July 9, 1978: Festivities open city’s river valley park system
Hundreds of observers cheered as premier Peter Lougheed and mayor Cec Purves officially opened the $34-million Capital City Recreation Park.
The three-hour ceremony, began at the Legislature Building with the unveiling of one of four commemorative pylons, took the 92-member official party to the Cloverdale Amenities Site, Gold Bar and Rundle Park.
“This park is one of the best things to happen to Edmonton,” Purves said. “I remember in 1974 when we all took a look at the concept (of a 16-kilometre park) and here we are four years later.”
The park, which stretches from below the legislature to Hermitage Park, is connected by a system of trails, paths, and bridges. The project, a co-operative city-provincial project, was funded through the Heritage Trust Fund.
“This is a project which exemplifies what it is all about to work together,” Lougheed said.
After the first unveiling, attended by about 250 Edmontonians and a barrage of TV cameras, two city buses carried the official party and media to the second 4.2-metre-high pylon at Cloverdale Amenities Site. From there the group was ushered down a trail to Rafter’s Landing where 10 jet boats carried the life-jacketed officials east down the twisting river to Gold Bar Park.
The master of ceremonies at Gold Bar, MLA Bill Yurko, said he was excited about the park because of the quality of life it would bring to the eastern half of the city: “There were lots of industries here before, but no parks.”
The final leg of the journey was on foot, as the official party, accompanied by joggers, cyclists, and pedestrians, walked across the new Rundle Bridge to the family recreation centre.
An estimated 140,000 people took part in the free, daylong festivities which included an open-air concert featuring Dom Troiano, One Horse Blue, the Fifth Avenue Allstars, Toronto’s Shooter, Winnipeg’s Crowcuss, and headliner San Francisco’s Rubicon.
Beer and gallon jugs of Cherry Jack wine and skeins of hard liquor were visible everywhere but one of 10 police officers patrolling the park said there was to be no strict enforcement of liquor or drug laws that day.