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54-631: The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies is the fourth largest cultural history museum in Alberta. The Museum opened in 1968 and houses the Art Galleries, Archives, Heritage Gallery and Museum Shop. The four-acre site also includes two historic log homes, that can be visited during the summer, and four log cabins. The museum was opened on June 16, 1968, by the Peter and Catharine Whyte Foundation. The Archives of

108-643: A coin to see who would go forth to defend the Empire. Jack, losing the toss, stayed to look after their claims. Sinclair later decided to seek his own fortune in prospecting in Africa. The land near the Bow where the museum now stands was transferred to Dave White for $ 100 in 1910. William Mather arrived in Banff from Ontario around 1910, where he entered into a boat rental business with Raymond Rooper. Bill later became sole owner and expanded

162-669: A collection consistent with the historical structure. Some museums choose to collect pieces original to the period, while not original to the house. Others, fill the home with replicas of the original pieces, reconstructed with the help of historic records. Still other museums adopt a more aesthetic approach and use the homes to display the architecture and artistic objects. Because historic homes have often existed through different generations and have been passed on from one family to another, volunteers and professionals also must decide which historical narrative to tell their visitors. Some museums grapple with this issue by displaying different eras in

216-466: A collection of the traces of memory of the people who once lived there. It is often made up of the inhabitants' belongings and objects – this approach is mostly concerned with authenticity . Some museums are organised around the person who lived there or the social role the house had. Other historic house museums may be partially or completely reconstructed in order to tell the story of a particular area, social-class or historical period. The " narrative " of

270-399: A difficult railway construction process. The following articles describe in detail the political and technical feats involved: Historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that is preserved as a museum . Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to

324-486: A professor of history and political science, further adds to social history and its relationship to locations by saying – Following this historical movement, the concept of " open-air museums " became prominent. These particular types of museums had interpreters in costume re-enact the lives of communities in earlier eras, which would then be performed to modern audiences. They often occupied large wooden architecture buildings or outdoor sites and landscapes, that were true to

378-463: A variety of standards, including those of the International Council of Museums . Houses are transformed into museums for a number of different reasons. For example, the homes of famous writers are frequently turned into writer's home museums to support literary tourism . Historic house museums are sometimes known as a "memory museum", which is a term used to suggest that the museum contains

432-400: A year, more than fifty percent of historic house museums received fewer than 5,000 visitors per year. These museums are also unique in that the actual structure belongs to the museum collection as a historical object. While some historic home museums are fortunate to possess a collection containing many of the original furnishings once present in the home, many face the challenge of displaying

486-596: Is much lower in the Canadian Rockies than in the American Rockies. Five national parks are located within the Canadian Rockies, four of which are adjacent and make up the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks . These four parks are Banff , Jasper , Kootenay and Yoho . The fifth national park, Waterton Lakes , is not adjacent to the others. Waterton Lakes lies farther south, straddling the Canada–US border as

540-535: Is not only associated with the individual but is a shared experience. It also focused on the way individual memory is influenced by social structures, as a way of continuing socialisation by producing memory as collective experience. An example of a site that utilizes collective memory is the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan. It was restored and is based on the dialectics of memory, however it also has

594-744: Is the eastern part of the Pacific Ring of Fire that runs all the way around the Pacific Ocean . The Canadian Rockies are bounded on the east by the Canadian Prairies, on the west by the Rocky Mountain Trench, and on the north by the Liard River. Contrary to popular misconception, the Rockies do not extend north into Yukon or Alaska, or west into central British Columbia. North of the Liard River,

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648-507: Is the second-highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, and is the highest mountain in Alberta. Snow Dome (3,456 m; 11,339 ft) is one of two hydrological apexes of North America. Water flows off Snow Dome into three different watersheds, into the Pacific Ocean, Arctic Ocean , and Atlantic Ocean via Hudson Bay . The Canadian Rockies are not the highest mountain ranges in Canada. Both

702-902: The Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains . It is the easternmost part of the Canadian Cordillera , which is the northern segment of the North American Cordillera , the expansive system of interconnected mountain ranges between the Interior Plains and the Pacific Coast that runs northwest–southeast from central Alaska to

756-882: The Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico . Canada officially defines the Rocky Mountains system as the mountain chains east of the Rocky Mountain Trench extending from the Liard River valley in northern British Columbia to the Albuquerque Basin in New Mexico , not including the Mackenzie , Richardson and British Mountains / Brooks Range in Yukon and Alaska (which are all included as

810-644: The Mackenzie Mountains , which are a distinct mountain range, form a portion of the border between the Yukon and the Northwest Territories . The mountain ranges to the west of the Rocky Mountain Trench in southern British Columbia are called the Columbia Mountains , and are not considered to be part of the Rockies by Canadian geologists. Mount Robson (3,954 metres; 12,972 feet) is the highest peak in

