Description of Historic Place

Windy Lodge Warden Cabin, located in Banff National Park of Canada, near the Panther River, at the Base of Panther Mountain, is a simple, rectangular, one-storey timber structure. Constructed with horizontal wood siding, it has a hipped-gable roof. A wooden deck wraps around the building on two sides, and a small gable supported by wooden brackets shelters the front door. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

The Windy Lodge Warden Cabin is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values.

Historical value:
The Windy Lodge Warden Cabin is a useful example of a building designed as a residence for wardens patrolling the backcountry of Banff National Park of Canada. The building reflects the growing trend in the 1950s to station wardens in the backcountry with their families. It is one of the few surviving examples of a warden cabin containing a nuclear bomb-shelter. It is also associated with the ideals of protecting and enhancing designated wilderness areas for the pleasure and benefit of the Canadian people.

Architectural value:
The Windy Lodge Warden Cabin is a good example of a structure that reflects the aesthetics favoured by National Parks in the west during the early to mid 20th century. It is a good functional structure built to reflect its picturesque setting.

Environmental value:
Situated near the confluence of the Panther River and Wigmore Creek at the base of Panther Mountain, the Windy Lodge Warden Cabin maintains its relationship with its natural surroundings. Associated with the Windy Lodge Warden Cabin are the gable- roofed barn, and a corral constructed of logs. It is familiar to wardens and hikers within the park.

Source: Windy Lodge Warden Cabin, Banff National Park, Banff, Alberta. Heritage Character Statement 93-107.

Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements of the Windy Lodge Warden Cabin should be respected.

Its Rustic style, utilitarian design and craftsmanship as manifested in:
- the simple, rectangular, low massing of the one-storey structure;
- the hipped-gable roof clad in asphalt shingles with a smaller gable roofed addition at the rear;
- the use of horizontal wood siding for the walls;
- the wooden deck which wraps around the building on two sides;
- the small gable supported by wooden brackets sheltering the front door.

The manner in which the Windy Lodge Warden Cabin is compatible with the mountain park setting of Banff National Park of Canada.