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Choo
Choo to Calgary's Heritage Park Historical
Village
 by
Jerry W. Bird
Having lived in Calgary at the time of Heritage
Park's opening, and sharing its pleasures with my
children, guests and clients on countless
occasions, the park was a 'must see' on this
summer's return trip. My company used Heritage Park
as the location for a series of video features,
posters and commercials, produced for Burns Foods,
one of the city's oldest and largest companies. Pat
Burns, an Irish immigrant, was one of the 'Big
Four' who put Calgary on the map by launching the
first Stampede. Another Big 4 member was A.E.
Cross, founderof the the Calgary Brewing and
Malting Company, another client of mine. It was
famous for its 'horseshoe and buffalo
label.
 The
park proved to be the ideal setting, with its old
fashioned farm kitchens, cast iron stoves, ornate
ovens and large wooden chopping blocks. The
mountain backdrop which frames the park's western
vista added a dramatic flavour to the outdoor
scenes.
This
unique slice of Canadiana overlooks Glenmore Lake
(reservoir), and is easy to access via the C-Train
from downtown, plus a 5-minute shuttle bus ride.
Like in most Canadian prairie towns of an earlier
era, the railway is the focal point. An historic
train circles the entire area, and the replica of a
vintage paddle wheeler plies the lake. Horse drawn
buggies, wagons and 1920s style delivery trucks
scoot about or trudge along its main streets and
back alleys. The many restored buildings; city and
farm homes, church, schoolhouse, railway stations,
barns, stores, Chinese laundry, police depot, bank,
post office, bakery, newspaper, grain elevator,
Wainwright Hotel, etc. are from various locations
in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Photos in animated
sequence above by Jerry W. Bird
It's
a Gas! One of the exciting changes since my
last visit is 'Gasoline Alley,' featuring an
unusual collection of gas pumps, which recall
popular brands and those once familiar, but now
long forgotten. At Heritage Park, the visitor can
travel back in time and discover the treasures of
Western Canada's past, most of it prior to 1914 .
The attraction features over 66 acres of lush park
land, over 150 historical exhibits, thousands of
artifacts, and lively interpretive activities.
Calgary
Profile .......
Holy
Cow Calgary!
Calgary's
Railway Renaissance
The most important long term benefit to our
magazine's readers and viewers of this web site,
was a visit to the 'railway exhibit,' where we
learned about the restoration of Canadian Pacific
Railways passenger service. Thanks to Royal
Canadian
Pacific Tours,
visitors from near and far can travel through the
Canadian Rockies and Kicking Horse Pass from
Calgary to Golden; then south along the Columbia
River to Cranbrook; east through the Crowsnest Pass
to Lethbridge and return north through Vulcan and
High River.
Route
Map.
Heritage
Park is open daily Saturday from mid May to Labour
Day, then weekends only through until October
9th.
http://www.heritagepark.ab.ca/
Question:
What about a
return to Historic Street Cars as a year-round
tourist attraction and revenue generator? See our
new series Streetcars
& Street
Scenes. It
makes street sense.
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