Jasper Place Hotel was opened in 1952, and was extensively renovated, and renamed as The Klondiker in 1967.
In 1966, Joyce Smith and her band started full time downstairs, [it was the] first hotel to have live entertainment full time; however, within 2 months every bar had live music: every hotel in AB opened a bar for entertainment.
The Klondiker, in the beginning, was nicely lit with linoleum floors, working man stopped off for beers upstairs. The downstairs was nice, peaceful and lots of couples. When renovated, upstairs held 500 people, and downstairs 300 people.
As time progressed, the upstairs moved to be a watering hole to come after work and hear some country music. The downstairs became known for a place for rock bands to cut their teeth or get a touring gig playing 6 nights a week.
We spoke to a bouncer from the early 1970’s that describes the scene:
It was a rowdy bar, in a rowdy area. There were 8 bouncers on each floor. People were thrown out for fighting mostly. If there was trouble upstairs, you’d hit a red button and the light would flash and we’d go from downstairs to upstairs to help.
Joyce Smith and George Myren tell a story of playing The Klondiker when it was switching from Country to Rock:
When we went into the club, we went in there for a week. Bikers and tough guys, they didn’t want country. Being a woman in a band, it helped that they didn’t attack the band. They dropped their drawers right in front of me. George kicked him and hit the drum cymbal and everything went crashing down. It wasn’t a pleasant thing. Really rude speaking to you. When you’re a woman in a bar…they thought all musicians were weaklings and could get away with stuff. George never missed a beat and kept playing. Middle of a song.
If you have a story of the Klondiker, we’d like to hear it!
