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!