864-578: The Northern Rockies which comprise two main groupings, the Hart Ranges and the Muskwa Ranges . The division-point of the two main groupings is at Monkman Pass northwest of Mount Robson and to the southwest of Mount Ovington . The Canadian Rockies are noted for being the source of several major river systems, and also for the many rivers within the range itself. The Rockies form the divide between

918-700: The "Arctic Rockies" in the United States ' definition of the Rocky Mountains system). The Canadian Rockies, being the northern segment of this chain, is thus defined as comprising the central-eastern section of the North American Cordillera, between the Prairies of Alberta and the Liard Plain of northeastern British Columbia to the east and the Interior Mountains / Plateau and Columbia Mountains to

972-538: The 1970s and 1980s, as the Revolutionary War's bicentennial set off a wave of patriotism and alerted Americans to the destruction of their physical heritage. The tradition of restoring homes of the past and designating them as museums draws on the English custom of preserving ancient buildings and monuments. Initially homes were considered worthy of saving because of their associations with important individuals, usually of

1026-563: The American Rockies are made mostly of metamorphic and igneous rock such as gneiss and granite . The Canadian Rockies are overall more jagged than the American Rockies, because the Canadian Rockies have been more heavily glaciated , resulting in sharply pointed mountains separated by wide, U-shaped valleys gouged by glaciers, whereas the American Rockies are overall more rounded, with river-carved V-shaped valleys between them. The Canadian Rockies are cooler and wetter, giving them moister soil, bigger rivers, and more glaciers. The tree line

1080-520: The Bow River became Banff's outfitting and guiding center. In the 1930s Peter and Catherine Whyte moved the cabin closer to their house and used it to house their Stoney friends while painting portraits. Jack Sinclair was a prospector from Australia. After settling in Banff in the 1890s, Jack began packing for his prospecting companion and friend Bill Peyto. At the outbreak of the Boer war , Jack and Bill flipped

1134-679: The Brewster Company. Catharine was born and raised in Concord, Massachusetts to a fairly affluent family. Her father had been the treasurer and Vice President of the Stone & Webster Engineering Firm and her mother was a business woman in the 1890s. Her grandfather, Edward Sylvester Morse , had been the first director of the Peabody Museum in Salem . Her affluent lifestyle gave her a great childhood, but she

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1188-675: The Canadian Rockies was the starting point of the museum and the Banff Library was incorporated in the Whyte Museum in 1970. The exhibition space saw several expansions during the 1980s and a new facility was opened in 1993. The museum acquires and exhibits art and artifacts from the Canadian Rockies , aiming to showcase the culture and history of the Rocky Mountains of Canada . Many of Byron Harmon 's photographs, pioneer photographer of

1242-525: The Canadian Rockies, are housed at the museum. Peter and Catharine Whyte met at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts . Peter was a typical "Banffite", he participated in all the activities the area offered such as skiing, hiking, horseback riding, etc. He was also an artist and had learned much by accompanying artists who came to Banff in the early 20th century, including Carl Rungius , Aldro Hibbard , and J.E.H. MacDonald . He drove tour buses and limousines for

1296-658: The Canadian Rockies, but not the highest in British Columbia, since there are some higher mountains in the Coast Mountains and Saint Elias Mountains . Mount Robson lies on the continental divide near Yellowhead Pass , one of the lowest passes in the Canadian Rockies, and is close to the Yellowhead Highway . Its base is 985 m (3,232 ft) above sea level, with a total vertical relief of 2,969 m (9,741 ft). Mount Columbia (3,747 m; 12,293 ft)

1350-536: The Canadian part of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park . The four adjacent parks, combined with three British Columbia provincial parks, were declared a single UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 for the unique mountain landscapes found there. Numerous provincial parks are located in the Canadian Rockies, including Hamber , Mount Assiniboine and Mount Robson parks. Throughout

1404-523: The Foundation died in 1979. The endowment was increased through her bequest and the remainder of the historic and artistic collections, including the Whyte and Moore homes, were left to the Foundation, which was renamed the Peter and Catharine Whyte Foundation. In 1993 a new wing was added to the Whyte Museum to help it meet its full potential as a cultural tourism generator. The new wing added 13,000 square feet to

1458-678: The Pacific Ocean drainage on the west and that of Hudson Bay and the Arctic Ocean on the east. Of the range's rivers, only the Peace River penetrates the range. Notable rivers originating in the Canadian Rockies include the Fraser , Columbia , North Saskatchewan , Bow and Athabasca Rivers . The Canadian Rockies are quite different in appearance and geology from the American Rockies to the south of them. The Canadian Rockies are composed of layered sedimentary rock such as limestone and shale , whereas

