If you came to Jasper 100 years ago it would have looked like another world. It was little more than a shanty town back then, but one structure would have caught your eye immediately: the quaint, cobblestone building sitting on Connaught Drive.
The Jasper Park Information Centre still stands today, and this year marks its 100th anniversary.
It was the park鈥檚 first superintendent, Col. Maynard Rogers, who organized the building鈥檚 construction, shortly after his arrival in Jasper in 1913.
Jasper was still in its ugly infancy, and Rogers was hell-bent on improving the attractiveness of the town. In his mind, the new building鈥攚hich was the first major structure built in the park鈥攚ould act as a focal point for the town鈥檚 future development. His goal was to encourage 鈥渁 rustic style of architecture, either logs or boulders,鈥� which would 鈥渞esult, after years, in our having a harmonious and appropriate appearance in the class of buildings, of which the administration building ... [would] be the leader.鈥�
This idea was so important to him, he even insisted that builders replace the peeled logs proposed by architect A. M. Caledron with local cobblestones, an insistence that doubled the overall price of the building, but gave it its distinctive look.
When the building was completed in 1914, the ground floor acted not only as an administration office for Parks Canada, but also as Rogers鈥� living quarters. Upstairs was a library, museum and drafting room, and in the basement sat a fish hatchery.
Rogers and his successors lived in the building until 1936, when a new house was built for the Park superintendent two blocks away. And while for most of its life it was primarily an administration building, Parks found several different uses for the structure over the years.
In an interview recorded for the Jasper-Yellowhead Museum and Archives鈥� oral history project, Fred Kofin鈥攚ho worked in the building from 1957鈥�71鈥攄escribed the pleasantness of working within its walls.
His favourite feature, he recalled, was the 鈥渃oziness of the fireplace.鈥� The double-sided fireplace is one of the most striking features of the building鈥檚 interior, and Kofin remembered fighting to keep it from getting torn down.
鈥淚 had quite a few disputes with people who said 鈥榦h that should go completely out and we would have more room here,鈥欌�� he said. Kofin did get his way in the end, when the fireplace was saved, boarded up and reinforced to keep from collapsing.
Rogers dreamed that the building would have a lasting impact on the town, and for residents like Kofin that impact was deep and personal. But 100 years after the building first went up, its impact on the community as a whole is still obvious.
According to a Parks Canada report, the building 鈥渆xerted a direct influence over the subsequent building practice at Jasper, and an indirect one over the rustic design throughout the system.鈥�
Gloria Keyes-Brady, who coordinates the Information Centre for Parks, agreed with that sentiment.
鈥淚t鈥檚 probably one of the best, most influential examples of rustic architecture in Canada鈥檚 national parks,鈥� she said, adding that even today the building鈥檚 unique features are reflected in buildings throughout town.
鈥淛ust look at how many new structures [in Jasper] use cobblestones in their design,鈥� she pointed out.
That influence is one of the main reasons the centre was designated a historic building in 1988, and in 1992 a National Historic Site.
And while the building鈥檚 historic character is important to preserve, the human moments that took place within it are just as much a part of its character.
Tom Thompson started working in the building in 1955, and in his oral history interview recalled the frigid winters inside it. The place was heated with a coal furnace, and Thompson remembered two employees who 鈥渨ere forever monkeying with the thermostat.
鈥淥ne would put it up, the next would put it back; one said white the other said black,鈥� he said. According to legend, the building鈥檚 electrician got so fed up with the two that he cut the thermostat and put in a new one that he only had access to. 鈥淪o they could boost it up and put it back down and it wouldn鈥檛 do anything.鈥�
Even the space around the building has stuck in the minds of Jasperites. Many recall the beautiful gardens that used to blossom across the grounds, or the groups that would congregate on the front lawn later in the building鈥檚 life.
Writing in the Jasper Booster on March 20, 1991, Nora Findlay explained how the area came to be known as 鈥淭he Cabbage Patch.鈥�
鈥淚n the 1960s the lawn was sort of taken over by groups of pseudo hippies who inundated Jasper,鈥� she wrote, explaining that most of them were just university students there to be part of a kind of general, undefined unrest, and who left once the summer was over.
鈥淢ost of them were harmless and some were very intelligent. They just looked as though they had no brains,鈥� she wrote.
In 1972, Parks moved information services to the building, and they are still offered there today. These days, the building also houses the Friends of Jasper National Park store, and some Parks office space. Aside from some renovations in 2008, the exterior has remained relatively unchanged, and is still one of the most striking pieces of architecture in town.
Keyes-Brady, whose office is in the building, said 鈥渋t is very consciously a nice place to come and work.
鈥淏ecause of the historical character there鈥檚 certain things that are somewhat inconvenient at times ... it gets cold some of the time; it鈥檚 too hot some of the time, but it has such a personality. And I think everyone who works here feels the same way. We are fortunate to work here,鈥� she said.
From June 14 to Sept. 1, the museum will showcase an exhibit dedicated to the Information Centre鈥檚 100-year history. It will feature stories from some of those with close connections to the place, as well as a large painting and a replica of the structure.
Parks will also celebrate the anniversary with a new interpretive panel, featuring a timeline of the building鈥檚 history. Twice a week through July and August a Parks interpreter will also appear in character as Col. Rogers, to engage tourists and locals in the building鈥檚 story.
聽Trevor Nichols
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