Calgary – The City of Calgary, Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) and Arts Commons, as partners in delivering the Arts Commons and Olympic Plaza Transformation projects, are offering a final opportunity to commemorate the bricks in Olympic Plaza prior to construction and demolition starting in January 2025.
“We understand there is still an interest from Calgarians, who purchased an Olympic brick in 1988, to retrieve them,” says Thom Mahler, Director of Downtown Strategy. “While it is not feasible to remove all 33,000 bricks due to their age and condition, The City and our partners at CMLC will attempt to extract bricks for Calgarians who remain interested.”
Beginning Tuesday, Dec. 10, Calgarians can register their interest in retrieving their brick at Calgary.ca/OlympicPlaza. This opportunity is only for original purchasers or those connected to an original purchaser. Registration will close 8 p.m. on Dec. 18.
“This attempt to retrieve bricks adds to the commemorative activities that were undertaken earlier this fall, including the Brick by Brick events hosted in September, where more than 300 Calgarians came down to the plaza to complete a name rubbing, and to capture professional photography of their bricks,” said Kate Thompson, CMLC President and CEO. “Additionally, CMLC, The City, Arts Commons and the Olympic Plaza Transformation design team are exploring how the plaza’s Olympic legacy is represented thematically in the new plaza, and we are developing a digital archive of the plaza, which provides varied perspectives of the plaza’s 1988-2024 chapter.”
“We look forward to sharing the design for the new Olympic Plaza in early 2025,” said Alex Sarian, President and CEO of Arts Commons. “We are confident that the new plaza will serve many more Calgarians for generations to come in its next chapter, and are supportive of the many efforts undertaken to commemorate the plaza’s legacy.”
Over time, many bricks have been damaged or replaced, and because of their age, condition, construction and the materials used to install them, it’s unlikely that all bricks can be successfully removed intact.
For verified brick purchasers whose bricks are successfully removed, bricks will be available for pick-up in person on Friday, Jan. 3, and Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. Further details will be shared via email for those who have been verified through the registration process.
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