The Saga of the 1988 Olympic Brick

Happy New Year!

As some of you may or may not know, I was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, sometime in the late 1900s. You might also remember that Calgary hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics, famous for its heartwarming underdog stories like Eddie the Eagle and the Jamaican Bobsled Team.

During that time, the City created Olympic Plaza in the downtown core, right across from City Hall. As part of the celebration, they offered citizens the chance to buy and personalize a brick to be laid in the plaza, FOREVER. The price for this slice of immortality? Just $19.88, which included one line of text. My Dad bought one.

I don’t recall ever seeing the brick in person back then. Fast forward to 2024 when, in the name of progress, the City announced plans to remove all the bricks, transform Olympic Plaza, and expand the adjacent Performing Arts Centre as part of the Arts Commons Transformation Project.

To give people a chance to say goodbye, the City set up a website where you could locate your brick, to then take pictures, or visit it one last time. Searching for our brick in 2024, however, was impossible. I had no idea what was written on it. Every variation of our names returned zero results. Then, somehow, my Dad found the old purchase order, which revealed what was inscribed on our brick. I could only laugh when I found out what it said. 

With that information in hand, I found the approximate location of our brick and made a trip to Olympic Plaza with my son, sister, and nephew. We paid homage to a silly old brick and took some photos.

You’re probably wondering what our brick says. Did we go with something simple and logical, like our family surname? No. That would’ve been too boring, too ordinary. Instead, we chose five seemingly random bits of text, gibberish to anyone but our family. Over time, those nicknames lost their meaning, and I had to dive deep into my memories to remember them. To 5 people in the world, it makes sense.

GLC VIN NUFF KISS BOO

I was satisfied with the photos but then read that some brick owners wanted their bricks and were upset they weren't being saved or relocated. I guess all the complaints made a difference and the City saved as many as they could and you could register to pick up your brick. I had missed the deadline but somehow, and unsurprisingly, my Dad made some calls and probably several emails and was able to find our brick and he picked it up just a few days ago. 

I now have the brick and plan to clean it thoroughly, because let's be honest, it has to have accumulated a variety of unknown pathogens and germs since 1988. 

Over the last 36 years, these bricks have witnessed the hustle and bustle of downtown life in Olympic Plaza. The good, such as ice skating in the winter and also celebrations and events, but also the bad parts that come with being in a high traffic and high crime area.

If bricks could talk....

All the best to all of you in 2025! 

Signs & Rooflines

Long before Forest Lawn was a neighbourhood in Calgary, it began as settlement of homesteaders in 1910. In 1935 the Village of Forest Lawn was formed by amalgamating 2 villages (Albert Park and Forest Lawn). Forest Lawn became a town in 1953 and a few years later, in 1961, it was annexed by the City of Calgary. 

If you're from Calgary, the name Forest Lawn probably brings up an opinion, stereotype, or pre-conceived notion of the area. While it may have an 'it's complicated' relationship status with the rest of the city, there is no doubt that it is also a unique and culturally diverse part of the city. The main street through the area, 17th Avenue SE, is now known as International Avenue. 

I lived and worked in the area for many years and saw lots of good things, met great people, and made great memories. I worked at a bank and also a flower shop on 17th Avenue SE and also owned 2 homes in the area, one of which is where I was living when my son was born. I also saw some not so good things, including my first ever dead body...but that is another story. 

If you didn't already know, I am a fan of old signs, especially old and vintage neon signs. On a recent drive around my old neighbourhoods, I stopped for a picture of 2 of my favourite signs. This building below, built in 1965 (thanks to Chris at BigDoer for that info), with the wonderful roofline, is in the heart of International Avenue.

The 4 Seas sign lives on, even after the restaurant is long gone.

A block west from the 4 Seas is Paradise Lanes. Still open for business.

I barely scratched the surface of International Avenue and may have to dive a bit deeper for a future post. Thanks for visiting.

91 Years Young

View from the top looking North, this shows the 2 tallest buildings downtown Calgary.

626ft/191m

My Nana turned 91 on April 25th. When you get to be that age you deserve to celebrate your birthday in style. You may have read one of my first posts about our helicopter ride in the mountains to celebrate her 90th....well this year it was a surprise limo ride to the Calgary Tower and dinner at the revolving restaurant. These are 2 things that I myself have never done. My Grad date really dropped the ball on the whole limo thing back when I graduated Grade 12 because it seems everyone but me had a limo for their grad. Also I guess I just never got around to eating at the Tower before. Ah well, ancient history!

