‘Suspicious’ fire destroys historic downtown hotel

By Lethbridge Herald on February 24, 2023.

Ry Clarke – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

An early morning fire, which police are calling suspicious, has destroyed a historic downtown building.

Emergency responders from four stations responded to the fire along 5 St South across from Galt Gardens at around 2:15 a.m. with 28 members.

The blaze at the Lethbridge Hotel resulted in the closure of 5 St. S. from 1 Ave to 3. Ave, and the closure of 2 Ave. at 4 St. with the city asking people to avoid the area for safety.

The City said in an afternoon release that due to extreme temperatures extensive ice build-up could compromise the structure making the area unsafe for the public and demolition was set to begin Friday afternoon with heavy equipment.

When fire crews arrived on scene, flames were visible from upper floors. The City says the vacant building sustained extensive damage.

Units attacked the fire with water from the front  and from behind in the alley to contain it on a morning when temperatures dipped into the -40C range.

 With temperatures sitting around minus-25 during the morning, a doctor was nearby in radio contact with responders. Initial reports mention there may have been vagrants in the building at the time of the fire, but nothing has been confirmed by the City. 

Built in 1885, the Lethbridge Hotel shares a rich history with residents, operating as more than a hotel when other establishments had yet to be built. 

“That is where the original hotel in Lethbridge was built by William Henderson, later Mayor Henderson. He built a building there in 1885. Not the same building we see today, but it has been the site of a hotel since 1885,” said Belinda Crowson, president of the Lethbridge Historical Society and city councillor Friday morning. 

“That was the site where the first town council met before they had their own building. Some of the church groups used little buildings and hotels in those days so the first Methodist church service was held in there. Colonel Macleod used the original hotel as a courtroom, because they didn’t have a court room yet. The original building was knocked down and then replaced with the building we see now, beginning in 1902 – 1903, when they put a three-storey modern hotel there, and of course it has been completely renovated several times since.”

“It has so much memory and so much history. It has such a connection on a personal level and a public level to the community,” said Crowson.

“I hear stories of people who say ‘our first time in Lethbridge, we didn’t have a house, so we stayed in the Lethbridge Hotel.’ There’s people who remember it as a hotel, there’s people who remember it as housing – because it was used for affordable housing in the later years. People have different memories of the bar, the restaurants, and the socialization in the building. It has connected with so many families and people for decades.”

Though it shares a rich history with Lethbridge, the hotel was not desiginated a historical site. 

“It has never been designated; certainly the owners had that option in the past,” said Crowson.

 “The Acadia Block had a major fire in 1918 and was rebuilt and is now a historic site. It is all about what kind of damage has been done. We have managed in the past to bring buildings back from incredible disasters. But right now, we don’t know what condition the building is in today. But it is about the choices that the owners make and whether they think it’s worthwhile or not. But buildings have been saved after fires and have been designated.”

With crews working all morning to extinguish the blaze in freezing conditions, the extent of the damages will determine the future of the building. 

“New things are great and wonderful, but not when they are coming at the loss of something that has so much memory and history. It has such a connection,” said Crowson. 

This comes nearly a month after another historical building in downtown was destroyed by a fire, the Bow on Tong, on January 31, just two blocks away on 2 Ave S.

The Lethbridge Police Service issued a release Friday afternoon asking anyone who may have been driving in the area between 1:45 a.m. and 2:15 a.m. to check their dash cameras for activity in the vicinity of the hotel. Police are also seeking anyone who was walking in the area and may have observed people or activity around the hotel to come forward. Anyone with information that could assist investigators is asked to call police at 403-328-4444.

 Police say the fire is being treated as suspicious and the investigation is ongoing.