Fill ’er up!
In 1906, the city landscape changed forever. This was the year the first automobile arrived. The car was a 1905 Maxwell runabout imported from the Maxwell-Briscoe Motor Company, the predecessor to Chrysler. The owner was Dr. Charles F. Smith, medical officer for the CPR. Smith’s car caused a sensation as many people had never seen a car before, horses bolted and dogs yelped as the vehicle approached.
When the first car arrived, there were no gas stations. Although refined gas was available for Smith’s new car, Smith also experimented with several other fuels, such as alcohol, kerosene and a combination of kerosene and gasoline.
In June 1907, Smith and Alf Peard, former gunsmith and machinist, now the first local car dealer, invited 30 car enthusiasts to witness a novel demonstration, running the Maxwell car on local natural gas. For the experiment, the carburetor was slightly altered and the 12 horsepower car successfully completed a three-mile stretch on the local race track to the satisfaction of the spectators, many of whom provided “strong arm work on the crank when getting the car started.”
There were initially no repair shops in Medicine Hat. That soon changed with the huge increase in automobiles. By 1910, there were three garages which repaired autos and held manufacturing agencies. One of these was “Medicine Hat Garage,” founded by Earl Drake, and located on what is today the parking lot of the Royal Canadian Legion. It became the dealer for Studebaker and Hudson.
In the spring of 1917, to satisfy an ever-growing demand for cars, service and gasoline, a new two-storey brick building was constructed specifically as a full-service garage by part owner A. P. Burns. Located next to St. John’s Church, the building became the new home of “Medicine Hat Garage.” Under the proprietorship of Drake and auto mechanic Ed Middleton, the business transitioned from the old location in the Flats to the downtown core.
On July 9, 1917, the new garage opened its doors. “Medicine Hat Garage” occupied the building for 29 years, holding the dealership for Dodge, Chevrolet and Plymouth. In 1946, Gardner Motors moved into the building for a short time before relocating across the street.
Today the building, modernized in the 1970s and repurposed for office space, is known as the Rellim Building, a name coined using the mirrored lettering of then owner, local businessman and former alderman, Jim Miller.
As a commercial building celebrating its centennial, this is the second of a threepart series featuring this year’s centennial buildings.
Malcolm Sissons is the Chair of the Heritage Resources Committee. This article was researched and prepared by Committee Member Sally Sehn.