FedHeritage Railway Station · 1914–1915Canadian Pacific Railway Station, Empress, AlbertaRailway Ave. and Centre StreetPhoto: Windrider6 (Bruce A. Johnson) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
Canadian Pacific Railway Station, Empress, Alberta · Photo: Windrider6 (Bruce A. Johnson) · CC BY-SA 4.01historic place on the registers
History of Special Area No. 2 · Canada’s heritage registers
Special Area No. 2 has 1 historic place on the registers
Canadian Pacific Railway Station, Empress, Alberta, from 1914, is Special Area No. 2’s heritage railway station. For the municipality itself, Wikidata has April 7, 1959, which can be an incorporation or a merger rather than a founding.
Historic places
1
Highest designations
0
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings
Other federal designations
1
Recognized buildings, railway stations, lighthouses
Oldest building
1914
the first construction date on its record
Homes built before 1961
23%
typical town: 18%
The map
Where Special Area No. 2’s history is
Every place on the registers inside the town, by its designation.
Other federal designations
Tap any dot to open that place’s own page; hovering shows its name.
The 1, by tier
1 Other federal designations
Federal designations come from Parks Canada’s directory; a province’s or a council’s own listing shows here only when Wikidata holds it and an encyclopedia covers it.
Points from Wikidata (Parks Canada’s files carry none) and from Québec’s register, as mapped there.
Other federal designations
One other place Canada recognizes in Special Area No. 2
Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings, heritage railway stations and lighthouses. Each one opens its own page.
Around the town
2 designated places lie within 100 km of Special Area No. 2
The mix: a heritage railway station and a provincial or municipal listing. Closest of all is “Former Canadian Northern Railway Station, Hanna, Alberta”, in Hanna, 24 km off. Hanna and Drumheller hold most of them, among 2 towns.
The 2 nearest, within 100 km
| Former Canadian Northern Railway Station, Hanna, AlbertaHeritage Railway Station · 1913–1914 · 24 km away, in Hanna |
| The Atlas Coal Mine National Historic SiteNational historic site of Canada · 67 km away, in Drumheller |
Homes by age
The biggest share of Special Area No. 2’s homes dates from 1981 to 2000: 39%
From 2016 to 2021 Special Area No. 2 added 3.1% of its homes, less than the typical town’s 4.1%. 23% of Special Area No. 2’s homes were built before 1961, against 18% in the typical town. Half of the homes standing in Special Area No. 2 today were built before 2001.
23%
Before 1961
23%
1961–80
39%
1981–2000
13%
2001–15
3.1%
2016–21
Special Area No. 2Typical town
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
In brief
Special Area No. 2 in brief
Special Area No. 2’s homes from before 1961 come to 23%, against 18% in the typical town. The count is 1 historic place. The rest is about typical: its designation dates from 1991.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Provincial and municipal lists. Outside Québec, provinces’ and municipalities’ heritage registers aren’t open data; their places are known only through Wikidata items with a register number, and only those with an encyclopedia article get a page.
- The tiers. Three tiers: the top for National Historic Sites, classified federal buildings and Québec’s classements, a second for the other federal designations, a third for provincial and municipal listings.
- The grade. History is described, not graded, for every Canadian town.
- Map points. Pins for federal places come from Wikidata rather than Parks Canada, which gives no points.
- Protection. Being on these registers doesn’t mean a building can’t change. Federal designation commemorates; protection is provincial or municipal, and those lists aren’t open here.
- The federal register. Every federal designation is in Parks Canada’s directory, and the Canadian Register of Historic Places gives most of them a bilingual statement of significance.
- People and events. Parks Canada’s open file gives its national historic persons no place. A town’s page names one only when the person was born there (matched by name and both life years) or one of its own historic places carries the name and its record speaks of them; national historic events stay off.
Questions about Special Area No. 2’s history
How many historic places does Special Area No. 2 have on the registers?
The registers list 1 historic place inside Special Area No. 2.
What is the oldest building in Special Area No. 2?
Canadian Pacific Railway Station, Empress, Alberta — its record dates it to 1914 (Heritage Railway Station).
How old are the homes in Special Area No. 2?
The 2021 Census dates 23% of its homes before 1961 (18% in the typical town).
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada (Parks Canada).
Sources: Parks Canada, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations · Canadian Register of Historic Places (federal extract) · Wikidata (CC0) for map points, other names and articles · Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (homes by period of construction). Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).