Calgary’s Heritage Park celebrated a milestone a decade in the making on April 6: the 10th anniversary of Gasoline Alley Museum and Heritage Town Square.
In 2009, it marked the largest expansion in the park’s history since officially opening in 1964.
Ten years ago, the historical Western Canadian village’s timeline was expanded to the 1950s from 1910.
People in costumes aim to bring history to life in the following periods:
- 1860s: Hudson’s Bay Company Fur Trading Fort, First Nations Encampment and Catholic Mission
- 1880s: Pre-Railway Settlement
- 1910: Historical Village
- 1930s: Heritage Town Square and Gasoline Alley Museum
Ron Carey, a benefactor of the Gasoline Alley Museum collection, noted the rich colours of the cars (most of which predate the Second World War) and how the park cared for his antiques, including gas pumps and signs from petroleum companies.
“It just amazes me that the stuff looks just as good today as it did the day we put it all in here,” he said.
Mayor Naheed Nenshi offered multiple applause breaks for anyone who contributed to the park.
“Look at those signs and all that neon,” he said. “Look at these magnificent vehicles. Look at these beautiful pumps. Ask where the heck Ron was storing all this stuff before he donated it to this place” — apparently the answer was in two warehouses.
Heritage Park is a registered charity and Canada’s largest living history museum, according to Travel Alberta. The stories the museum preserves are something the mayor doesn’t want people to forget.
“It reminds us of how, as a place, we have always been open to the world, where we have said it doesn’t matter if your family has lived here for millennia or if you arrived last week from a refugee camp, you’re welcome here,” Nenshi said. “You’ll be safe here. Your kids and their kids and their grandkids will have opportunity here.”
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