Posts tagged Fire

Remembering Chinatown

As Lethbridge lost the 104-year-old Bow On Tong building to a fire in early February, many feared that the last remnants of Chinatown were gone with it. Some staples of the historic community still stand along 2 Avenue; most of us are familiar with the bold architecture of the Chinese Freemason building, or the Traditional Chinese lettering atop the Wing Wah Chong Co. building. As more historic buildings are lost to time, however, it is worth examining exactly what purpose they served in the first place—and why they still matter today.

ArticleAvery RaineJuly 18, 2023Lethbridge, Chinatown, Bow On Tong, Built Heritage, Fire, Racism, Lethbridge RestaurantComment

Exhibition Grounds Fire Hall

If you went to the fair at the exhibition grounds between the 1940s and the 1970s, you may have noticed a little white building with double barn-like doors with a painted sign above them that read Fire Hall. During the week of Lethbridge’s local fair, that little building located behind the grandstand became a substation for the fire department. The Lethbridge Fire Department had two firefighters stationed at the fairgrounds. They worked in shifts to provide 24-hour-per-day service for the four days of the fair.

ArticleBobbie Fox Akaiksims’staki (Many Thoughts Woman)May 5, 2020Exhibition GroundsExhibition Grounds, Fire, Lethbridge Fire DepartmentComment