The beloved pathway at Olympic Plaza is becoming sparser as people remove bricks bearing their names.
In photos circulating online, it appears that people in Calgary are coming to the iconic walkway to carve out their bricks, which are linked to the city’s Olympic legacy.
The bricks feature personalized inscriptions that were purchased over 35 years ago to support the development of Olympic Plaza for the 1988 Olympic Winter Games.
Olympic Plaza is closing for redevelopment at the end of the year until 2028. It is being revamped as part of a broader downtown revitalization project, with construction being managed by the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC).
The bricks at the plaza hold great sentimental value to people throughout the city, but sadly, they will not be preserved during the redevelopment.
“Due to their age and condition, individual excavation of the 33,000 bricks is not feasible and is unlikely to be successful without causing significant damage to the removed bricks and those around them, and would also come at significant cost and schedule impacts to the project,” the CMLC shared in a news release.
Despite the pathway’s upcoming removal, the City of Calgary has invited people to commemorate the bricks by visiting Olympic Plaza and snapping a photo with their bricks before the area closes at the end of December.
Additionally, Calgarians will be able to access a digital scan of the plaza in the upcoming months.
The City of Calgary shared that those who remove a brick could face fines of up to $400 under the city’s park bylaws.