Canada Guide
Alberta and the Rockies
Banff Park Museum
Address: 93 Banff Ave
Opening time: Daily mid-May to Sept 10am–6pm; Oct to mid-May 1–5pm
Price: $4
The downtown Banff Park Museum, near the Bow River bridge, bulges with two floors of stuffed animals, many of which are indigenous to the park. In many ways the museum chronicles the changes of attitudes to wildlife in the park over the years. Many Victorians wanted to see the park's animals without the tiresome business of having to venture into the backcountry – so they killed and stuffed the beasts for permanent display. The hunting of game animals was eventually banned in the park in 1890, but not before populations of moose, elk, sheep, goats and grizzlies had been severely depleted. Game wardens only arrived to enforce the injunction in 1913, and even then they didn't protect the "bad" animals – wolves, coyotes, foxes, cougars, lynx, eagles, owls and hawks – which were hunted until the 1930s as part of the park's "predator-control program". Many of the stuffed victims in the museum date from this period. Sixty years ago a hapless polar bear was even displayed in the park behind the museum, one of sixty species of animals kept in the Banff Zoo and Aviary between 1904 and 1937. Until as recently as the 1970s hotels were organizing trips to the town's rubbish dumps to view foraging bears. Oddly enough, the museum – a fine building whatever your views on what's inside it – might have gone the same way as the animals. In the 1950s, changing attitudes saw the exhibits considered dated, and plans were mooted for the museum's demolition. Hovever, it survived as a fine piece of frontier Edwardiana, distinguished, in particular, by its preponderance of skylights, essential features at a time when Banff was still without electricity. The lovely wood-panelled reading room – a snug retreat, full of magazines and books on nature and wildlife – makes a perfect spot to while away a cold afternoon. In summer, by contrast, the beautiful riverside park behind the museum is ideal for a snooze or picnic.