Historic Medicine Hat on foot: Esplanade walking tours a must do

By Samantha Johnson Special to the News on July 15, 2022.

SAMANTHA JOHNSON

Special the News

There are two historic walking tours available through the Esplanade and both offer a dive into the history of Medicine Hat. The CPR in its expansion westward decided to build a rail terminal here in 1883 as they were expanding westward, with enterprising individuals following.

Sally (McGee) Sehn, guide for both tours, offers up a variety of colourful stories about the buildings, houses and people along each route. There is a booklet for each tour, which each participant gets to keep, giving a page long description of each stop along the routes. Each tour runs on alternating Saturdays throughout the summer.

The Historic First Street Walking Tour begins at the Esplanade. The first stop, not technically on the tour, is the white gazebo marking the spot of Sehn’s childhood home. All along the side of the street where the gazebo stands was CPR-owned land and a natural park, called the Esplanade. It was believed by everyone the park would always remain, but that belief was shattered in 1901 when the CPR land department decided to subdivide the property, causing an absolute outrage.

Stories to hear on the walk include the true purpose of a widow’s walk, the site of the original city waterworks and powerhouse, and how, after it was abandoned, all the children Sehn’s age used to play in there unbeknownst to their parents. The house where the city’s first mayor lived, the house where a skating rink existed, the location of the Medicine Hat Ice Company which was operating until the mid-1900s, fires, marriages along the block, a long unrequited love story about a woman who lost her fiancé in the First World War, and how one family owned or lived in multiple houses along the street as they expanded generation after generation. You’ll also get a partial view of the Cousin’s Log Cabin, which is still standing and dates to the late 1800s.

The Historic Railroad District Tour is new for 2022 and the first one was held during Art in Motion on July 9. A large group participated in the tour and, despite the heat, it was enjoyed by all.

People were so anxious in 1883 to establish a business in the new town that they would set up a building before the CPR had surveyed the street and then would have to move it back. Practically overnight there was a tent town of more than 200 people, and the population kept increasing exponentially for many years.

What is most surprising on this tour is how many original buildings still exist along South and North Railway Street. Advertisements can still be seen on the sides of a few of them. Some tidbits available on the south side part of the tour are that The Royal is the oldest existing hotel building in Medicine Hat, although perhaps not as old as the current awning over the entrance suggests. Sandblasting was needed to reveal the original brick of some buildings which were covered in pastel shades of paint in the 1960s. One building was erected on top of an historic 1901 gas well causing issues more than a century later. The history of the Assiniboia Hotel building and the large sign which currently adorns it are described. The site of the original railway station is pointed out. It served the city until 1905, when a larger one was needed. Before leaving the south side, the story behind the construction and subsequent changes of the pedestrian underpass are relayed.

Travelling through the pedestrian underpass gives a short break from the sun and soon after the group arrives on the platform of the existing CPR Railway Station and remains there for several minutes while the tour progresses about buildings across the street. It was a welcome relief.

Stories on this side include the site of the original McKenzie Drugs, which moved to its current location in 1974. There is one building that was built around a caboose, and while the tour isn’t allowed inside, as it’s an operating business, Sehn assures the group that remnants of the caboose are still visible. How proprietors and businesses changed within a building, names disappeared and were revived much later and how the city streets have evolved and changed but, in some ways, remained the same.

As you walk along South and North Railway Street, rather than drive, it was also easy to see what currently exists and find new places to check out the next time you are in the neighbourhood that are worth going in and checking out. North Railway also boasts one of the oldest buildings in Medicine Hat and the longest running business.

Both tours are so packed with information, you’ll be glad to have the booklet afterwards. Visit the Esplanade website (www.esplanade.ca) to book tickets for either tour.

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