Donors ‘gutted’ by plan to scrap Olympic Plaza bricks
It may only seem like a weathered, cracked piece of clay and shale to some, but for Marlene Lamontagne, it was a way to make her beloved parents part of their city’s history.
The fate of 20,000 inscribed bricks encircling Olympic Plaza are in question as the city embarks on early plans to revitalize the nearly 30-year-old downtown hub that served as the centrepiece of Calgary’s 1988 Winter Olympics.
City officials said the bricks, purchased in 1987 by citizens for $19.88 apiece, have fallen into disrepair, and likely can’t be removed, fixed or replaced.
But for Lamontagne, who purchased a brick for her late parents, Irwin and Velma Mae Shea, the city needs to do everything in its power to preserve the legacies of those who helped make the Calgary Olympics a reality.
“It’s important because it was a sense that they were there and part of it . . . for their love of the city,” said the 81-year-old former federal Liberal candidate who ran against former prime minister Stephen Harper in 2008.
“If they can’t do anything with it, at least give them back to the donors. I would take that brick to Queen’s Park (Cemetery) and put it on their graves.”
City planners said they’re hoping the plaza’s design team can find a way to somehow reincorporate the bricks, possibly as part of a public art project. A book kept at City Hall also lists all the donors.
But the move has had many taking to social media to express their outrage.
Terry Bruce was seven years old when his parents purchased a brick for him and his younger sister, Lindsay, which they both visited when she came back to Calgary from her new home in England last year.
“She was gutted when I told her what they were planning to do,” he said.
“They’re too young right now, but it’s something I would have liked to have shown my kids.”
Bruce questioned how the city can find hundreds of the thousands of dollars for a “giant blue ring,” the controversial $470,000 Travelling Light installation in northwest Calgary, but can’t find a solution to help retain a legacy of the city’s turn on the world stage.
Jerry Joynt, a senior organizer with the 1988 Games, said the bricks were never promised to survive in perpetuity, but he has his own concerns about the city’s designs on revamping Olympic Plaza.
“It’s very important we retain that Olympic name. Can we name it Olympic Plaza if we tear it down and build a new one?” said Joynt, noting the International Olympic Committee is rather stingy in allowing the use of the event’s name.