Guests in the new ballroom at the Norland Historic Estate on Tuesday (Lethbridge News Now)

By Justin Goulet

Norland Historic Estate celebrates opening of new ballroom

Jun 19, 2019 | 12:18 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Tuesday was a monumental day at the Norland Historic Estate in Lethbridge.

Staff held the official grand opening of the site’s new ballroom. Over the last six months, crews have worked hard to add about 4,500 square feet on to the property.

“The purpose of doing that is to allow us to host year-round events at this venue, up to about 300 people capacity is our maximum,” said one of the Norland Estate ownership partners Marci Stickel.

“Prior to that, year-round, we were only able to host about 100 people comfortably. This really allows us to open up our doors to a wider variety of clients and events.”

Stickel said the project went by very quickly, with talks beginning last year. The design work was done by Ian Moxon Architect, a firm based in Lethbridge.

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The front entrance of the Norland Historic Estate (Lethbridge News Now)

“What was really important to us was to match the architecture and the feel of the original property, which was built in (1909) as a family home,” she said.

“We wanted this addition to really tie into the existing architecture and landscape and we feel we’ve been successful in doing that.”

STEEPED IN HISTORY

Stickel said the home took about two to three years to build. It was first built as a “catalogue home” ordered by the property’s original owner, Charles Roland Daniel.

Catalogue homes were popular in the early 1900s and allowed buyers to choose their dream home from a catalogue. The pieces of the home were then shipped out by train and the buyer built it themselves or by hiring workers to piece the residence together. Homes varied in size.

Historical photo of the Norland (Image courtesy the Galt Museum & Archives)

The 7,500 square foot Southern Colonia Style Norland Estate includes five guest rooms on the second floor, and Stickel said those are all available as part of their wedding packages.

The first floor includes a living room and dining room.

Stickel noted that weddings make up much of the current bookings at the Lethbridge property.

“Due to the capacity that was here before, we probably would do about 20 to 25 (weddings). Now, with the increased capacity, we are doing two or three weddings per weekend, so in a full year we will definitely do over 100 weddings at this property,” she said.

Guests mingle in the back patio area of the Norland on Tuesday (Lethbridge News Now)

The Norland also features nine acres of landscaped property, with a garden and gazebo.

SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT

Stickel said she feels a great sense of pride, looking at the new ballroom addition.

“When I walked into the ballroom once it was pretty much complete, I just had this overwhelming sense of awe and I realized that I was standing in a space that, in 100 years from now, hopefully there are still going to be weddings and celebrations held in this space,” she told Lethbridge News Now on Tuesday.

“I’m very thankful to the entire team, my partner Dale – who is the property manager, and my father – who is the gardener of the property. It takes a whole team to run a venue like this.”

The Norland is partnered with local company LA Chefs Catering & Events for bookings at the estate. More details about the property can be found at www.thenorland.com.