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Culture of Alberta
The culture of Alberta refers to the art, customs, and traditions of the people of Alberta. Alberta entered into Confederation in 1905, placing her in a tie with Saskatchewan as the country's second youngest province. Despite her short history, the province possesses a rich culture. The vastness of the land and variation of geography — which includes mountains, foothills, grassland, parkland, forest, and rockland — have served as important sources of creative inspiration across all art forms. Alberta's primary industries of farming, ranching, and petroleum also play a major part in the province's culture and identity.
Few structures in Alberta predate the province's founding in 1905. During the province's early years, many significant projects were designed by eastern firms including those of Ross and MacDonald, E. and W. S. Maxwell, Edward Colonna, John M. Lyle, Brown and Vallance, Burke Horwood and White, and Percy Erskine Nobbs.
For much of the 20th century, the Alberta landscape was dotted with wooden, gable-roofed grain elevators. Authors have referred to prairie elevators as "prairie sentinels" or "prairie cathedrals." These structures existed in most towns and hamlets and became symbols of the Canadian prairies. Alberta's first grain elevator was erected in Strathcona in 1895 by the Brackman-Ker Milling Co. Elevators, which had painted on their sides the names of towns, served as landmarks for rail and car travelers, as well as for BCATP pilots during World War II. In his 1923 book Vers une architecture, French architect Le Corbusier featured a photograph of the concrete Dominion Government Elevator in Calgary, which was demolished in 2011. By 1951 there were 1,651 elevators in the province. However, in the 1960s the traditional grain transportation system began to disappear, and by 2005 only 156 wooden elevators remained. Several, such as those at Andrew, Castor, Leduc, Meeting Creek, Paradise Valley, Radway, Rowley, Scandia and St. Albert have been designated historical sites.
Alberta is home to six grand hotels built by railway companies; some of these are built in the château style, a uniquely Canadian aesthetic. The hotels are the Palliser Hotel, Hotel Macdonald, Banff Springs Hotel, Château Lake Louise, Jasper Park Lodge, and Prince of Wales Hotel. All six remain prominent tourist destinations. Alberta was also home to one of only two buildings in Canada designed by Frank Lloyd Wright: the Banff National Park Pavilion (built 1913–14). The building was, however, destroyed by flood in 1938. In recent years the Town of Banff has made several proposals to reconstruct the building, albeit in a new location, however, none have come to fruition.
Following World War II, Albertan architects embraced the International Style. The firm of Rule Wynn and Rule was founded in Edmonton in 1938 by three University of Alberta graduates, and in 1945 opened a second office in Calgary. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s RWR dominated the province's architectural scene, producing numerous notable commercial and residential structures. In the late 1960s a new generation emerged and sought to develop a uniquely Albertan style of architecture that responded to the province's landscape and culture. These individuals included Douglas Cardinal (1934–), Peter Hemingway (1929–1995), Gordon Atkins (1937–), Jack Long (1925–2001), Donald G. Bittorf (1926–2008), and William E. Boucock. Of this group, Douglas Cardinal became the most famous, going on to gain worldwide recognition for his work.
Perhaps the two most recognizable buildings in Calgary's skyline are the Calgary Tower (William G. Milne, 1968) and the Olympic Saddledome (Graham McCourt, 1983). Edmonton's most recognizable buildings are arguably the Alberta Legislature Building (Allan Merrick Jeffers and Richard Blakey, 1907) and Muttart Conservatory (Peter Hemingway, 1976).
Alberta is home to Canada's third largest ballet company, the Alberta Ballet Company. The company was founded in 1958 by Ruth Carse (1916–1999) as Dance Interlude. Carse had been a ballerina with the Canadian Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, and Radio City Music Hall before injury forced her into retirement in 1954. In 1960 it changed its name to the Edmonton Ballet Company, and in 1966 to the Alberta Ballet Company. Since Carse's retirement in 1975, subsequent directors have included Jeremy Leslie-Spinks, Brydon Paige, Ali Pourfarrokh, Mikko Nissinen, and Jean Grand-Maître. In 1990 the company merged with the Calgary City Ballet and relocated to Calgary. It is currently based in St. Mary's Parish Hall.
During the Golden Age of Hollywood, Alberta was the setting of many films in the Northern genre. Some of these were filmed on location while others were shot in the United States. Examples include Canadian Pacific, Saskatchewan, Northwest Stampede, Blue Canadian Rockies, and The Wild North. Although it takes places in the United States, the 1954 film River of No Return, starring Marilyn Monroe, was filmed in Banff. The 1941 British war film 49th Parallel includes a lengthy sequence shot in Banff National Park. Campbell's Kingdom (1957), starring Dirk Bogarde, is the only feature film to tell a story about the Alberta oil industry.