Nana was completely surprised to see the limo. She's pretty easy to surprise as her hearing is not so great and she doesn't really hear plans being made. All 11 of us settled into the limo and took the scenic route to the Calgary Tower, Nana enjoyed every minute of it. It did not have a sunroof, so no re-enacting famous movie scenes. Darn it.

With our reservations at the Sky 360 restaurant, we got free access to the observation deck. My son was beyond stoked to be able to step on the glass floor. My bro-in-law wanted to download the sound of breaking glass on his phone...but that would have been cruel right?! Yes, definitely a bad idea.

Nana, Hayden, Me

You can dress me up and take me out.

Looking SW, Rocky Mountains to the West

Saddledome and Stampede Park looking SE

Looking NE: City Hall, Bow River, and the shadowy part at the top is where I grew up.

Once we did the full circle tour of the observation deck and pointed out places we recognized, it was time for dinner. which was one level higher. Drinks, appetizers, main course and don't forget dessert! The food was delicious and the service was excellent. With it being a revolving restaurant, our view was slowly changing and the sun was going down so it was a lovely way to enjoy a first class meal.  I highly recommend the roast chicken and risotto, but the arctic char, strip loin and bison ribs all got rave reviews (as did the grilled cheese and fries for the 7 year old).

The restaurant does a full revolution in just over an hour. We were there for 2.5 turns. The limo brought us back to my Aunt and Uncles house, Nana was tired and my son was hyper. We called it a night. Here's looking forward to celebrating 92 next year with Nana and the family.

These are a Few of my Favourite Calgary Things

A River Runs Through It.  Bow River, Calgary. 

Have you ever been to a dueling pianos show?  If not, I highly recommend it.  I went last night with 7 other ladies out without their kids and most of us moms needed a night out...badly. It was a great night and subsequently blogging is hard today.

Calgary Tower 191m tall

I have mentioned before that I was born and raised in Calgary and lived there for over 3 decades until 3 years ago.  I have seen lots of changes over the years, I used to live near the edge of the city and played and rode my bike in dirt fields and now there are houses as far as the eye can see. The old saying, "you can get anywhere in 20 minutes" used to be true and I could get just about anywhere I needed to go in 20 minutes.  Now I could maybe do that at 3am. With no traffic. While speeding. There are communities I've never heard of and it seems like the drivers have become even worse every time I come home. Still it's home and I love it. Nothing beats the view of the downtown skyline with the Rocky Mountains in the background.

I have been going through some of my photos and love remembering what I was doing when I took each photo. I also see lots of photos I've taken, and the building or sign is now gone, which is sad.  Some places though have been restored or renovated which is nice to see! Always good to preserve history, I wish it happened more.

'Wonderland' by Jaume Plensa,  AKA Big Giant Head. Sculpture outside the Bow Tower,
now the 2nd tallest building in Calgary now that the Brookfield Place is being built. 

Glass Floor of the Calgary Tower Observation Deck. 

Frosst Books Building in Inglewood, now demolished. 

I am a big fan of Oddments.  Building now demolished.

St. Louis Hotel, now restored and open! Ralph Klein Drank Here!
The glass building in the background is City Hall.

Refurbished Eamon's sign at the Tuscany Train Station

No post of mine, about Calgary, would be complete with out mention of Eamons Bungalow Camp. This used to be along Crowchild Trail in NW Calgary and was a "One Stop" Tourist Centre, drive in diner, gas station, and motel. I can just picture all the cool 50's style cars stopping here on their way west!

It opened in 1949 and closed for good in the mid 60's when the Trans Canada highway was completed and this route became less traveled. It was eventually moved to make for development and the Tuscany C-Train Transit expansion. The actual service station building sat in a city storage yard for years as it's fate was decided. It was eventually sold for $10 after costing the city to keep it in storage. Not everyone saw the value in this piece of history but I am sure tax payer dollars have been spent on more foolish things. It was purchased in 2016 by a non-profit group called the River City Classics, who are restoring the garage. Great to hear!! The city did refurbish the sign and installed it as art at the train station.  Love it!

Fun fact about the Eamon's site, in 1986 it was used in a music video by Canadian signer Corey Hart called I Am By Your Side.

Here are some more of my fave signs from around town:

The Stampde Grounds, Home of the
Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, 

Vintage neon bowling sign. Love.

My favourite vintage neon in town.

