4 April 2009
Heritage Park Expansion Unveiled
Canadian Pacific continues its investment in Canada's most
successful heritage theme park with its contribution toward the construction of a close replica of the railway's 1893 station in
Calgary. The station, based on a design by art nouveau practitioner Edward Colonna, is part of the park's expansion
program.
Calgary Alberta - Heritage Park just got a little
younger.
Visitors to the historical village will be able to experience a new chapter in the western Canadian story, thanks to a
$65-million expansion unveiled yesterday to donors, sponsors, and government officials, extending the park's
time-line from 1914 to the 1950s.
The 60-acre expansion, called the Heritage Town Square, features the Gasoline Alley Museum.
The massive redevelopment also houses the Haskayne Mercantile Block featuring a strip of five old-fashioned shops, the
1893 Canadian Pacific Railway Station, and the Big Rock Interpretive Brewery.
Heritage Park president and CEO Alida Visbach said the new dimension of the historical village will give Canadians a peek into reasons
their forefathers went west.
"Heritage Park is for the people, but most importantly it is about the people," she said.
"With this expansion we will be able to tell more of the story of western Canadian development."
Premier Ed Stelmach said the whole province and country, the governments of which have contributed $18 million to the expansion, will
benefit from the new and improved park.
"Our history is who we are and what we believe in," he said.
"It gives a glimpse into Alberta's story... to understand what it means to be an Albertan."
The interactive 75,000-sq.-ft. Gasoline Alley Museum features a $5-million collection of 67 vintage
automobiles, gas pumps, and oil memorabilia donated by benefactor Ron Carey.
"I can't tell you how many times I've been asked why donate the collection to Heritage Park - it's heritage, and that's where it
should be," he said.
Mayor Dave Bronconnier said the grand opening also celebrates partnerships between donors and government that first brought Heritage
Park to life in 1964.
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