About Us
The Alberta Treasury Branch opened on the main floor of the building in 1939. Then in 1957, for reasons that are not entirely clear, the building was moved two lots south to its present location.
From 1962 to 1980 the Camrose Public Library occupied the main floor, with a children’s library in the basement.
The building was officially recognized as a Provincial Historic Resource in 1978, and was renovated shortly thereafter to restore the building to its former glory.
Since then, the building has served many functions, such as office space for numerous companies and organizations, including a popular local cafe.
This historic landmark was built in 1908 by the Camrose Chapter of the Canadian Club. Their mission was to promote Canadian patriotism, share ideas, and help communicate important news from the Prime Minister to the citizens across the country.
In 1918, the building was sold to the government. In the decades that followed, it was occupied by various government offices, such as the District Agriculturist office.
The Provincial Courthouse operated out of the top floor between 1931-1957. A second stairway was added to the front exterior, along with a private stairway off the back to allow access to the judges quarters.
Our family has such fond memories of stopping at
D Dutchmen Dairy for ice cream after long drives through the mountains over summer vacation. We admired their dedication to quality and multi-generational legacy, so when we decided to set up our own ice cream parlour we knew we had to get the crème de la crème.
For over a decade, our family spent summers travelling across Alberta, visiting fairs, music festivals, and trade shows as a pop-up ice cream shoppe, Over the Rainbow.
It was fun to be on the road, but it was always our dream to open a permanent location in our hometown of Camrose.
For all the memories this building holds from the past, we also saw all the promise it held for the future. We purchased it many years ago, and in 2017 we were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to make our dream of opening our own business a reality
We chose to name our shoppe MainStreet 1908 to pay homage to the historic significance of the building and to help revitalize our city’s beautiful downtown business district.