1512-474: The Rockies, and especially in the national parks, the Alpine Club of Canada maintains a series of alpine huts for use by mountaineers and adventurers. The Canadian Pacific Railway was founded to provide a link from the province of British Columbia to the eastern provinces. The main difficulty in providing such a link were the Rockies themselves: treacherous mountain passes, fast rivers and sheer drops made for

1566-731: The Saint Elias Mountains (highest point in Canada Mount Logan at 5,959 m; 19,551 ft) and the Coast Mountains (highest point Mount Waddington at 4,016 m; 13,176 ft) have higher summits. The Canadian Rockies are subdivided into numerous mountain ranges , structured in two main groupings, the Continental Ranges , which has three main subdivisions, the Front Range , Park Ranges and Kootenay Ranges , and

1620-573: The autumn they arranged with Earl Spencer to build their log home studio, still located today on Museum property. Founded and initially endowed by Peter and Catharine in 1958, the Foundation originally had a broad base of interests. As well as acting as an agency for collecting and preserving the culture of the Canadian Rockies, the Wa-Che-Yo-Cha-Pa Foundation supported medical research and Native education. Peter and Catharine's extensive collection of artifacts and historical materials formed

1674-465: The boundary is at the Canada–United States border on 49th parallel north , but in geological terms it might be considered to be at Marias Pass in northern Montana. The Canadian Rockies have numerous high peaks and ranges, such as Mount Robson (3,954 metres; 12,972 feet) and Mount Columbia (3,747 m; 12,293 ft). The Canadian Rockies are composed of shale and limestone . Much of

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1728-412: The business to include ice skating in the winter. A well trained logman, Bill built the sturdy shaped timber cabin. This small structure was where Mather's four children were raised. Bill's wife once gave birth in the cabin during a large flood; the doctor who birthed the baby was wearing a pair of hipwaders! In later years Bill's son, Allen, rented the cabin out as part of a cabin rental business. The cabin

1782-403: The elite classes, like former presidents, authors, or businessmen. Increasingly, Americans have fought to preserve structures characteristic of a more typical American past that represents the lives of everyday people. Historic house museums usually operate with small staffs and on limited budgets. Many are run entirely by volunteers and often do not meet the professional standards established by

1836-420: The era, adding to authenticity. Collective memory is sometimes used in the resurrection of historic house museums; however, not all historic house museums use this approach. The notion of collective memory originated from philosopher and sociologist Maurice Halbwachs , in "La Memoire Collective" ("On Collective Memory", 1950). This extended thesis examines the role of people and place, and how collective memory

1890-707: The existing 16,000 square foot building, which was renovated at the same time the addition was completed. The construction and renovation project increased exhibition and public space, provided expanded storage space and conservation work areas, and expanded the Museum Shop and administration areas. The new building allowed the Museum to continue to collect, preserve and exhibit its growing collections. The Heritage Collection includes artifacts relating to Aboriginal people, artists, immigrants, guides and outfitters, climbers, surveyors, hikers, explorers, adventurers, skiers and residents of

1944-446: The inclusion of joyous festivals to mask the turmoil. The Hiroshima Traces (1999) text takes a look at the importance of collective memory and how it is embedded in culture and place. Thus, collective memory does not only reside in a house or building, but it also resonates in outdoor space – particularly when a monumental event has occurred, such as war. Problematic creation of collective memory occurs within historic house museums when

1998-553: The museum industry. An independent survey conducted by Peggy Coats in 1990 revealed that sixty-five percent of historic house museums did not have a full-time staff, and 19 to 27 percent of historic homes employed only one full-time employee. Furthermore, the majority of these museums operated on less than $ 50,000 annually. The survey also revealed a significant disparity in the number of visitors between local house museums and national sites. While museums like Mount Vernon and Colonial Williamsburg were visited by over one million tourists

2052-403: The narrative of all people who lived there is dangerous. While some plantation museum narratives have changed following an outcry from the public and the academy, "plantation museums reflect, create, and contribute to racialized ways of understanding and organizing the world" by limiting or eliminating the narrative of the enslaved inhabitants. A degree of authenticity is also to be considered in

2106-537: The narrative of non-family members is dismissed, ignored, or completely rejected. Within the Southern United States, plantation museums (the former homes of enslavers) constitute a significant portion of the museum community and contribute to the racialized collective memory of the United States. Because museums are responsible for "the building of identity, cultural memory and community", neglecting to include

2160-457: The nucleus of what became known as the Archives of the Canadian Rockies. Catharine increased the Foundation's endowments in 1971 and renamed it in honour of Peter who died in 1966. The Peter Whyte Foundation ceased to give money to other causes and used all of its income to support the new building which now housed the archives, gallery and library. Catharine Whyte, founder, benefactor and President of

2214-448: The outside. These historic homes work to represent the lifestyle of Banff's earlier pioneers and the people who helped to shape the community and land into what it is today. They are aimed at preserving significant examples of Banff's earlier architectural styles and homes associated with some of the area's more noteworthy residents. The Moore home is the home of collectors and community leaders Philip and Pearl (Brewster) Moore. The house

