Byron Harmon Postcards | Archives and Special Collections

Byron Harmon Postcards – Archives and Special Collections

The Glenbow Western Research Centre is open by appointment only. Please visit https://asc.ucalgary.ca/contact/ to book an appointment.

Johnson Canyon

Backcountry

Sightseers stand on one of the six log bridges built between 1910 and 1918 in Johnston Canyon, known then as “Johnson’s Canyon”.

View Postcard

Mt. Assiniboine

Backcountry

Mt. Assiniboine and Lake Magog. Known as the Matterhorn of the Rockies, the 3,618-metre-high mountain was first climbed in 1901 by James Outram.

View Postcard

Johnson Canyon

Backcountry

Bridges and staircases were built in Johnson Canyon–now known as Johnston Canyon–between 1910 and 1918. The creek and canyon is named after a prospector with the last name of “Johnston”.

View Postcard

Johnson Creek Canyon

Backcountry

A sightseer walks along one of the wooden bridges built in Johnson Canyon (Johnson Canyon) between 1910 and 1918.

View Postcard

Johnson Canyon

Backcountry

Lower Falls in Johnston Canyon (known earlier as Johnson Canyon) is the smaller of the two waterfalls along Johnston Creek, ca. 1920s. A pony trail to the Upper Falls opened in 1930.

View Postcard

Ice Berg Lake

Backcountry

The Tumbling Glacier and Berg Lake in Mount Robson Provincial Park. Mount Robson, the slopes of which can be seen in the background, is the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies. It stands at 3,954 …

View Postcard

Yoho Glacier

Backcountry

the Yoho River, a tributary of the Kicking Horse River, begins at the toe of the Yoho Glacier in Yoho National Park, B.C.

View Postcard

Takakaw Falls, Yoho Valley

Backcountry

Takakkaw Falls, in Yoho National Park, B.C., is 380 metres high, making it the second highest waterfall in Canada.

View Postcard

Tower of Babel, Lake Louise

Backcountry

The Tower of Babel, a quartzite spire that overlooks Moraine Lake in Banff National Park, was first climbed in 1957.

View Postcard

Victoria Glacier and Mt. Lefroy

Backcountry

Victoria Glacier, Mount Lefroy and the Plain of Six Glaciers near Lake Louise in Banff National Park.

View Postcard

Mt. Sir Donald

Backcountry

Mount Sir Donald, located in the Roger’s Pass, stands 3,284 metres high. The mountain was named for Sir Donald Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Canadian Pacific Railway director. Smith drove the famed …

View Postcard

Giant’s Stairway

Backcountry

Giant Steps, also known as Giant’s Stairway, sits near the end of Paradise Valley in the Lake Louise region.

View Postcard

Twin Falls

Backcountry

Twin Falls in Yoho National Park.

View Postcard

Seracs Illecillewaet Glacier

Backcountry

Mountaineers climb a serac on the 26-square-km Illecillewaet Glacier in Glacier National Park.

View Postcard

Mt. Resplendent

Backcountry

Climbers descend from the summit of Mt. Resplendent in Mount Robson Provincial Park during the 1913Alpine Club of Canada camp.

View Postcard

Lake Agnes

Backcountry

Lake Agnes in the Lake Louise region is one of the most-popular hikes in Banff National Park. The lake sits at an elevation of 2,135 metres. The Lake Agnes Tea House, which sits at the western end of …

View Postcard

Sunshine, Snowmobile on Brewster Rock

Backcountry

A snowmobile tows two skiers at Brewster Rock in the Sunshine Meadows regions in this 1950s postcard by Don Harmon, Byron Harmon’s son.

View Postcard

Tea Room, Lake Agnes

Backcountry

The Lake Agnes Tea House began as a shelter for hikers in 1901. Tea was first served in 1905, and the original building was replaced in 1981.

View Postcard

Swiss Chalet at Six Glaciers

Backcountry

The Canadian Pacific Railway built the Plain of Six Glaciers Teahouse in 1927. The hike to the teahouse gains 360 metres over 5.6 km.

View Postcard

Skiing near Mt. Temple Chalet

Backcountry

Four skiers climb the slopes near the Mt. Temple Chalet, which was completed by 1938, at what is now the Lake Louise Ski Resort.

View Postcard

Dog team on Lake Minnewanka

Backcountry

Dog sled races on Lake Minnewanka were an annual event. Banff packer Ike Mills helped to introduce dog sledding to the Canadian Rockies in the early 1920s.

