Key Number:	HS 22420
Site Name:	Greenhill Hotel
Other Names:
Site Type:	0405 - Mercantile/Commercial: Hotel or Inn

Location

ATS Legal Description:

			Twp	Rge	Mer
			7	4	5

Address:	12326 - 20 Avenue
Number:	26
Street:	123
Avenue:	20
Other:
Town:	Crowsnest Pass - Blairmore
Near Town:

Media

Type	Number	Date	View	Source

Architectural

Style:	Queen Anne Revival
Plan Shape:	U
Storeys:	Storeys: 2 1/2
Foundation:	Basement/Foundation Wall Material: Concrete
Superstructure:	Brick
Superstructure Cover:
Roof Structure:	Low Hip
Roof Cover:
Exterior Codes:	Wall Design and Detail: Column or Engaged Column Wall Design and Detail: Half-Timbering
Exterior:	The exterior is an eclectic mix of architectural styles popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tudor Revival half-timbering, classical columns and a gambrel roof make this an unusual and engaging structure. Plan was originally U-shaped; now rectangular. The building has the appearance of wood frame and stucco, but it is actually constructed of twelve-inch-thick hollow brick tile covered by stucco. Three dormers, north elevation and one, south elevation. 2nd floor portico over main floor porch, east and west elevation, with wood pillars and decorative brackets, blustrade. North elevation pillared and projecting front is piece forming main entrance no longer in use. Boxed cornice with plain fascia adn frieze. Cement block addition joining 2 wings. Belt course.
Interior:	Originally, there were guest rooms in all storeys; today, only the second storey has such rooms. Since about 1967 the top storey has served as the owner's living quarters.
Environment:	Located in 'west end' business district. The hotel is in a strategic position, being visible from the centre of Blairmore, a few blocks away.
Condition:	Good (1979)
Alterations:	1924 - bar installed. 1961 - filling in the 'U' shape to one storey to provide the hotel with its own boiler (heating system). South elevation addition upper floor.

Historical

Construction:	Construction Date:
Built	1918/01/01
Usage:	Usage Date:
Hotel	1918/01/01
Owner:	Owner Date:
Larson Lan Hotels Ltd N/A Harry Arthur Crookes, Robert Crookes and Ian F. Kirkpatrick Roger H. Young & Donald Clifford Hehr Earl Arthur Schmidt	1980/05/27 1986/11/12 1988/01/22

Architect:	N/A
Builder:	Enrico Joseph Pozzi
Craftsman:	N/A
History:	Historical Significance: The considerable architectural interest of the structure aside, the Greenhill Hotel's primary historical interest relates to its intimate interrelationship with West Canadian Collieries. For years, company workers roomed there. Spacious, fully equipped front rooms were reserved for the use of company directors from France. Long-time company workers had reserved lounge chairs in the bar, which was a social centre for them and their colleagues. The name of the hotel itself has significant connotations. The mine of the same name proved to be the reliable foundation upon which Blairmore residents could build a thriving economy and community. West Canadian Collieries was immensely important in opening up and developing the Alberta side of the Crowsnest Pass. Its real estate holdings, and establishment of West and South Blairmore, were crucial components in the growth of both Blairmore and Bellevue (where the company operated the productive Bellevue Mine). By building the fine Greenhill Hotel, the company showed its faith in the future of the town it was doing so much to develop. The oldest hotel operating in Blairmore, the Greenhill Hotel has had notable guests over the years: John L. Lewis; 'Sugar' Ray Robinson; Primo Carnera; the Hon. Charles Stewart; Steve Picariello (son of 'Emperor' Emilio Picareillo); Joe Lewis; and Queen Maria of Roumania. Architectural Significance: The Greenhill Hotel is a two-and-a-half storey structure with a concrete foundation. It is 'U' shaped, the open area partially filled in now by a one-storey addition. The building has the appearance of wood frame and stucco, but it is actually constructed of twelve inch thick hollow brick tile, covered by stucco. The side, or west and east, elevations are virtually identical. Each sports a main-floor porch, supported by twelve columns with decorative brackets. A second-floor porch, of identical design to that beneath it, exists on each side. There is a balustrade on all four porches. The work here is all of wood. The gambrel roof highlights the double-porch feature and lends the structure a truly distinctive, imposing appearance. Gambrel roofs are found on French-Canadian structures to quite an extent, but are uncommon in Alberta. This writer is aware of no other hotels in the province with such a roof, let alone two storey porches on two sides. These refining qualities, aesthetically very appealing, combine to make the Greenhill Hotel a unique structure in Alberta. * * * Draft Press Release Edmonton Alberta The Honorable Mary J. LeMessurier, Minister of Culture announced today that the Greenhill Hotel has been designated a Registered Historic Resource. The Greenhill was constructed in 1920 by West Canadian Collieries Ltd. for use as a miner's boarding house and to provide first-class accommodation for visiting Company officials from Europe. West Canadian Collieries Ltd. was incorporated in 1904 by a group of French capitalists which included J.J. Fleutot. He had been active in the development of coal reserves on the Alberta side of the Crowsnest Pass since the turn of the century. Between 1904 and 1914 the Company acquired and developed coal properties in the Bellevue and Blairmore areas. The Greenhill mine in Blairmore became one of its largest and most successful operations and the economic mainstay of the Town. The Company also made a major contribution to the development of Blairmore as one of two dominant urban centers in the Crowsnest Pass region. From 1910 to 1912 Blairmore experienced a significant building boom in which the West Canadian Collieries Ltd. was a major participant. The West Blairmore subdivision was created and sold by the Company. During these years the Company also brought in a number of management personnel and miners to operate the mine complex which it was building. This investment in the communities of Blairmore and Bellevue continued after the War under the direction of Jules Charbonnier. The hotel and Company headquarters were constructed during this post-war building boom in Blairmore. The Company retained ownership of the hotel until it was sold to a Blairmore resident, Joseph Kubik, in 1950. The Greenhill hotel thus played a significant role in the operations of a company and a community involved in the Crowsnest Pass coal industry. ** ** ** Ministerial Order (portion) ... Lindsay Blackett, Minister of Culture and Community Spirit, ... HEREBY AMEND the original Ministerial Order designating the Greenhill Hotel as a Register Historic Resource, signed by the Honourable Mary J. LeMessurier on January 29, 1986..., by removing the following lands legally described as: Plan 1012461, Block 1A, Lot 4... CONFIRM that the remaining lands designated... on January 29, 1986 and legally described as Plan 9810987, Block 1A, Lot 2... continue to be designated as a Registered Historic Resource. DATED at Edmonton, AB, October 4, 2011.

Internal

Designation Status:	Designation Date:

Register:

Links

Internet:
Alberta Register of Historic Places: