Some 40 years ago, Calgarians paid $19.88 each to put their name on what was at the time supposed to be a temporary plaza to celebrate Olympians during the 1988 Olympics.

But four decades later, the legacy of Olympic Plaza wasn’t a temporary thing for Calgarians, and neither was the fondness for their bricks.

On Jan. 3, the original purchasers of those bricks or their family members could collect the rescued bricks, after a last-minute effort by City of Calgary staff and construction contractors to repatriate that legacy.

More than 8,000 requests were made to retrieve bricks from the more than 33,000 that once adorned Olympic Plaza, with about 70 percent or 5,600 being saved, ahead of construction on the plaza which began this month.

“I saw a lot of smiling faces. People are really happy with the bricks. I saw one lady, she was able to get six or seven. She was thrilled. So yeah, we’re really happy that we’re able to provide Calgarians with these bricks back that they can cherish now forever,” said Kyle Ripley, City of Calgary Director of Parks and Open Spaces.

Ripley was himself one of the people who purchased a brick in the 1980s as a young landscape architect.

“It may come as a bit of surprise, but I’m really into parks. That’s not just since I’ve taken this role, but that’s something that’s been my entire life,” he said.

“I had a personal brick in the plaza, and then my father was also a volunteer for the Olympics, and he also had a brick in the plaza. I wasn’t sure if either were coming out intact or not, and I was one of the fortunate ones that was able to get both intact.”

Many bricks are unable to be saved due to 40 years of use

Not every brick request was as fortunate. Approximately 30 per cent of the bricks couldn’t be saved due to either wear and tear or from the way they were installed into the plaza.

“The bricks were mortared on five of their six sides, so only the top of the brick that had the name inscribed on it was available, and that was exposed to the elements for 40 years,” said Ripley.

“Horses and humans and motorcycles, and you name it, went on that plaza in terms of events over the last 40 years… and those bricks saw a lot of use and a lot of wear and tear.”

That mortar, which hardened over time, made the removal of the bricks a difficult and sometimes delicate task. Something that parks staff consulted with masons on to determine the best methods to save the bricks.

“Some of them are side by side, some of them aren’t, and so we needed to go in and manually lift every single brick in the plaza and then individually sort through those that were requested.”

He said that some of the areas had bricks that came out relatively easy and other parts of the plaza where the bricks—quite literally—turned to dust as they were being removed.

“Some of them came out, and they just were not intact, they weren’t even legible. Others were broken, we were able to piece them together and read those bricks, and those are still able for people to pick up if they wish. Some came out quite well, quite intact,” Ripley said.

Memories of bricks to be saved

Ripley himself said that he planned on sharing his father’s brick with his mother, and then would be putting his own brick on display appropriately enough, as part of the landscape of his home.

That sentiment was echoed by other Calgarians who came to pick up their bricks on Friday.

Peter Soroka said that he was at the Calgary Stampede Agricultural Building to pick up the brick that was purchased by his parents Gary and Donna Soroka.

“They met at the Keg on Electric Ave, and they got their brick inscription. My dad passed away five years ago, so I wanted to get it for my mom,” he said.

“I went down earlier in the week and asked the guys if I could come and try to dig it out myself or whatever, and they weren’t too keen on that. All the bricks in my kind of section were pretty broken up, so I didn’t have high hopes that would actually get recovered.”

But his was one of the bricks that was removed relatively intact, something that Soroka said he was really excited about.

“I’ll probably frame it for and then get a little ’88 Olympic inscription or something put in the frame, and then give it to her,” he said.

The Soroka family wasn’t the only love story connected to the Olympic Plaza bricks at the Stampede.

Barb and Keith Peggs picked up the brick they purchased and recounted how their love blossomed over that purchase.

“I remember, it was a beach party in February, and someone was getting evicted out of this warehouse. So they trucked in all the sand and they painted palm trees on the walls. I didn’t really want to go,” said Keith Peggs.

“I went there, and she walked in across the other side and it was love at first sight.”

He said that he bought the brick so that Barb would marry him.

Olympic Plaza transformation begins, brick by brick

As of the start of January, Olympic Plaza was closed to the public as work began on the transformation work happening at the plaza and at Arts Commons.

The design for the redeveloped plaza is expected to be revealed in late Q1 of 2025.

Ripley said that many of the bricks that were placed into the plaza by celebrities or dignitaries in the 1980s, including that of Wil Wheaton of Star Trek fame, have also been set aside.

“If families have requested them, we will return them to the families. If not, we’ll be working with city archives to see what how to best use them in the future,” Ripley said.

He said that the cost of the removal of the bricks of Olympic Plaza had not yet been calculated.

“Right now we’re focused on returning these bricks to Calgarians, and in terms of costs, we are monitoring our costs. Obviously, it’s still an active operation, so we don’t have those figures yet.”

The cost to remove the bricks was initially cited as a reason why they would not be returned to Calgarians.

Kate Thompson, CEO of CMLC, said in the summer of 2024 that there was a need to be mindful of how funds were used given the poor condition of many of the bricks.

CMLC ran a series of Brick by Brick events in September to allow Calgarians to take rubbings of the bricks and to help find their brick.

The legacy of the plaza was also recorded for the City of Calgary archives, which Calgarians can visit at maps.calgary.ca/OlympicPlazaDigitalArchive.

Ripley said that since 2016, the city had been aware of Calgarians wanting their bricks back, and the difficulty in removing all of the bricks safely. They began investigating their removal back then.

“We’ve done the impossible. We’ve removed those bricks, and as many as possible, we were able to salvage and give back to Calgarians. We’re very happy that we’re able to do that. I am so incredibly proud of our team who’s been able to accomplish that.”