Red Deer Courthouse (Designated a Provincial Historic Resource on July 31, 1986)

Historical Summary: The Red Deer Courthouse was constructed in 1930 to provide facilities for the Red Deer Judicial District.  Red Deer has been a center for the administration of Justice dating back to 1891 when the first court session took place in the local headquarters of the North West Mounted Police.

The location was dictated by a civic center plan developed by the City of Red Deer during the pre 1914 construction boom.  This plan was intended to deal with an extensive number of public works then being contemplated by the various levels of government.  It is therefore one of the few tangible achievements of the City Beautiful movement in Alberta today.

This building was designed by D. MacDonald, provincial superintendent of buildings.  It is the last courthouse in Alberta to be designed incorporating classically inspired detailing, and as such marks the end of an entire tradition of building in Alberta.  It is important also in that it broke with the tradition of using local material by incorporating Tyndal limestone from Manitoba.