View Postcard

On Saskatchewan Glacier

Backcountry

A pack horse train on the Saskatchewan Glacier during Byron Harmon’s 1924 expedition from Lake Louise to Jasper via the Saskatchewan Glacier and Columbia Icefield.

View Postcard

Dog sled at Mt. Assiniboine

Backcountry

Banff musher Ike Mills at Mt. Assiniboine. Mills hauled supplies and guests to lodges in the backcountry, including Assiniboine Lodge, which opened in 1928.

View Postcard

Mt. Fryatt

Backcountry

A wilderness camp in Mt. Fryatt region in Jasper National Park in the 1920s.

View Postcard

Lake McArthur

Backcountry

Hikers gather on the slopes near Lake McArthur, one of the lakes in the Lake O’Hara region of Yoho National Park, in the 1920s.

View Postcard

Lake O’Hara

Backcountry

Lake O’Hara sits at 2,020 metres elevation in Yoho National Park. It has drawn artists and photographers since the lake was named after Lieutenant-Colonel Richard O’Hara, who first visited the lake in …

View Postcard

Hole in the Wall

Backcountry

A group of hikers stand in The Hole in the Wall cave on Mt. Cory looking out over the Bow Valley and the Bow River.

View Postcard

Mt. Assiniboine

Backcountry

A small tipi tent used for backcountry camping in the Canadian Rockies, Mt. Assiniboine, ca. 1926.

View Postcard

Toboggan slide, Caribou Street

Banff Townsite

The Caribou Street toboggan slide held during the Banff Winter Carnival, 1924.

View Postcard

Government Bath

Banff Townsite

The Government Bath pool at the Cave and Basin Hot Springs in the 1930s.

View Postcard

Bow Valley

Banff Townsite

The Bow Valley and the Bow River looking northeast towards the Fairholme Range.

View Postcard

Banff Avenue

Banff Townsite

Banff Avenue and Cascade Mountain, 1919. The brick building, known as the Dave White Block, built in 1894, can be seen along the left side of the postcard.

View Postcard

Buffalo, Banff

Banff Townsite

Sir Donald, a bull bison that was brought to the Banff buffalo paddock in 1905, was one of the last plains bison born in the wild in Canada.

View Postcard

Banff Village

Banff Townsite

A view of the Banff townsite from the lower slopes of Mount Norquay, 1945.

View Postcard

Bow Falls

Banff Townsite

Bow Falls as seen from the viewpoint near the Banff Springs Hotel. Cascade Mountain can be seen in the background.

View Postcard

Bow River, Banff, C.P.R. Hotel

Banff Townsite

The Banff Springs Hotel first opened in 1888. The hotel, at that time constructed with wood, burned down in 1926. It was rebuilt with stone, beginning in 1928.

View Postcard

Mt. Rundle, Banff

Banff Townsite

Mount Rundle with hand-tinted colour as seen from the Vermilion Lakes northwest of Banff.

View Postcard

Sulphur Cave, Banff

Banff Townsite

The cave at the Cave and Basin National Historic Site. Three railway workers came across the cave, which was well known to local First Nations people, in 1883. The workers’ attempt to claim ownership …

View Postcard

Banff Avenue

Banff Townsite

Banff Avenue looking north from the intersection nearest the Bow River bridge towards the Mount Royal Hotel and St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church.

View Postcard

Government Bath House, Banff

Banff Townsite

The Government Bath House in Banff at the Cave and Basin, built between 1912 and 1914.

View Postcard

Bow River and Goat Mountain, Banff

Banff Townsite

Canoeists paddle on the Bow River upstream of the Banff townsite. The roof of the Sanitarium Hotel can be seen just above the trees in the mid-ground with Goat Mountain in the background.

View Postcard

Hot Springs & Bow Valley

Banff Townsite

The Banff Upper Hot Springs looking northeast into the Bow Valley past Tunnel Mountain on the left and Mount Rundle on the right.

View Postcard

Cascade Mountain

Banff Townsite

Cascade Mountain from the boat houses on the south bank of the Bow River upstream from the bridge.

View Postcard

The Hoodoos

Banff Townsite

The Banff hoodoos overlooking the Bow River gap between Tunnel Mountain and Mount Rundle.

View Postcard

Cave and Basin

Banff Townsite

The “basin” hot pool at the Cave and Basin in Banff with the original wooden bath house, 1928.

