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Come celebrate the
centenary of the 1910 Galt Hospital building! We will share amazing
stories about the people involved with this impressive brick structure
throughout its 100 year history.
The two-storey red brick Galt building
at the west end of 5th Avenue South has been a landmark in this
community for 100 years - serving as a Hospital and School of Nursing,
Rehabilitation or chronic care Centre, the home of the Lethbridge
Health Unit, the Museum and the Archives - and providing the people
of Lethbridge and southern Alberta with valuable community resources.
The historic building was constructed in 1910 in response
to a growing need for more hospital beds. It added to the existing
Galt Hospital built in 1891/92. From the time of its opening in
September 1910 until June 1955, the building served the community
as a hospital with wards, operating rooms, morgue and administrative
offices. Also in 1910, the Galt School of Nursing opened its doors
as a teaching institute within the walls of the hospital. Young
women worked long hours for 3 years to become nurses.
In 1955, the Municipal Hospital opened and both the
Galt Hospital operation and the School of Nursing moved to the new
location. The old Galt building and a wood frame addition that initially
joined it to the 1892 hospital was turned over to a new but similar
use.
Patients who required long term care,
but who no longer needed to be hospitalized, were admitted to the
Galt Rehabilitation Centre. This centre served the people of Lethbridge,
the Municipal District of Lethbridge, and nearby towns of Coaldale,
Barons, Nobleford and Stirling until 1965.
Once the building was no longer required
for long term care, it was turned over to the Lethbridge Health
Unit. The Health Unit used the main floor of the 1910 building and
the 1930 addition. On the second floor and in the basement was another
new tenant, the Sir Alexander Galt Museum. The management of the
Museum included the development and operation of the Archives.
In 1978, it
was designated an Alberta Provincial Historic Resource.
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