Blast from the past: Calgary time capsule opened after 50 years

A time capsule containing pieces of Calgary’s history was opened on Monday, after it was discovered hiding in plain sight.

Fifty years ago, the Calgary TELUS Convention Centre opened its doors, and one year later, a time capsule was created.

It was part of a competition to find Calgary’s Citizen of the Century.

On Monday morning, the capsule was opened, revealing a variety of items, including a phone book, a slinky, a Rubik’s cube and a mix tape.

This event may never have taken place, as the capsule had been effectively forgotten about.

“I walked past it for years and didn’t know until I came across it about a year ago,” said Devin McLaughlin, the manager of strategy and analysis at the convention centre, who helped find the capsule.

He said it was originally placed inside a statute, located in an outdoor garden area. In the ’90s it was moved to the Plus 15 level at the centre.

“It was discovered that there were items in it, but there was no attempt to look into the history of the statue or understand the items put in. We just resealed it up when it got placed in its current position.”

The time capsule then sat inside the statue of Col. James Walker, who was declared the citizen of the century at Calgary’s centennial commemorations, until it was rediscovered.

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“I heard rumours, even at our 40th anniversary, that there was potentially was a time capsule,” McLaughlin said. “Through research, newspaper articles back from the ’70s, I discovered the contest and there was a picture of the unveiling of the statute and the time capsule.”

McLaughlin said in the coming months, they will try to find some of the people connected to the capsule.

The items will returned to the time capsule and resealed, to be opened again in another 50 years.

“We are hoping for more information, more items from the ’70s, and that’s why we decided not just to put back those originally there but to add to it. So hopefully in 50 years, there are some more interesting artifacts and stories to tell for them,” he said.