BANFF – The Town of Banff is relocating an historic cabin within the Banff recreation grounds to use it as a base for environmental and after-school outdoor programs.
Known as the Rundle Campground Service Building #2, the 1924 log cabin adjacent to the skate park and ball diamonds will be moved further to the northeast on the rec grounds. The Municipal Planning Commission approved the development permit to do so on Wednesday morning (Sept. 11).
Town of Banff officials say this building, and the Middle Springs cabin, are the only two remaining cabins in Banff that formed part of the original Rundle Campground, which was located on what is now the Banff Springs Golf Course.
Dave Michaels, the Town’s development services manager, said the buildings have architectural value as excellent examples of early rustic design, and cultural value for their association with the development of the Rundle campground.
“The cabins are associated with the development of recreation in the national park and specifically the shifting nature of tourism brought on by the advance and popularity of the personal automobile,” he said.
The building is currently used as a storage facility for sporting equipment.
Once relocated, the building will be used as programming space for environmental and outdoor education programs offered through the Town of Banff and other user groups that operate in Banff, for example, Scouts Canada.
The cabin would serve as the base for the Town of Banff after-school outdoor program for children, such as Into the Wild, which focuses on reconnecting children to nature and helping them build a relationship to the national park they live in.
It’s believed the cabin was an administrative building for the campground, given a large window under the east facing gable is removable and when opened, functions as a drive-in service desk.
