Historic murals find new homes in downtown Lethbridge

A series of historic murals by local artist Jason Trotter were installed on buildings in the downtown Lethbridge in 2007. The murals, commissioned as part of a 'Heart of Our City' initiative, depict key historical figures and industry that played a significant role in the development of our city.

The process employed by Jason to create the murals is far from the typical technique used by traditional mural artists. For this project, Jason selected archival photographs (supplied by the Galt Museum & Archives) and then digitally manipulated them into a multi-layer stencil format. Each of the large-scale stencils were then hand cut. The stencils were then used to transfer the image onto steel mesh with paint. This unique mural application allows the buildings substrate to be seen through the work, giving the image a certain tactile quality and ghost-like appearance.

Unlike traditional mural applications, this unique approach, also makes it possible for murals to be moved from one location to another. Unfortunately, a mural that was commissioned for the north side of the Travel Lodge was lost when the building was demolished to make room for the new downtown fire station. A similar situation recently occured when the City of Lethbridge purchased the old IGA building as the new site for a community arts centre that will replace the Bowman Arts Centre. As a result, a new home was required for the 'Black Diamond' mural that was affixed to the west side of the IGA building, prior to its demolition that began in September of this year. We were fortunate enough to find a suitable location on the upper north side of the Wallace Block building on 5th Street. Owners of the building, Malcolm and Bonny Greenshields, were very supportive of the move and are proud to have the mural displayed on their historic building. As well, one of the 'Three Kings' murals also needed a home after the new owner of the Lethbridge Hotel building decided to have the mural removed during renovations. That mural was moved to the west side of the old Bank of Montreal building (The Gate), reuniting it with the other 'Kings'.

Here is a brief description of the history behind each of Jason Trotter's murals;

Three Kings (west side of The Gate building on 3rd Avenue - old Bank of Montreal building) - taken from archival portraiture photographs of Chief Red Crow (Kainai), Chief Sitting Behind An Eagle Tail Feather (Pikuni) and Chief Crowfoot (Siksika). The Chiefs represent the tribes of the Blackfoot Confederacy and the murals pay homage to these great native leaders and the aboriginal population of southern Alberta.

Jock Palmer (south side of Streets Alive building on 4th Street) - John Enderby 'Jock' Palmer was born in Cambridge, England in 1898 and moved to Lethbridge in 1905. Jock joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force during WWI and served gallantly on the battlefields of France before transferring to the Royal Flying Corps where he received his wings and tallied nine aerial combat victories. Upon his return to Lethbridge after the war, Jock flew extensively as a barnstormer, commercial pilot and instructor.

Often described as the 'grandfather of Alberta aviation', Jock also pursued other ventures beyond flying. One of those ventures was the formation of the popular Lethbridge radio station - CJOC.

The upper part of the mural shows Jock posing in front of one of his planes, while the lower half shows an enlarged letter destined to be on the first airmail flight from Lethbridge to Ottawa.

Black Diamond - (upper north side of the Wallace Block - Round Street Cafe building on 5th Street). The unidentified men in this mural proudly pose in front of a coal mine shaft on the banks of what would later become West Lethbridge. Galt Coal was a leader in the coal mining industry which helped to establish Lethbridge.