Lethbridge Public Library / Southern Alberta Art Gallery

Lethbridge Public Library, also, Southern Alberta Art Gallery. . The employees of the Alberta Railway and Coal Company founded the “Miners Library” and established the earliest library in Lethbridge. In 1918 the local YMCA provided the first home for the Lethbridge Public Library. As the city grew, the citizens required an expanded service from these libraries. The City of Lethbridge, with the help of the first librarian, Miss Hazel Bletcher, applied for and received a $25,000 grant from The Carnegie Foundation Trust. United States entrepreneur, Andrew Carnegie, endowed the trust, which funded libraries and promoted education worldwide., Designed by Whiddington and Fry, this brick and stone building with its symmetrical facade and its classically inspired appearance was opened in 1922. Due to the success of the library and a need for additional collection space and a children's library, the addition to the east was opened on November 4th, 1951. This addition became the adult section with the children's library taking the upper floor of the Carnegie building. Once again, the library outgrew the facility and a new library on Stafford Drive and 5th Avenue South was opened in 1974., At the time, the City of Lethbridge agreed to lease this building to the newly formed Southern Alberta Art Gallery. It was the first publicly operated, professionally staffed, full time contemporary art gallery in southern Alberta. In 1975 Allan MacKay was hired as the first director/curator. The gallery opened its doors to the public in 1976. The Southern Alberta Art Gallery has grown to become one of Canada's leading contemporary art galleries.