View Postcard

Yak

Banff Townsite

One of six yak brought to Banff in 1912 at the buffalo paddock east of the Banff townsite.

View Postcard

Village from Tunnel Mtn.

Banff Townsite

A view of Banff from Tunnel Mountain looking west towards the Massive Range, including Mount Bourgeau to the left and Pilot Mountain to the right.

View Postcard

Banff Springs Hotel and Bow Valley

Banff Townsite

The Banff Springs Hotel and the view towards the Fairholme Range from the northern slopes of Sulphur Mountain.

View Postcard

Toboggan Slide

Banff Townsite

A toboggan slide on Caribou Street during the 1924 Banff Winter Carnival.

View Postcard

The Corkscrew Drive

Banff Townsite

The Corkscrew Drive on Banff’s Tunnel Mountain covered 60 metres (200 hundred feet) in seven turns.

View Postcard

St. George’s In The Pines

Banff Townsite

St. George’s-In-The-Pines Anglican Church opened its doors in 1887 and is still in use today.

View Postcard

Mt. Norquay Ski Lodge

Banff Townsite

The Lone Pine Lodge at Mt. Norquay, Banff’s first ski hill, opened in 1940. Banff locals first began skiing at Mt. Norquay in 1926.

View Postcard

Government Bath House

Banff Townsite

The Government Bath House at the Cave and Basin as seen in the 1920s was designed by architects Walter S. Painter and Francis S. Swales. It was built between 1912 and 1914.

View Postcard

Homestead Hotel and Restaurant

Banff Townsite

The Homestead Hotel was replaced by the Homestead Inn in 1975, but the original dining room, which was built in 1930, is still in use.

View Postcard

Bow Valley and Mt. Rundle from Banff Chair Lift

Banff Townsite

A photo postcard of the town of Banff from Mt. Norquay by Don Harmon, Byron Harmon’s son, who continued his father’s line of postcards.

View Postcard

Championship Ski Jump

Banff Townsite

Banff championship ski jump could once be found on the slopes of Tunnel Mountain facing Cascade Mountain (image right) and the bison paddock.

View Postcard

Banff Chair Lift

Banff Townsite

Byron Harmon’s son, Don, added this photograph of the Banff Chair Lift to his line of father’s postcards in 1952.

View Postcard

Cascade Rock Gardens

Banff Townsite

The Cascade Rock Gardens, also known as the Cascade of Time Gardens, was built near the Banff National Park administration building in the 1930s.

View Postcard

Cascades of Time

Banff Townsite

Architect Harold C. Beckett envisioned the Cascades of Time Garden, built in the 1930s as a journey through the geological time periods using rocks from the different geological periods.

View Postcard

Cave and Basin Swimming Pools

Banff Townsite

The swimming pools at the Cave and Basin hot springs with the Government Bath House.

View Postcard

Swimming Pool. Banff Springs Hotel.

Banff Townsite

The outdoor swimming pool at the Banff Springs Hotel. The hotel, one of the largest resort hotels in Canada, was named a national historic site in 1988.

View Postcard

Administration Building

Banff Townsite

The Banff Park Administration Building, a federal heritage building, opened in 1936. It’s surrounding grounds covers 4.8 hectares and includes the Cascades of Time garden.

View Postcard

Banff Springs Hotel

Banff Townsite

The Banff Springs Hotel with a mounted policeman in his red serge uniform in the foreground. The Painter Tower, the centre tower, was the tallest tower in Canada when it was completed in 1914.

View Postcard

Sulphur Mountain and the Banff Springs Golf Course

Banff Townsite

Holes No. 3, 4 and 16 of the Banff Springs Golf Course, which opened in 1927, the Banff Springs Hotel and Sulphur Mountain.

View Postcard

Banff Springs Hotel and Club House

Banff Townsite

The club house at the Banff Springs Golf Course, built in 1927, now serves as a restaurant.

View Postcard

Windy No. 4 Green and Fairway

Banff Townsite

The No. 4 green and fairway at the Banff Springs Golf Course, designed by Stanley Thompson in 1928. The golf course first opened in 1911.

View Postcard

Banff Avenue from Bridge

Banff Townsite

Banff Avenue and the Bow River Bridge looking north towards Cascade Mountain, circa 1940s.

View Postcard

Upper Hot Springs

Banff Townsite

The swimming pool at the Upper Hot Springs on Sulphur Mountain, circa 1932.