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2268-424: The people who lived there guides this approach, and dictates the manner in which it is completed. Another alternative approach, deployed by nonprofit organization House Museum , includes contemporary art integration, where artists are invited to respond to the physical and conceptual history of a site, thus injecting contemporary perspectives and value into historic places. In each kind of museum, visitors learn about

2322-472: The previous inhabitants through an explanation and exploration of social history . The idea of a historic house museum derives from a branch of history called social history that is solely based on people and their way of living. It became very popular in the mid-twentieth century among scholars who were interested in the history of people, as opposed to political and economical issues. Social history remains an influential branch of history. Philip J. Ethington,

2376-463: The public good and the preservation of American history, especially centered on the first U.S. president, General George Washington. Since the establishment of the country's first historic site in 1850, Washington's Revolutionary headquarters in New York, Americans have found a penchant for preserving similar historical structures. The establishment of historic house museums increased in popularity through

2430-512: The range is protected by national and provincial parks, several of which collectively comprise a World Heritage Site . The Canadian Rockies are the easternmost part of the Canadian Cordillera , the collective name for the mountains of Western Canada . They form part of the American Cordillera , an essentially continuous sequence of mountain ranges that runs all the way from Alaska to the very tip of South America. The Cordillera, in turn,

2484-408: The records and archival materials of the Alpine Club of Canada . The Museum is affiliated with CMA , CHIN , and Virtual Museum of Canada . Unless specifically stated otherwise, the sources for this article are the Whyte Museum website and their online archives. Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies ( French : Rocheuses canadiennes ) or Canadian Rocky Mountains , comprising both

2538-405: The restoration and creation of a historic house museum. The space must be authentic in terms of truly replicating and representing the way it once stood in its original form and appear to be untouched and left in time. There are three steps when declaring if a space is authentic: The earliest projects for preserving historic homes began in the 1850s under the direction of individuals concerned with

2592-481: The town and area. The Whyte Museum's art collection spans the early 1800s to present day and includes regionally created and related works by Canadian and international artists. Prominent/Notable Artists and Collections: There are six homes on the property of the Whyte Museum. Two are available for entry during the summer tour season (the Moore home and the Whyte home), and the other four cabins are only able to be seen on

2646-790: The west. It is divided into the Northern Rockies (which is further subdivided into the Muskwa and Hart Ranges ) and Continental Ranges , separated by the McGregor River valley, the McGregor Pass and the Kakwa River valley. The southern end of the Canadian Rockies extends into the U.S. state of Montana at various sites such as the Wilson Range , Upper Waterton Lake , Boundary Creek , Cameron Lake , Forum Peak , Long Knife Peak , North Fork Flathead River and Frozen Lake . In geographic terms,

2700-402: Was built in 1907 on Fox Street and was later donated to the Whyte Museum in 1971, leading to its transplant onto museum property. It belonged to Philip and Pearl Moore, who were early pioneers of the area and worked to preserve a lot of Banff's earlier history. The home of Peter and Catharine (Robb) Whyte, the Museum's founders, philanthropists, world travellers and visual artists. The Whyte home

2754-576: Was built in its current location in 1930-31 just after Peter and Catharine were married. It was originally meant to be a summer home, but as time went by it turned into a year-round residence. Welcoming visitors to the town of Banff is the face of the legendary guide Bill Peyto . Ebenezer William Peyto came to Banff from England in the early 1890s. Peyto, a prospector, hunter-trapper, warden and guide, used this cabin to store his outfitting and trapping supplies. With Peyto's cabin as well as those of Jack Sinclair, Jimmy Simpson, and Fred Ballard, this property by

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2808-404: Was looking something more in her life. Peter and the Canadian Rockies offered her that; Catharine was a free spirit, and she believed in happiness over material goods. Peter and Catharine were married in 1930, and moved to Banff to start their lives together. Catharine fell in love with Pete's mountains quickly. Their first summer they dedicated to painting wilderness and First Nations people, and in

2862-610: Was moved to the Whyte property from across the river in 1977. Windy is the sole remaining example of the original backcountry cabins used by the National Parks Warden Service. It is the third of a string of cabins that enabled the wardens to patrol the park's frontiers from poaching. Built in 1911, Windy was located 45 kilometers north of Banff on the Panther River . As headquarters for the Panther River district, Windy

2916-514: Was operated year-round. In the early 1970s, worried about the deterioration of this important structure, Parks Canada moved the cabin down the Cascade fire road to its present location. The Park Warden Service furnished Windy with appropriate artifacts in 1985. The Whyte Museum's Archives & Library was established in 1966 to serve the unique mountain regions of Western Canada . The Archives & Library has various collections available, and holds

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