Some Olympic Plaza bricks can be saved, city now says

In a surprise move, the City of Calgary said Monday that there's a possibility that some of the thousands of commemorative bricks that make up Olympic Plaza can be recovered.

The City of Calgary, Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) and Art Commons – the three partners in the renovation work at the public area – said there will be an opportunity to retrieve the inscribed bricks after all.

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Beginning Tuesday, Calgarians will be able to register their interest in retrieving their brick online on the city's Olympic Plaza transformation website.

"This opportunity is only for original purchasers or those connected to an original purchaser," CMLC said in a news release.

In September, more than 300 Calgarians visited Olympic Plaza for the city's Brick by Brick events, where they could complete a rubbing of their brick and obtain a digital photo to commemorate it.

The CMLC says this new venture "will attempted to extract bricks for Calgarians who remain interested."

Officials stressed that it won't be an opportunity for everyone who bought a brick.

"Over time, many bricks have been damaged or replaced, and because of their age, condition, construction and the materials used to install them, it's unlikely that all bricks can be successfully removed intact," the CMLC said.

Calgarians have until Dec. 18 to register their interest in recovering the brick they purchased.

All bricks that are successfully removed can be picked up in-person on Jan. 3 and 4, 2025.

In August, when the CMLC and City of Calgary released its new vision of what Olympic Plaza would look like, saving the commemorative bricks, bought for $19.88 each by Calgarians ahead of the 1988 Winter Olympics, was not a part of the plan.

The CMLC said saving the bricks would come with significant cost and impact the schedule of construction.

By October, it appeared that some residents were already taking matters into their own hands and removing their Olympic bricks themselves.

A further effort, involving a petition by Calgary MP Stephanie Kusie, attempted to bring attention to the matter.

She provided a statement to CTV News on the reversal:

"Although Calgarians were originally told this was not possible, it was clear to me all along that there had to be a solution or a compromise. As it turns out, there was. ... I fully credit today's change of heart to the pressure applied by proud Calgarians who made their desire to preserve this important piece of our city's history very clear," she said.

Wendy Porter's late husband, Patrick Porter, purchased a brick that is in the Plaza.

She is hoping it is one that is successfully removed.

"If they can do it and not just destroy everyone's bricks and people get them back, I think there'll be a lot of happy people in the city," Porter said.

The two met shortly after the Winter Olympics and ended up having three children together.

In 2019, Porter's husband passed away from a heart attack.

"It would be like a family heirloom," Porter said.

"Would love to get the brick back because my kids would like the legacy, and if there's any grandkids that are coming up, we would love the legacy of that."