The Lacombe Home was built by the legendary
Father Albert Lacombe, a priest of the Oblate Order and one of the best known and most revered early missionaries to work in Western Canada. The Lacombe Home was built on 200 acres of land near Midnapore donated by equally legendary local cattleman
Pat Burns. As well as the land, Burns also donated beef, dairy products and dairy cattle to the home. Lumber, coal, cash, even transportation of materials were all donated to build the home by well heeled friends of the Father.
Officially opened in 1910, the home continued in operation until fire claimed it in 1999. Several ancillary buildings survive, including the water tower, the site now the campus of
St. Mary's University. St. Mary's, which had its beginnings in 1985, moved to the site in 1999, offering a liberal arts program.
The 80 foot tall water tower, built entirely of heavy timers, once held 1,898 litres of water which supplied the home for several decades. Taken out of operation in 1959, the water tower stood unused for well over half a century. While there was consideration given to demolishing the tower, it survived until 2011 when the new president and vice-chancellor of the university saw value in the structure and by 2018 had turned it into an art gallery,
The Mauro Gallery.
An article from the Calgary Herald, excerpted below supplies further detail
Historic water tower at St. Mary's University
converted to art gallery
DAVID PARKER, CALGARY HERALD | Updated: April 8, 2018
On his initial tour of the St. Mary’s University Campus in 2011 after arriving in Calgary from his previous position in Sydney, Australia, president and vice-chancellor Gerry Turcotte says he was struck by the prominence of the tall wooden water tower.
Although there were those who murmured about demolishing it, Turcotte says the tower became somewhat of an obsession with him and he began to devise plans that would not only save the historic structure but transform it into a useful structure as well as a point of pride for students, faculty and staff.
It ceased functioning in 1959 after 38 years of good use, but since then it has been painted and stabilized but had no purpose other than to stand watch over campus happenings.
What to do with it? Many staff had never even been inside the door of what had no more use than a garden shed, to wander through the debris, scrap timber, and even a broken down grand piano that cluttered the ground floor.
Turcotte chose to not only inspect that area but climb the rather rickety standing ladder 80 feet to the top which meant also maneuvering his body through the trap door to the floor housing the massive tank that used to hold 1,898 litres of water.
The experience made him all the more determined to find a good use, and tonight it will be the scene of a reception to open the water tower in its exciting new role as The Mauro Gallery thanks to a generous donation by Tom and Debra Mauro.
Thanks to the skilled heritage architects at Chalmers Heritage Conservation, The Mauro Gallery will be used as a classroom and meeting space as well as an ideal small space to hang art. The huge timbers have been completely steam-cleaned and the area restored and renovated in a heritage manner showing off the original water pump as its centrepiece located directly below the high sky-lighted interior roof structure.
From The Calgary Herald