Downtown Lethbridge
Encyclopedia
Lethbridge
Lethbridge is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada, and the largest city in southern Alberta. It is Alberta's fourth-largest city by population after Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer, and the third-largest by area after Calgary and Edmonton. The nearby Canadian Rockies contribute to the city's...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, hosting most of the city's banks and several accounting and law practices, including national firms.
Boundaries
Strictly speaking, the downtown is defined by the Oldman RiverOldman River
The Oldman River is a river in southern Alberta, Canada. It flows roughly west to east from the Rocky Mountains, through the communities of Fort Macleod, Lethbridge, Taber, and on to Grassy Lake, where it joins with the Bow River to form the South Saskatchewan River, which eventually drains into...
valley on the west, the Crowsnest Highway
Crowsnest Highway
The Crowsnest Highway, also known as the Interprovincial or, in British Columbia, the Southern Trans-Provincial, is an east-west highway, in length, through the southern parts of British Columbia and Alberta, providing the shortest highway connection between British Columbia's Lower Mainland and...
and the CPR
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
rail line on the north, Stafford Drive (9 Street) on the east and 6 Avenue on the south. It is not very large and contains very little in neighbourhood structure. It is, home to Chinatown
Chinatown, Lethbridge
Chinatown is a small district in downtown Lethbridge, Alberta. At the beginning of the 20th century, the district had a population of around 100 and businesses consisted of six laundries, four grocers and two restaurants...
, a two block area on 2 Avenue, west of Galt Gardens
Galt Gardens
Galt Gardens is a urban park located in downtown Lethbridge, Alberta. It is the location of many of the city's festivals and is also the home of the Southern Alberta Art Gallery.-History:...
.
Transportation
Downtown Lethbridge serves as a transportation hub. Whoop-up Drive, the busiest roadway in Lethbridge, connects to downtown. Scenic Drive also provides downtown with a connection to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
via Highway 4 and the Lethbridge County Airport
Lethbridge County Airport
Lethbridge County Airport or Lethbridge Airport, , is located south southeast of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. It is 10-15 driving minutes from the downtown area and has scheduled service to the Alberta cities of Calgary and Edmonton. The airport is classified as an airport of entry by NAV CANADA...
via Highway 5. Downtown has two connections to the Crowsnest Highway
Crowsnest Highway
The Crowsnest Highway, also known as the Interprovincial or, in British Columbia, the Southern Trans-Provincial, is an east-west highway, in length, through the southern parts of British Columbia and Alberta, providing the shortest highway connection between British Columbia's Lower Mainland and...
, which provides direct access to British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
and indirect access to Calgary and Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
. The city's only Greyhound
Greyhound Lines of Canada
Greyhound Canada is the prominent operator of inter-city coach services in Canada. Greyhound Canada is a subsidiary of Scotland's FirstGroup plc, linked with Dallas-based Greyhound Lines .-History:In 1929, Greyhound Canada was founded as Canadian Greyhound Coaches, Limited, operating in Alberta...
terminal is located downtown. The city's main transit
Lethbridge Transit
Lethbridge Transit manages and operates the municipally-owned public transportation system in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.-History:...
terminal is downtown; half of the city's bus routes converge on 4 Avenue.
Arts and culture
Arts and culture venues in Lethbridge are located in or near downtown. There are two art galleries (Southern Alberta Art GallerySouthern Alberta Art Gallery
The Southern Alberta Art Gallery is located in downtown Lethbridge, Alberta and is known as one of Canada's top ten contemporary art galleries. It has three gallery spaces and a gift shop.-History:...
and Bowman Arts Centre), two theatres (Yates Theatre and Sterndale Bennet Theatre
Genevieve E. Yates Memorial Centre
The Genevieve E. Yates Memorial Centre houses two performance theatres in downtown Lethbridge, Alberta. The centre was built starting 15 August 1965 and officially opened 1 May 1966. Deane Yates, a local retailer, donated over $200,000 towards its existence and asked the centre be named Genevieve E...
), the Galt Museum
Galt Museum & Archives
Galt Museum & Archives is the primary museum in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, and is the largest museum in the province south of Calgary. In 2006, the museum cared for a growing collection of over 20,000 artifacts and 300,000 archival documents and photographs record the history of Lethbridge and...
, two cinemas, the Lethbridge Public Library
Lethbridge Public Library
The Lethbridge Public Library is a public library service that is provided by the municipality of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. It was established in 1919...
and several nightclubs.
Shopping
The downtown area has several hundred street-front retail stores interspersed with professional services. Two of the city's largest malls (Lethbridge CentreLethbridge Centre
Lethbridge Centre is the oldest mall in downtown Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. The independently-owned mall consists of a two-storey complex housing various retail stores, professional offices and a 6,000 conference facility. Also attached to the mall is an 11-storey office tower, the city's tallest...
and Park Place Mall
Park Place Mall
Park Place Mall or Park Place Shopping Centre, is the largest shopping mall in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. Built in 1988, the 43,741.6 m² mall covers four city blocks downtown and includes over 100 stores, including one anchor store, Sears, and key tenants Chapters, Galaxy Cinemas, Michaels,...
) are located downtown.