, even if things have changed and a lot of time has passed.

We’re looking down Main Street one hundred and ten years apart. Let’s stand on the same spot as the original photographer, shoot the same angle and now let’s chat about what we see.

First, a little credit. The old image comes thanks to the University of Calgary Archives and dates to 1914. The caption reads: “Canadian Northern Railway station, rear. King George Hotel, right. The King George Hotel was built in 1910 and destroyed by fire in 1936. It was rebuilt on the same site as the Beiseker Hotel.”

Some information in the caption is wrong and in the first instance it’s pertaining the station. It’s not a Canadian Northern Station but rather belonged to Canadian Pacific and that’s an easy mistake we suppose. The names are similar enough.

The Beiseker Hotel mentioned, stood further down the block and operated from 1936-1992. It burned down…old hotels and fires seem an all too frequent pairing. The caption suggests a connection between the two hotels but business wise as least, there’s nothing mentioned in the history book.

However, this explains why the Beiseker Hotel appeared shortly after the King George burned down. From the book Beiseker’s Golden Heritage and speaking on the lack of a hotel in town…

“This condition continued for one year until Sam Krueger decided that a hotel was a necessity in the community and with local help he built the present hotel. Needless to say, it was a memorable day when he opened the new hotel with a beer and dining room license.”

Beiseker’s train station was only a year old in the old photo and today sits only metres from where built (more in a moment). The railway line that once passed behind the structure however, is now gone and a distant memory.

That line, the Landgon Subdivision branch, travelled from its namesake town near Calgary and on to East Coulee Alberta. It lasted until the 1990s and subsequently pulled up.

Interestingly, two railways passed through Beiseker and on the opposite side of the village there is a still active CNR line (built in 1912, ex-Grand Trunk Pacific). It’s several blocks behind the respective shooting positions.

The station present day houses the Beiseker town offices and museum. The library operated out of here for a time too, but later outgrew the space. The community acquired the station in the early 1970s and about a decade later fixed it up. By this point it had stood empty for well on a quarter century and needed a lot of love.

It’s now set back from the tracks a bit (or rather, where the track were – recall, they’re gone now) and rotated 180 degrees. The side you see from the street once faced the tracks. It looks pretty much as built and care taken in renovating the structure.

The main floor would have included a waiting area, ticket offices, baggage and express rooms. The upstairs functioned as living quarters for the station agent and his family. The building has a basement now and that’s something it didn’t have before.

The station was built to a Standard A2 Western plan and one of many across the province made to this design. They all looked very much alike but may have minor detail differences. Some still exist and along with this one, there’s another in Manyberries Alberta (a residence), one at Calgary’s Heritage Park (former Midnapore depot), and a third at the Castor museum.

That the station is located at the very end of Main Street reminds us just how important railways were at one time.

Note the section house by the Beiseker Station, in the old photo, and these were commonly seen in the old days along railways lines. These were for track workers and spaced at regular intervals. This person’s job was to inspect a specific section of right of way (hence the name) and do minor repairs to the track or whatever. Anything bigger got reported and crews brought in. Most section houses were built to a similar design and always close to the tracks.

Sharing the station grounds present day, and sitting on a small stretch, is an old CPR caboose and boxcar.

The King George Hotel features prominent on the right in the old photo. It’s from the early 1910s and was lost to fire in the mid-1930s. The current building on this lot dates from about a decade after the fire and houses some businesses.

Hotels with “royal” names were common in the old days and King George one of the more popular. King Edward, Queens, Queen Victoria, Victoria and Palace are others of note. Also the use of Royal Something (Arms seemed common) proved popular.

The rest of the structures seen in downtown in the old photo are gone now although a few seen present day do date back some time. They’re just not old enough to appear in that image and came later.

A building of note near the train station appeared with a temporary Hollywood façade as the Spinners Roller Hop in Ghostbusters Afterlife (2021). It looks nothing like it did the movie anymore and when they were finished they removed all vestiges of the production.

It formally operated as a gas station, and Team BIGDoer recalls it a little later when a little café and gift shop operated here. Apple Pie Café or some such thing. We had lunch there a couple times while out exploring backroad in the 2010s and enjoyed the food. Note the little grain elevator in the back of this photo and it’s part of Beiseker Centennial Park. It houses the washrooms.

We usually source the old images used in these Then & Nows, but also accept contributions from readers. If you have an old family photo showing, for example, a street scene like this and you think it deserves this treatment, be sure to reach out. Perhaps we can put it to use and have some fun.

Know more about the town (new tab): Beiseker Alberta.

They’re saying…

“Chris and Connie have a unique way of documenting the places they visit, not copying the style or technique of others, but making it their own.” Alex Craig, Filmmaker.

Random awesomeness…
Alexandra Bridge Fraser Canyon BC. Old and historic.
JB Fletcher’s Ainsworth BC ~45 Years Apart. It looks the same!
1959 Calgary Stampede Dream Home. A Stampede tradition.

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Date of adventure: 1914 and June 2024.
Location: Beiseker, Alberta.
Article references and thanks: Town of Beiseker Alberta, book – Beiseker’s Golden Heritage and our assistant Ben.

Main Street in Beiseker Alberta, 110 years apart.

It’s been spun around and home to the town offices.

By the station – seen in Ghostbusters Afterlife (2021).