Courthouse

Courthouse. . , Until 1892, when Medicine Hat became a separate judicial seat for the territorial District of Assiniboia, court officials travelled from the judicial headquarters in Fort Macleod to hear cases. The first local courthouse, a small and inexpensive wood structure, was built in 1899 (since demolished). , A new courthouse was designed by R. P. Blakey, architect for the provincial Department of Public Works. Construction by Bennett and White Construction Company of Calgary began in 1919 and was completed the following year at an estimated cost of $130,000. The first court session was held on September 21, 1920, and included cases involving both horse theft and car theft. , An ornate two storey pressed brick and limestone structure in the classical revival Beaux-Arts style, it features 1919 and the Alberta coat of arms carved in the stone lintel above the main entrance. Sited on the banks of the South Saskatchewan River, it is the oldest provincial courthouse in Alberta in continuous use since its construction. The innovative architecture of the Medicine Hat Courthouse served as a prototype for two subsequent Alberta courthouses in Red Deer and in Vegreville. , The current courthouse remained unchanged until 1986 when a historically sympathetic addition was built on the west and north sides. , In 1978, the Medicine Hat Courthouse was designated a Provincial Historic Resource.