The historic Hartley Block, located at 505 North Railway Street, is a brick two-storey building which pre-dates both the nearby Corona and Cecil Hotels. It was the first sizeable business building constructed on the north side of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) tracks.
The Hartley Block was built in 1910 for Charles Henry Hartley, a CPR engineer who came to Medicine Hat in 1896. The building was designed by architect W.T. Williams and constructed by contractor M.C. Sackrider, at an estimated cost of $10,000. It contained fifteen suites on the upper level and two retail outlets on the lower level. Built before electricity was prevalent, gas lighting was installed for interior fixtures. The building boasted metallic (tin) ceilings, used “extensively in the large departmental stores of the East.”
In the fall of 1910, Mrs. Grace Chatterton leased the second storey as a boarding house, named Hartley Flats. It was a welcome addition during a time when the city was experiencing an economic boom and housing was considered inadequate. The A. J. Robinson dry goods store moved into the lower north outlet and H. Morrow, grocer, opened a business in the adjacent south outlet.
The most prominent retail business that operated out of Hartley Block was the C.P.R. Men’s Store. In this location from 1912-1921, the business was owned and operated by Harold S. Ireland. After outgrowing the store’s first North Railway Street location, Ireland relocated to the Hartley Block. He initially leased only the north side of the lower level. By 1918, the successful business had taken over the entire lower level. According to the Esplanade Archives, it is reported that during World War I, Ireland equipped the battalion from Medicine Hat with machine guns. The C.P.R. Men’s Store actually, had no connection to the CPR. Ireland had obtained permission to use the CPR name from Supt. J.G. Cameron, then CPR Yard Master. By 1921, the prosperous business outgrew even the Hartley Block and moved to the substantial Lowe Block directly across from the CPR station. The C.P.R. Men’s Store was in operation at this third and final location until 1963.
In 1914, Charles Hartley, on one of his out-of-town CPR runs, contracted typhoid fever, and died within three weeks. He was only 42. His wife Catherine took over the operation of the boarding house and the management of the retail leases.
Although most of the building’s historic red pressed brick exterior has been stuccoed over, the upper corbelled brickwork is intact. The Hartley Block, now occupied by the Mainliner Pub, is an integral part of the North Railway Street neighbourhood.
Sally Sehn is a Member of the Heritage Resources Committee of the City of Medicine Hat