View Postcard

Upper Hot Springs

Banff Townsite

The hot springs pool at the Upper Hot Springs sits at an elevation of 1,585 metres (5,200 feet). The bathhouse opened July 1, 1932.

View Postcard

Banff Avenue, 1940s

Banff Townsite

Banff Avenue in the 1950s as seen in this postcard by Byron Harmon’s son, Don Harmon.

View Postcard

Banff Avenue, 1930s

Banff Townsite

Banff Avenue and Cascade Mountain, circa 1934. The King Edward Hotel, which can be seen in the left side of the photograph was first built as a three-storey wooden structure in 1904.

View Postcard

Banff Avenue, 1920s

Banff Townsite

Banff Avenue, circa 1920s. The original Mount Royal Hotel, built in 1908, with its matching white towers can be seen in the midground of the photograph. Beyond that stands St. Paul’s Presbyterian Chur …

View Postcard

Banff Avenue, 1950s.

Banff Townsite

Banff Avenue and Cascade Mountain in a real photo postcard from the 1950s by Don Harmon, Byron Harmon’s son.

View Postcard

Banff Avenue from Bridge

Banff Townsite

Banff Avenue and the Bow River Bridge, constructed from concrete and stone and completed in 1921, looking north towards Cascade Mountain, 1934.

View Postcard

Cascade Mountain and Banff village

Banff Townsite

Banff Avenue and the Bow River Bridge in the 1920s. The bridge opened for use in 1921, replacing a narrow iron truss bridge.

View Postcard

Cascade Mountain

Banff Townsite

The Bow River Bridge opened in 1921. It was modelled after a design by Calgary architect Thomas Mawson, whose grand designs envisioned Calgary as Vienna on the Bow.

View Postcard

Banff Avenue in winter

Banff Townsite

Tipis line the median of Banff Avenue during the 1925 Banff Winter Carnival.

View Postcard

Banff Avenue, 1920s

Banff Townsite

Banff Avenue and Cascade Mountain, circa 1920s. A man on horseback can be seen in the foreground riding along the northbound lane.

View Postcard

Mountain goat

Banff Townsite

A mountain goat at the Banff buffalo paddock. The paddock also housed elk, moose, deer, even yaks, along with a herd of bison.

View Postcard

Cinnamon bear

Banff Townsite

A cinnamon black bear kept at the Banff Park Zoo in Central Park. The zoo operated from 1905 to 1937. The zoo held two black bears, a polar bear, cougars, and monkeys.

View Postcard

Banff Chair Lift

Banff Townsite

Byron Harmon’s son, Don, added this photograph of the Banff Chair Lift at Mount Norquay to his line of father’s postcards in 1952.

View Postcard

Buffalo

Banff Townsite

Plains bison, decedents of animals first brought to Banff in 1897 and in 1908, graze in the paddock at the base of Cascade Mountain east of Banff.

View Postcard

Skiing at Mt. Norquay

Banff Townsite

Two skiers on the upper slopes of Mt. Norquay ski area with Mt. Rundle and the town of Banff in the background in this photograph taken by Don Harmon, Byron Harmon’s son. This postcard is postmarked 1 …

View Postcard

Mt. Norquay Chair Lift

Banff Townsite

A skier rides the Mt. Norquay chair lift, which opened in 1948, in this 1952 photograph by Byron Harmon’s son, Don Harmon.

View Postcard

Ski jumping at Mt. Norquay

Banff Townsite

A ski jumper soars from the ski jump at Mt. Norquay. Austrian mountaineer Conrad Kain built the first ski jump in Banff on Tunnel Mountain in 1917.

View Postcard

On Field Hill.

Transportation

Passengers stand at the back of a train as it enters the Upper Spiral Tunnel.

View Postcard

Snow Peak Ave. Emerald Lake.

Transportation

A car drives along Snow Peak Avenue (Emerald Lake Road). Mt. Stephen can be seen in the background.

View Postcard

Great Divide Gate

Transportation

The gate at the Great Divide, the Alberta-B.C. border and the height of land that causes the rivers and streams to flow either east or west.

View Postcard

Snow Tunnel. Yoho Road.

Transportation

A car drives through a snow tunnel on the Yoho Road while two of the passengers look on from above.

View Postcard

Anthracite Hill. Banff-Calgary Highway.

Transportation

Cars on the Anthracite Hill on the Banff-Calgary Highway (now the Trans-Canada Highway) with Cascade Mountain in the background.