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Culture of Alberta
The culture of Alberta refers to the art, customs, and traditions of the people of Alberta. Alberta entered into Confederation in 1905, placing her in a tie with Saskatchewan as the country's second youngest province. Despite her short history, the province possesses a rich culture. The vastness of the land and variation of geography — which includes mountains, foothills, grassland, parkland, forest, and rockland — have served as important sources of creative inspiration across all art forms. Alberta's primary industries of farming, ranching, and petroleum also play a major part in the province's culture and identity.
Few structures in Alberta predate the province's founding in 1905. During the province's early years, many significant projects were designed by eastern firms including those of Ross and MacDonald, E. and W. S. Maxwell, Edward Colonna, John M. Lyle, Brown and Vallance, Burke Horwood and White, and Percy Erskine Nobbs.
For much of the 20th century, the Alberta landscape was dotted with wooden, gable-roofed grain elevators. Authors have referred to prairie elevators as "prairie sentinels" or "prairie cathedrals." These structures existed in most towns and hamlets and became symbols of the Canadian prairies. Alberta's first grain elevator was erected in Strathcona in 1895 by the Brackman-Ker Milling Co. Elevators, which had painted on their sides the names of towns, served as landmarks for rail and car travelers, as well as for BCATP pilots during World War II. In his 1923 book Vers une architecture, French architect Le Corbusier featured a photograph of the concrete Dominion Government Elevator in Calgary, which was demolished in 2011. By 1951 there were 1,651 elevators in the province. However, in the 1960s the traditional grain transportation system began to disappear, and by 2005 only 156 wooden elevators remained. Several, such as those at Andrew, Castor, Leduc, Meeting Creek, Paradise Valley, Radway, Rowley, Scandia and St. Albert have been designated historical sites.
Alberta is home to six grand hotels built by railway companies; some of these are built in the château style, a uniquely Canadian aesthetic. The hotels are the Palliser Hotel, Hotel Macdonald, Banff Springs Hotel, Château Lake Louise, Jasper Park Lodge, and Prince of Wales Hotel. All six remain prominent tourist destinations. Alberta was also home to one of only two buildings in Canada designed by Frank Lloyd Wright: the Banff National Park Pavilion (built 1913–14). The building was, however, destroyed by flood in 1938. In recent years the Town of Banff has made several proposals to reconstruct the building, albeit in a new location, however, none have come to fruition.
Following World War II, Albertan architects embraced the International Style. The firm of Rule Wynn and Rule was founded in Edmonton in 1938 by three University of Alberta graduates, and in 1945 opened a second office in Calgary. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s RWR dominated the province's architectural scene, producing numerous notable commercial and residential structures. In the late 1960s a new generation emerged and sought to develop a uniquely Albertan style of architecture that responded to the province's landscape and culture. These individuals included Douglas Cardinal (1934–), Peter Hemingway (1929–1995), Gordon Atkins (1937–), Jack Long (1925–2001), Donald G. Bittorf (1926–2008), and William E. Boucock. Of this group, Douglas Cardinal became the most famous, going on to gain worldwide recognition for his work.
Perhaps the two most recognizable buildings in Calgary's skyline are the Calgary Tower (William G. Milne, 1968) and the Olympic Saddledome (Graham McCourt, 1983). Edmonton's most recognizable buildings are arguably the Alberta Legislature Building (Allan Merrick Jeffers and Richard Blakey, 1907) and Muttart Conservatory (Peter Hemingway, 1976).
Alberta is home to Canada's third largest ballet company, the Alberta Ballet Company. The company was founded in 1958 by Ruth Carse (1916–1999) as Dance Interlude. Carse had been a ballerina with the Canadian Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, and Radio City Music Hall before injury forced her into retirement in 1954. In 1960 it changed its name to the Edmonton Ballet Company, and in 1966 to the Alberta Ballet Company. Since Carse's retirement in 1975, subsequent directors have included Jeremy Leslie-Spinks, Brydon Paige, Ali Pourfarrokh, Mikko Nissinen, and Jean Grand-Maître. In 1990 the company merged with the Calgary City Ballet and relocated to Calgary. It is currently based in St. Mary's Parish Hall.
During the Golden Age of Hollywood, Alberta was the setting of many films in the Northern genre. Some of these were filmed on location while others were shot in the United States. Examples include Canadian Pacific, Saskatchewan, Northwest Stampede, Blue Canadian Rockies, and The Wild North. Although it takes places in the United States, the 1954 film River of No Return, starring Marilyn Monroe, was filmed in Banff. The 1941 British war film 49th Parallel includes a lengthy sequence shot in Banff National Park. Campbell's Kingdom (1957), starring Dirk Bogarde, is the only feature film to tell a story about the Alberta oil industry.