No longer a restaurant but the sign was saved.

Jim's Shoe Repair. Sign gone now.

This barely touches on my favourite places and photos of Calgary, but after several years exploring Calgary I have accumulated a lot of photos.  More another day!

Ghost Signs - Alberta

Old vs new in downtown Calgary.  See what you find while lurking in an alley!

Another favourite thing of mine is ghost signs. These you will not usually find on back roads or in rural areas. They are most likely to be found in older downtown commercial areas of cities and towns. In the US there are several great examples of ads painted on barns, but I have not ever come across one in Canada.  If you don't know what a ghost sign is, I can guarantee you've walked by one at some point and not even noticed. I bet after reading this you'll start seeing them! A ghost sign is what's left of old hand painted advertisements. These were popular in the early 1900's. I've seen them from illegible, to just uncovered (usually when an adjoining building get demolished), to restored. The paints that have lasted the longest likely contain lead, which is why in some cases you can see ads showing through other ads.

Painted over. 

With all things I photograph, you never know how long they will be around, so shoot it now, don't wait. Case and point, a ghost sign that I photographed 3 years ago has now been painted over, for no apparent reason.  This particular sign was on a side of building in a narrow alleyway, why not leave it?? You can make out 'Jenkins Groceteria'.  It was a chain in Calgary and by 1928 they had 17 stores. This was about the same time Safeway came to Calgary and offered to buy Jenkins stores.  He refused and instead opened up a bunch more in Calgary, central and southern Alberta.  He was the first in Canada to change to self-serve groceries. Now every time you go grocery shopping and grab a cart you can thank the forward thinking of Mr. Jenkins. These Groceterias have been gone for decades and now this sign is gone too.  For more info on Jenkins Groceteria 'checkout' this: http://www.glenbow.org/collections/stories/jenkins-groceteria/index.cfm.
On the flip side the revitalization of Calgary's East Village has restored some of the old buildings including some ghost signs. These include the Biscuit Block and Simmons Building pictured below.

I have many more photos of ghost signs but have chosen a few here to highlight.  If you want more info please drop me a line, I could go one for hours about these and what came next for advertising, Hint: it's bright and flashy and glowing!

The writing is on the wall:

Calgary - Simmons Building

Calgary - Biscuit Block

Downtown Calgary

Downtown Calgary

Calgary - 17th Ave SW

Calgary - Kensington (almost gone!)

Edmonton 

Medicine Hat - area now turned into a park/plaza

Coleman, AB

Lethbridge, AB

Lethbridge, AB

Nanton, AB (see similar ghost sign below)

Okotoks, AB

Fort Macleod, AB

Willans Barn - Demolished

I am a born and raised Calgarian.  I moved an hour and half north 3 years ago but still consider myself a Calgarian on a detour.  I happened to be in Calgary in September, the day before a historic barn in the Fish Creek Park area of South Calgary was to be demolished.  I headed out, camera in hand to document the last day of a significant part of the history of the area.  If you know Calgary though, you know that old and historic don't mean much and are usually replaced or demolished. Members of the community and Norman Willans own grandson fought to have this saved but were turned down again and again by local government and park officials.  Apparently it didn't qualify as 'historically important' enough.  If this isn't then what it?

Some backstory on the Willans.  The foothills of Southern Alberta have been associated with cattle ranching since the late 1800's.  The Willans family is part of this history.  Norman Willans was born in England and moved to Canada in 1886.  He took 2 years of Agricultural schooling in Ontario, and moved west, to the Millarville District, to use his skills to make a life for himself. He later married and eventually moved to Calgary in 1901.  He worked as the manager of Pat Burns' Bow Valley Ranch.  Norman and his wife Alice, bought their own land for a mixed farming operation, while still working for Pat Burns.  Around 1910, Norman built this log barn as well as a tiny cabin just to the north. The barn was built of white spruce found along the banks of Fish Creek.  The tiny cabin is still there behind a chain link fence and safe from the wrecking ball, for now.  I saw it but by that time it was pouring rain and I was trying to cover my camera gear.

I found my way off the path to get closer to this old beauty.  I chatted with a couple guys walking a dog, they had no idea this was the last day for this place.  I am sure that many have walked by this without even knowing what it is, or was.  As the rain started to come down harder I packed up my stuff quickly and got back to the main path.  I picked the burrs off my sweater and took a last look at this place.  The rain seemed to be reflective of the situation, dreary and forlorn.