View Postcard

Near Bow Summit. Louise – Jasper Highway.

Transportation

The Louise-Jasper highway (now the Icefields Parkway) crosses the alpine meadow at Bow Summit. Bow Lake is visible beyond the road and Bow Peak and Crowfoot Mountain can be seen in the background.

View Postcard

Mt. Chephren. Louise – Jasper Highway

Transportation

The Louise-Jasper Highway (now the Icefields Parkway) passes through the forest with Mt. Chephren in the background.

View Postcard

Radium Hot Springs and Gateway.

Transportation

Bird’s eye view of Radium Hot Springs and the Kootenay National Park gateway.

View Postcard

Field-Golden Highway

Transportation

The Field-Golden highway (Trans-Canada Highway) as it runs along the steep cliffs of the Kicking Horse Canyon.

View Postcard

Castle Mtn and Auto Rd.

Transportation

What is now the Bow Valley Parkway passes through the forest towards Castle Mountain.

View Postcard

Golden, B.C.

Transportation

Golden, B.C. as seen from an overlook along the Banff-Golden Highway, circa 1930s.

View Postcard

Chateau. Lake Louise.

Transportation

An open tram on the Lake Louise Tramway approaches Chateau Lake Louise, circa 1920.

View Postcard

Mt. Rundle and Banff-Windermere Auto Road

Transportation

The Banff-Windermere Auto Road west of Mt. Rundle and the Banff townsite.

View Postcard

The Iron Gates Entering Sinclair Canyon

Transportation

The Iron Gates in Sinclair Canyon, Kootenay National Park, circa 1920s.

View Postcard

Mt. Whymper. Banff Windermere Auto Road.

Transportation

Mt. Whymper and the Banff-Windermere Auto Road through Kootenay National Park, circa 1920s.

View Postcard

On Auto Road to Moraine Lake.

Transportation

A car travels down the Moraine Lake Road, circa 1920s. Mt. Babel can be seen in the background on the left.

View Postcard

Banff Station

Transportation

Buses bound for Banff hotels, including the Mount Royal Hotel, sit outside the Banff train station in the early 1920s.

View Postcard

Three Sisters

Transportation

The Three Sisters near Canmore, east of Banff, were at one time within the Banff National Park boundaries. The boundaries were changed in 1930 to remove coal mining and limestone quarrying from the pa …

View Postcard

On Field Hill

Transportation

Locomotives pull an east-bound freight train up Field Hill in 1923 towards the top of the Kicking Horse Pass in Yoho National Park east of Field, B.C. The Kicking Horse River can be seen in the backgr …

View Postcard

Lake Louise rail depot

Transportation

The Canadian Pacific Railway station at Lake Louise. Construction of Canada’s transcontinental railway reached Lake Louise in the fall of 1883.

View Postcard

At Johnson Canyon, Banff

Transportation

The Bow Valley Parkway in 1931 at Johnston Creek and Johnston Canyon with Castle Mountain in the background.

View Postcard

Lake Minnewanka, Banff

Transportation

A car travels along the Lake Minnewanka Road in the late 1920s.

View Postcard

Mt. Edith

Transportation

A car travels west from Banff, ca. 1920s. Mt. Edith can be seen in the background.

View Postcard

Cathedral Peak

Transportation

A train approaches the Lower Spiral Tunnel entrance with Cathedral Peak in the background.

View Postcard

Railroad Y.M.C.A. Field, B.C., 1949

Transportation

The Y.M.C.A. in Field, B.C., also known as Mount Stephen House, with Mount Stephen in the background.

View Postcard

Lower Spiral Tunnel.

Transportation

A locomotive exits the Lower Spiral Tunnel with passenger cars still on the track above it.

View Postcard

Engine 5919

Transportation

Engine 5919, the last of the first series of ‘selkirk’ locomotives built in 1929, at the Field, B.C. station.

View Postcard

The Switchback. Yoho Road.

Transportation

A bus climbs the switchback on the Yoho Valley Road as it makes it way up from the Yoho River.

View Postcard

Castle Mtn. from Vermillion Summit, 1931.

Transportation

A car drives along the Banff-Windermere Highway towards the Bow Valley and Castle Mountain.

View Postcard

Entering Lower Spiral Tunnel and Mt. Stephen, Field, B.C.

Transportation

A colour-tinted image of a train approaching the Lower Spiral Tunnel with Mt Stephen in the background.

View Postcard